The Hearts United Gathering (HUG) event is February 7th, 2019. This is the fourth annual gathering at the Wilder Center at Rome First United Methodist Church, 202 East 3rd Avenue in downtown Rome, GA. This year’s speaker is Peggy Wallace Kennedy, the daughter of the late Governor of Alabama and staunch segregationist George Wallace. Hear her story of overcoming the racism, hatred and bigotry. The event is FREE and doors open at 5 pm. Musical entertainment by soloists with the Rome Symphony Orchestra will begin at 6 pm. Come join with our neighbors and UPLIFT YOUR SOUL with hundreds of fellow citizens. Bring a Friend! #BridgingTheDivides
The idea behind HUG is to move towards racial reconciliation and work towards being One Community United. So, why is racism still so pervasive and perennial in our culture?
C. S. Lewis: in his book “Mere Christianity” wrote - "If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed."
One reason racial discrimination is such a perennial problem is that it appeals to the core of our pride. As Friedrich Nietzsche noted, the "will to power" is the basic drive in human nature.
Racism is a way to feel superior to others on the basis of immutable realities. If I'm white and you're black, I will always be white and you will always be black. If I delude myself into believing that being white is superior to being black, I will therefore always feel superior to you. This temptation is alluring on levels we often don't recognize – our discriminatory inclinations remain, lest we admit and repent of them. It is a good first step in confronting racism to check our attitudes and beliefs. I believe Love Unites and Hate Divides.
Jeff Nesbit, wrote an article "Institutional Racism Is Our Way of Life," in U.S. News & World Report, May 6, 2015. He found that a racial divide persists in America:
• People with "black-sounding names" had to send out 50 percent more job applications than people with "white-sounding names" to get a callback.
• A black man is three times more likely to be searched at a traffic stop and six times more likely to go to jail than a white man.
• If a black person kills a white person, he or she is twice as likely to receive the death sentence as a white person who kills a black person.
• Blacks serve up to 20 percent more time in prison than white people for the same crimes.
• Blacks are 38 percent more likely to be sentenced to death than white people for the same crimes.
Why am I involved with One Community United and with the efforts of promoting racial reconciliation in our community? Because I believe we have an imperative to lead and I believe Love Wins.
Carrie Underwood has a song entitled – “LOVE WINS” The Lyrics are:
A stray bullet and a momma cries
Her baby won't be coming home tonight
Sirens screaming down the avenue
Just another story on the evening news,
Politics and prejudice
How the hell it'd ever come to this?
When everybody's gotta pick a side
It don't matter if you're wrong or right, no
And so it goes, but I hold onto hope and I
won't let go 'cause
I, I believe you and me are sisters and brothers
And I, I believe we're made to be here for each
other
And we'll never fall if we walk hand in hand
Put a world that seems broken together again
Yeah I, I believe in the end love wins
Sometimes it takes a lot of faith
To keep believing there will come a day
When the tears and the sadness, the pain and the hate The struggle, this madness, will all fade away
Yeah I, I believe you and me are sisters and brothers And I, I believe we're made to be here for each other And we'll never fall if we walk hand in hand
Put a world that seems broken together again
Yeah I, I believe in the end love wins
Love is power, love is a smile
Love reaches out, love is the remedy
Love is the answer, love's an open door
Love is the only thing worth fighting for, yeah
I, I believe you and me are sisters and brothers
And I, I believe we're made to be here for each other And we'll never fall if we walk hand in hand
Put a world that seems broken together again
Yeah I, I believe in the end love wins
Oh, yeah, love wins
Love will, love can, love still, love wins
Love will, love can, love still, love wins
HUG is about taking the Lead in shaping Culture. Sarah Kaplan and William Wan, wrote an article in the Washington Post in August 2017 that addresses the issue "Why are people still racist? What science says about America's race problem". In the article the writers cite research from the field of Social
Psychology. "In some ways, it's super simple. People learn to be whatever their society and culture teaches them. We often assume it takes parents actively teaching their kids, for them to be racist. The truth is that unless parents actively teach kids not to be racists, they will be." This is how Jennifer Richeson, a Yale University social psychologist, explains the continued pervasiveness of racism. She continues: "This is not the product of some deep- seated, evil heart that is cultivated. It comes from the environment, the air all around us." "
What is the solution? A change of Heart, A Change of Attitude and a Change of practice.
Such change starts with us. Christians are "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:13, 14). If food lacks salt, the fault is not with the food. If a dark room lacks light, the fault is not with the room.
You and I must set the standard in our church, community, and families. We must be the change we want to see. We must take proactive, positive steps to model the inclusive love of Jesus.
HOW?
By being the Church...
The gospel of God's reconciling love is the only transforming answer to the challenges we face. Legislation and the civil rights movement were essential to improving the lives of those who faced legalized discrimination. But laws cannot change people. Only God’s Love can do that.
If the Church is to be the Church, then we must be verbal and visible followers of Jesus, and to unite for good works in our communities. This is our calling as followers of the Christ. We have an opportunity to use power and privilege to influence the conscience of our culture. If the church will not be the church, I believe our country will spiral downward into the depths of fear and hate.
I, for One, Choose LOVE because LOVE WINS! I hope to see you here in the Wilder Center on February 7 at 6PM for HUG IV – where we will proclaim a message that LOVE WINS!
Shalom, Robert ><>