In May of 2008, I took a post-graduate course on Justice and Reconciliation at St. Mary’s Seminary. I chose to do my research on the race riots of 1968 in the wake of Martin Luther King’s assassination. Particularly, I wanted to understand how Baltimore reconciled after these traumatic events. The research didn’t produce much. There simply wasn’t much there. Baltimore did very little in terms of fostering healing conversation and reconciliation movements after the riots. My conclusion was this: The riots were a festering wound in the city’s history. If the wound wasn’t treated, we were bound to see it again.
Just two years later after this project, our city erupted again. This time, it erupted over the death of Freddie Gray. Baltimore became ground zero for unrest throughout the country. Now, five years removed, we wonder whether the wound still festers.
As I write this, our city is once again dealing with unrest. This time, it is over the tragic and unjust death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police offers. The wounds are once again reopened. But, what will we do now? We will go back to normal? Or will we really and truly deal with the wounds? And how, as followers of Jesus Christ, can the church be a part of the healing?
Now seems like an appropriate time to rethink this original project with you. But, in order to move forward, we have to understand where we’ve been. If not, history will continue to repeat itself.
It is a long read and there are some personal aspects to it. It was written 7 years ago, before I lived through two public protests in Baltimore. My thoughts have evolved accordingly. But, if it gets the dialog moving, it will be well worth it.