Healing the Wounds of Racism: A Discussion with Members of Chicago’s “Back of the Yards” Community
Free and open to the public. Online registration required. This event is organized by the Catholic Lawyer's Guild of Chicago, and co-sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute
“Compassion isn’t just about feeling the pain of others; it’s about bringing them in toward yourself. If we love what God loves, then, in compassion, margins get erased.”
- Father Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart (2010)
“I have never seen – even in Mississippi and Alabama – mobs as hostile and as hate-filled as I’ve seen here in Chicago.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1966)
Our country is in a moment of reckoning. For too long, black people have been marginalized and denied equal justice under the law. We have created, in the words of Pope Francis, “an economy of exclusion and inequality.” Evangelium Gaudium, ¶ 53. Chicago, sadly, is no exception. At this critical juncture, many of us find ourselves asking: What can we do to combat racism and bring about healing in our communities?
To move forward, we must first seek to listen to and understand those who have suffered from the evils of racism. We must stand with those whose dignity has been denied and learn to “find Jesus in [their] faces, in their voices, in their pleas.” Evangelium Gaudium, ¶ 91. Only once our hearts are changed can we hope to bring about change in our community and justice system.
On August 26 at 5:00 pm, the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation will introduce us to several residents of the Back of the Yards community in a discussion moderated by Father Dave Kelly, C.P.P.S. These men and women will share their experiences with racial prejudice and their views on how we as a city might find reconciliation. An opportunity for questions and discussion will follow.
