Dr. Williams said that in our history there has always been acts of violence, resistance and resilience.  And as reconciling leaders we must look at a situation and ask:  Where was the violence? Where was the resistance? Where is the resilience?  The first question might seem the easiest since that is often what catches our attention – the act of violence.  But as we ask “Where was the violence?” we must remember that racism is visceral and so we must not look away.  We need to see the hate, the damage, the pain.  And we must name the people and institutions that enact harm and structural violence.

I have had the opportunity to observe two ceremonies of gathering soil samples of lynching sites in my county.  The organization, Volusia Remembers Coalition, provided a powerful presentation so that we would visualize and feel the violence the victims of horrendous lynchings experienced.  As I visited the EJI Peace & Justice Memorial later that year, those stories stayed with me as I walked through reading the names of those who had been lynched.  They were not just names – they had a story…they were beloved and they had experienced violence. I need to always remember that there is a beloved person behind each victim of racism.  I need to learn their story.

As an everyday peacemaker, not only should I know the stories of violence and hate but I also have to dig deeper to hear and understand the stories of resistance and resilience.  Those are the stories that are often not told or are left out of the history books (especially here in Florida!). These are the stories that help me to see the targets of racial violence as images of God, as Beloved and not just victims.  These are the stories that will help me move from just expressing mercy to fighting for justice.