Jun 3, 2020
Last week’s killing of George Floyd has affected all of our
lives. For those who have decided to tune in deeply, we understand
that his slaying by the knee of a warped and indifferent police
officer is just one of hundreds of similar incidents, such as the
police slaying of Breonna Taylor while she laid in bed in her own
apartment, and of the long-delayed justice (only know starting its
wheels) for Ahmaud Arbery murdered by jogging in a certain kind of
neighborhood. Add in the potential and very real danger the Central
Park bird-watching Christopher Cooper who was put in because of a
woman's racial panic that led her to make a demonstrably false
report to police about being threatened by a black man, the police
choke-hold death of Eric Garner several years ago, and we
cannot help but realize we are being invited in a most intense way
to examine the systematic and personal racism that has led to
extremely unfair and, too often, violent actions against persons of
color, especially black women and men. The fact that this awakening
is taking place during a worldwide pandemic is good but also very
scary. Good because many of us have fewer distractions that will
take our attention away from these crimes and the demonstrations in
our streets and around the world. Scary because of the additional
health risks that come from people crowding together to protest
these and all the thousands of deaths and enslavements of black
persons going back more than 400 years.
We are grateful that three black counselors, therapists, and
educators agreed to come on Latter-day Faith to share their
experiences and open a door to the world they have lived in their
entire lives and the toll it has taken on them and other black
people. This is an episode in which we are taught, taken into new
heart and mind spaces, and challenged to examine the world in new
ways. But it is also an episode that is full of hope alongside the
pain and frustrations shared. Our great thanks to LaShawn
Williams, Kimberly Applewhite, and
Jameson Holman for being on the show and sharing
with us so much of themselves, of their learning, and of their
experiences, including those within their faith home,
Mormonism.
Included in this conversation are great sections about whether or
not it is truly "safe" for black persons to share their experiences
with white people, and especially to be vulnerable with regard to
their own emotions. It is exhausting to constantly have to scan
your environment and the settings in which you are being asked to
share, judging whether this person or group is only wanting to hear
from you in a way that won't lead them to become uncomfortable and
defensive. The panelists also address what is harmful and hurtful
and ignorant in statements such as, "Well, all lives
matter" and "When I see you, I don't see color." These black
Mormon therapists also reflect on the LDS Church’s recent statement
about what is happening in the world right now, especially with
regard to the sins of racisms, the need for repentance, and about
demonstrations that in some cases have become destructive and even
violent.
As part of all this, you will hear the “vomit analogy”
(unforgettable!) as it relates to white persons’ general and
specific hesitations to talk directly about race and privilege. So
often we will work to avoid at all cost such discussions (both
external and internal). The conversation also talks about PTSD and
how it applies to black experiences and how it in many cases leads
to devastating health (physical as well as mental) effects. But,
again, even in all of this you will also find reasons for hope as
we and people all over the world find ourselves finally ready to
really look at the devastating effects of societal, institutional,
and personal racism.
This is an unforgettable listen! You won’t always be comfortable as
you engage with it, but you will, inevitably, be very glad you
did.