Frances Ellen Watkins Harper in 1875 noted that one of the things missing from US society was “a keener and deeper, broader and tenderer sense of justice—a sense of humanity, which shall crystallize into the life of the nation the sentiment that justice, simple justice, is the right, not simply of the strong and powerful, but of the weakest and feeblest of all God’s children.”
How might we work to make justice available to all?
If we are to work for the presence of Beloved Community in our midst, we have to dream it into being. We have to make something wholly new from what we have now.
What would be present for you in Beloved Community?
Around the world, there are differences in the specifics of racism, but there are similarities in how it insinuates itself into societies, how it replicates itself across generations, and how it resists efforts to dismantle it. We can and must learn from one another as we do this work together.
What forms does racism take where you live (or where you’re from)?
Voting is essential to democracy, but it is not the entirety of democratic processes. We discuss, we debate, we think about whose voices have not been heard (and seek them out), we express concerns and work through them, we combine our experiences in order to make something better.
How do you participate in democratic decision-making?
We have committed ourselves to inclusive processes of decision-making. Together, we need to figure out just what that means. How do we build processes that welcome difference, that give voice to the marginalized, that honor complexity, and that still lead us to a result in the end?
What does it mean to you to be included in a process?
