The View From Here

There's so much happening that it's hard to start, as it has been two years since I've written. From March 2020 to June 2020, much of the US (and the world) was shut down to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's strange to read my past postings and to find myself here - isolated most of the time and hesitant to leave the confines of my home due to this highly contagious virus which to date has killed over 500,000 and has infected over 14 million , and disproportionately impacted BIPOC . Then in May, our nation was roiled once again in racial violence with the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minnesota. As a result, many companies, organizations, and institutions published statements of support and a commitment to change. What's disheartening is that the murders of Black men, women, boys and girls have been happening for time out of mind, and in recent memory have been viewed and heard in social media for at least a decade. Four years ago I walked i...

As you may have noticed, many of my blog postings are about the issues I have about previous workplaces and their lack of diversity, lack of cultural understanding, institutional racism and willfulness in their White privilege. So much of it was about working through the oppression I experienced in those places, and in so many ways it was necessary for me to do so for my healing. However, most recently, I recognized that my seemingly constant outrage was not helpful in my pursuit for peace of mind. For a long time I equated being passionate to being angry. No doubt there are plenty of times that calls for righteous anger and moral indignation. Yet, I am now choosing to move on and let go even when I know the issues at these institutions are not going away any time soon. All I can do is watch "Rome burn." I wish it could be otherwise but my hope needs to be re-directed in other ways that will actually make a difference. Time to move on....

Simply put, how can a conference on the liberal arts and social transformation not address the #BlackLivesMatter movement on college campuses across the United States? This is the case at Westmont College with their annual conversation on the liberal arts. This year the theme is " From Inquiry to Impact: Social Transformation through Liberal Learning ." The list of speakers are all White (no surprise). Even though one speaker has diversity and inclusion as an area of expertise, there is no direct reference in the program on addressing how college students of color are part of a social transformation towards what some believe is the second wave of the Civil Rights Movement. In some ways it's sad for me to say that I'm not surprised although always disappointed. It's a reminder of how evangelical Christian colleges are behind the curve when it comes to diversity and social justice.