After a tour of Vulcan Park and dinner, members of the African-American/Jewish Mission congregated to establish the tone for the rest of the week. The mayor gave an historical perspective of Birmingham under Jim Crow, examples of passive resistance that included the help of a Jewish merchant in the Titusville neighborhood. The leader of the local Jewish Federation introduced representatives and gave participants an opportunity to share thoughts, questions and ideas.
One of the participants began the discussion with a scenario that is familiar to many of us. We literally and figuratively have a situation where communities live on opposite sides of the track. It gave Birminghamians an opportunity to talk about initiatives that have been in place for several years. We discussed decades of programs to address issues of race, religion and life circumstances. It was a great opportunity to introduce many successful initiatives.
As we showcased our Birmingham success stories, participants wanted to know more about cultivating personal and institutional relationships across cultures. I had forgotten how deeply these organizations impacted me. My emotions began to take over so the details of everyone's comments are a bit fuzzy. The fact that I have maintained many of the cross-cultural relationships that were facilitated through these programs began to overwhelm me. Hopefully, participants will comment on this post. So how did people in a divided community begin to build relationships across cultures?
Some comments from the group included:
1) A shared history of struggle connects the community across racial, religious, social and cultural lines. The comment originally related to the Civil Rights Movement, but as we were leaving, a participant added an interesting comment that African-Americans and Jews also have a history of slavery.
2) The community has faith-based institutions who have a social justice mission to address social issues faced by different religious communities. They are willing to share resources, both human and financial.
3) There are people who are willing to take risks.
4) Some of the aspects of southern culture and community lend itself to this type of work.
5) A participant shared the realization that the next generation can perpetuate or change our past. They have begun the work of eradicating racial divisions on their own terms.
Some group members also identified challenges:
1) Intragroup issues that prevent the work from being done.
2) Unwilling partners across community lines.
3) The realization that some factors of the past have not faded.
4) The perception of a paternalistic agenda and people attempting to change communities without buyin from the local community.
5) Keeping the dialogue going.
I look forward to tomorrow's visit to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. There is a gallery that chronicles the impact of the Movement on people around the world. Perhaps it will deepen the dialogue. I also look forward to hearing success stories from other parts of the country.
Please check out A Rabbi and A Pastor Go to Birmingham for additional perspectives on the trip.
I am finding the role as participant, observer, and professional intercultural trainer to be interesting. I didn't get a chance to share that because Birmingham's dirty laundry was aired all over the world, it is more difficult for us to be in denial about the past. In some communities that perceive themselves as liberal, they don't see the purpose in the this type of work. They don't have any problems.
ReplyDeleteI also recommend the book, "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting in the Cafeteria?" Some people need distance from the outside world to survive. They suffer a fatigue of crossing cultures all day. William Cross, author of Shades of Black calls this concept bridging and buffering.
I look forward to hearing more from the group.
There is another issue that came up last night that personally interests me. I am not sure whether or not it wil be addressed during the week. One of the participants shared that she lived in Birmingham during segregation. Although she was pereceived as white by the outside world, she didn't necessarily share the sentiments and values of the majority population.
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