Loading..."Our nation's history of racial injustice casts a shadow across the American landscape. This shadow cannot be lifted until we shine the light of truth on the destructive violence that shaped our nation traumatized people of color, and compromised our commitment to the rule of law and to equal justice." Brian Stevenson, Director, Equal Justice Institute and Civil Rights Leader
On April 26-27 The National Memorial for Peace and Justice will open to honor those some 4,000 known lynchings in America, with thousands more names of forgotten yet being gathered by Stevenson’s “EJI” (Equal Justice Initiative). Continued silence about mass atrocities “compounds victimization” and tells victims and the nation as a whole that “their pain does not matter,” according to EJI. “There is a path to recovery and reconciliation when we tell the truth about our history in the public square.”
A delegation from the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee will join the two-day summit at the Montgomery Performing Arts Center where leaders from throughout the country led by Congressman John Lewis, Rev. William Barber, Michelle Alexander, former Vice President Al Gore, Ava DeVernay, artists Bebe Winans, Sweet Honey in the Rock, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Roots and will speak, pray, sing, rap and celebrate.
Those interested in joining the Pilgrimage from East Tennessee are asked to contact regional representatives organizing the trip:
Maggie Zeller, TriCities, at altomom@gmail.com
R.J. Powell, Knoxville, at rjpowell@gmail.com
Beverly Hurley Hill, Chattanooga, at bhurleyhill@dioet.org
Information is also available at Facing Racism: Montgomery Pilgrimage, April 26-27, 2018.
Located on a six-acre site atop a rise overlooking downtown Montgomery, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice is the nation’s first comprehensive memorial dedicated to the racial terror lynchings of African Americans and the legacy of slavery and racial inequality in America.
The memorial uses sculpture, art, and design to contextualize racial terror and includes a memorial square with 800 six-foot monuments to identify thousands of racial terror lynching victims in the United States and the counties and states where this terrorism took place. The memorial aspires to advance truth and reconciliation in the United States by inviting communities to acknowledge the history of racial injustice and confront this history by claiming monuments for their community. See “On the Courthouse Lawn” and “Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror.” More available at EJI.
You, your parish, and community are welcome to join the East Tennessee Pilgrimage to Montgomery by attending the Grand Opening of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum and the Peace and Justice Summit. Tickets for the Opening Ceremony on April 26 are $10. A pass to the Peace and Justice Summit April 27-27 is $25. Contact link here. More information here.
Join East Tennessee Pilgrims.
Pray for Justice and Peace.
Facing Racism: Montgomery Pilgrimage, April 26-27, 2018 on Facebook
