Okay, so, I have been intentionally avoiding this whole blogging experience for some time now, but I feel like maybe I should give it a try and just see what happens. The trip is really coming together and these past couple of days have been the best yet, both in terms of the activities and in terms of the bonds between us. I have been feeling closer to the other 40 some odd people on this trip and getting more out of the activities everyday, I guess you could say we're getting into the swing of things. We were interviewed by the press today and the whole experience of being interviewed on camera (which was aired in all its awkwardness on the 6 o'clock Raleigh-Durham news) and on paper gave me the sense that we were finally getting out message out there. And that is what this trip is really about: coming together for the sake of spreading our message to the communities we visit.
Our message is one I think we as a country, and even as a church, need to hear. It isn't necessarily a black/white issue, though that's what we are focusing on. The issue is in fact much larger, much more difficult to tackle, but our goal is that the message we spread here this week will spark the discussions, spark the realizations in the hearts of those who hear it, which will ultimately change the world we live in, which will ultimately allow all people to truly understand the full implications of the words in our Baptismal Covenant when we promise to respect the dignity of every human being. That "respect" is not a benign action. It is active, and it is difficult. I will be the first to say that I have failed in fulfilling that promise, and that I am still failing in it. My hope is not to fix the world and all that's wrong with it, but that maybe through our efforts we can make it a little bit better.
To paraphrase the words of the the Archbishop Desmond Tutu: Jesus said, 'When I be lifted up, I will draw all peoples to myself.' The key word there is "all." All all all all all, black, white, rich, poor, beautiful, not so beautiful. All all all all, gay, bi, so-called straight. We are all meant to be held in this incredible embrace that will not let us go. All.
God's peace,
~J York
Thursday, July 15, 2010
True thoughts
I really feel emotionally shaken by this whole experience of Freedom Ride. My experiences have really forever changed me and really opened my heart to the wonderful bunch of youth, whom i love dearly.From the deep conversations to the light, this is a break through in courage and acceptance of all people.
Ben Padilla
Ben Padilla
Blood Done Sign My Name
One of the most moving experiences of this trip thus far has been the play Blood Done Sign My Name. It was incredible seeing how well the actor interacted with the audience. At one point, he had us all join hands and sing, "We Shall Overcome," and it was at that moment that I realized the power of Freedom Ride. This pilgrimage has definitely put several issues involving race into perspective for me. The conversation we had afterward with Tim Tyson strengthened my understanding of current racial issues, and I truly feel like we are making a difference here.
Rebecca G.
Rebecca G.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Freedom Ride 2010, July 14
There are so many things that I wish I could say right now. As a white teenage male, I am in no way a minority, or "target group" as we say, but this experience has truly touched my heart. As I walked around sites like Fort Fisher, Somerset Place, and Edenton, I came to realize how inhuman my race has been towards people. It is a story we're told in school as children, but it is a rare experience to LIVE where former enslaved people were, see the condition of their housing, and attempt to see what they may have seen. The world in North Carolina seems a little less bright after seeing all these tragic events and places first hand, but in my heart I have hope. I can look around at our group of people, see the different races, see the different genders, see the different backgrounds, but at the end of the day we are one community. The laughter and stories that I have shared with the other guys in our group are so uplifting I think we forget that our skin color is any different from one anothers. I do miss my mom and my dad a lot as well as my goofy little brother and silly big sister, but I feel blessed to be a part of this group.
This experience has already taught me so much, but I know I'm not done learning yet. I know the other youth are with me when I say we think about our families often and will be glad to see them when we get back. But now I gotta go, it's dinner time!!
Erich Hoffmann
This experience has already taught me so much, but I know I'm not done learning yet. I know the other youth are with me when I say we think about our families often and will be glad to see them when we get back. But now I gotta go, it's dinner time!!
Erich Hoffmann
Oxford, Day 6
Sorry for the blog delay; as you will see, we have been going at a hectic pace.
Since our last blog, we have been to Fort Fisher near Wilmington, had a tour of Wilmington sites related to the Civil War, Restoration, Jim Crow, and Civil Rights. We have traveled to a restoration of Somerset Plantation in Creswell, and followed the trail of slave woman Harriet Jacobs in Edenton. We have seen a presentation on living conditions of farm workers in present-day eastern North Carolina, and gleaned peas and corn with the St. Andrews Society in a field next to two crews of Latino farm workers in other fields. We toured the capitol building in Raleigh as well as several sites at St. Augustine's College, after which we celebrated a jazz Eucharist where one of our leaders, Kim Lucas, presided, and Bishop Curry preached. This morning, we reflected on some slave narratives on the site of what was once the largest plantation in North Carolina--Stagville. Now we are enjoying some much needed down time, with a cool swim at a beautiful pool in Oxford.
