A month of UNITY. We need feel-good moments in this country, and I love that February helps do just that.
Between the Super Bowl (shout out to what I consider to be the best Superbowl in my 50 years!), Black History Month and the Winter Olympics, we have a ton of opportunity to step in to the conversation of unity.
If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you may have seen that I attended UMKC’S Martin Luther King Jr. lecture series, and boy was that powerful. I am forever humbled by what I don’t know despite 50 years on this Earth. Our nation has been through a lot. We are better for what we’ve experienced, and we should all be intentional about taking time to learn about our past and let it inform our present.
I hadn’t given much thought to the fact that slavery in America existed for 339 years, and that just about every major institution played a part in it. Science proves out that the lasting impacts of this are still alive and well today. I had no idea. Thank you to Dr. Joy DeGruy and the hundreds of other people who have made it their mission to bring awareness and galvanize us all into action.
Unity is an all-encompassing term, but understanding the history of our country can go a long way in helping us sort out why we’re where we are today. We can do better. We are, as we know from the Bible, dependent on each other and are one in Christ. That is the truth; that is powerful.
My prayer is that we will all consider what little we know and make an effort to gain a greater understanding. If we can take that knowledge and make it useful in our generation (and those we impact: children, grandchildren, etc.), honoring the heritage of all people, we stand a much great chance of achieving peace and love all of the days of our lives.
Anyone else with me on this? We can – and should – DO THIS!