Niyonu, Wake Up!

Avoiding the ruts of injustice within and without              A warning that I find myself offering with greater frequency these days is “watch out to avoid the deeply cut grooves.”   These are the depressions that have been worn into the road by a repeated pattern of travel. These are the familiar ways that establish and maintain systems of power.   Whether it be power with, power against, power under or over, individuals and organizations who have committed to be just, equitable and inclusive are committing to shifting power patterns. Equity and justice are about power.   We who claim a commitment to building justice and equity are in the business of shifting power, period!   It is for us to move beyond the deeply cut grooves, find our way out of the ruts. We tend to have very little practice in recognizing or naming power dynamics therefore, those who make a claim of creating equity and justice must submit to radical exploration and radical truth-telling.   Rigorous an

Dear ones, as promised I share another portion of my transcription of what I heard from Sister Ruby Sales during a radio interview with Dr. Wilmer Leon. (I'm excited to report that since I first posted a section of this interview, I have had the great honor of speaking with Sister Sales and she has agreed to lead a January Deeper Change Forum and follow-up workshop in the New Haven area on January 25 & 26, 2018! More info soon at www.ceio.org/deeper-change).  So grateful for this wisdom: --> "...any movement in the 21 st century that seeks to do systemic and core changes must be spiritual in nature.   I didn’t say religious.   I said “spiritual in nature” – that must deal with the inner and outer souls of white America – what they believe and think inside of themselves and how they live in the world.   It must be able to heal the chasm between what they think and how they live in life.    --> And so that, no social justice movem