Pete
It's hot... that's definitely been a factor this week, for many of us. But I think that through the 'suffering' of the heat and the work and the hard-to-deal-with "stuff" it's really bringing this rag-tag group from across the state closer and closer together. The youth held a meeting all together, and during the meeting I noticed that the "clumping" (subconscious grouping of black and white people) we were experiencing most of the trip had been totally dissolved, in many ways. We were in a room built for 10, all 32 of us, and I noticed that instead of the splotches of black and white had become one big group, black and white and every color in between.
As my good friend Chris Sime said "Guys, guys! We have achieved Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's dream, black and white siting in the same room, not arguing, not discriminating, but discussing how we, as a community, can break down the barriers." A short moment of silence followed, by great enthusiasm.
We have come many, many miles already, and have many more ahead of us, and as Bishop Curry said last night in his A-W-E-S-O-M-E sermon, quoting Harriet Tubman "...If you want to taste freedom, Just Keep Going!" I have high hopes for the next leg of our trip, and I especially look forward to having my own room and my own shower where I don't have to remember the "5 rules". Haha!
Parker Bailes
As a teenage girl, I can confidently say that a single shower can turn my whole day around, and nothing has made this more evident than the past few days. I've felt gross, disgusting, really, and yet, while sometimes I feel I'd give my soul to wash my hair, I know that this is all worth it. This is mostly because this trip is turning my whole life around. I may be without my comfort here at times, but so many others have never had it. From gleaning peas in a field to enduring the sweltering slave cabins at several plantations, I've come to know the discomfort of those that don't have the freedom to know anything else. Simply put, I'm learning. This learning is uncomfortable, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Elyse Head
PHOTOS LATER
Since our last blog, we have been to Fort Fisher near Wilmington, had a tour of Wilmington sites related to the Civil War, Restoration, Jim Crow, and Civil Rights. We have traveled to a restoration of Somerset Plantation in Creswell, and followed the trail of slave woman Harriet Jacobs in Edenton. We have seen a presentation on living conditions of farm workers in present-day eastern North Carolina, and gleaned peas and corn with the St. Andrews Society in a field next to two crews of Latino farm workers in other fields. We toured the capitol building in Raleigh as well as several sites at St. Augustine's College, after which we celebrated a jazz Eucharist where one of our leaders, Kim Lucas, presided, and Bishop Curry preached. This morning, we reflected on some slave narratives on the site of what was once the largest plantation in North Carolina--Stagville. Now we are enjoying some much needed down time, with a cool swim at a beautiful pool in Oxford.
Pete
It's hot... that's definitely been a factor this week, for many of us. But I think that through the 'suffering' of the heat and the work and the hard-to-deal-with "stuff" it's really bringing this rag-tag group from across the state closer and closer together. The youth held a meeting all together, and during the meeting I noticed that the "clumping" (subconscious grouping of black and white people) we were experiencing most of the trip had been totally dissolved, in many ways. We were in a room built for 10, all 32 of us, and I noticed that instead of the splotches of black and white had become one big group, black and white and every color in between.
As my good friend Chris Sime said "Guys, guys! We have achieved Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's dream, black and white siting in the same room, not arguing, not discriminating, but discussing how we, as a community, can break down the barriers." A short moment of silence followed, by great enthusiasm.
We have come many, many miles already, and have many more ahead of us, and as Bishop Curry said last night in his A-W-E-S-O-M-E sermon, quoting Harriet Tubman "...If you want to taste freedom, Just Keep Going!" I have high hopes for the next leg of our trip, and I especially look forward to having my own room and my own shower where I don't have to remember the "5 rules". Haha!
Parker Bailes
As a teenage girl, I can confidently say that a single shower can turn my whole day around, and nothing has made this more evident than the past few days. I've felt gross, disgusting, really, and yet, while sometimes I feel I'd give my soul to wash my hair, I know that this is all worth it. This is mostly because this trip is turning my whole life around. I may be without my comfort here at times, but so many others have never had it. From gleaning peas in a field to enduring the sweltering slave cabins at several plantations, I've come to know the discomfort of those that don't have the freedom to know anything else. Simply put, I'm learning. This learning is uncomfortable, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Elyse Head
PHOTOS LATER
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Janee & Megan!
So......
Our journey here has just begun and let's just say it has been a BLAST! We have learned a lot here on our first day around Wilmington and learned a lot about our culture today. We also have been goofing off and having a great time getting to know each other. As Osondu would say.... "PEACE OUT"!
Our journey here has just begun and let's just say it has been a BLAST! We have learned a lot here on our first day around Wilmington and learned a lot about our culture today. We also have been goofing off and having a great time getting to know each other. As Osondu would say.... "PEACE OUT"!
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