Be the Bridge: Pursuing God's Heart for Racial Reconciliation

by LaTasha Morrison

reconciliation work is difficult. It’s challenging. It’s painful. That is why so few sign up for it, why so many people of color remain silent, and why our White friends hold back instead of coming alongside us. It’s messy. It requires vulnerability, humility, and courage. For many people, this kind of work represents death to the belief systems they’ve held since childhood. For others, it feels like an inward uprooting, a deconstructing. For some, the history of their own oppression brings shame. I understand the difficulty. I know the sacrifices this work requires. I know that with every word I speak in this highly charged racial environment, I run the risk of becoming “that girl” or, worse yet, “that angry Black girl.” As a result of my commitment to truth and reconciliation, I have dealt with people, family members, and associates who have rejected me. Many of my White brothers and sisters have also felt the sting of others’ pushback against their bridge building. They’ve entered into the hard work of acknowledging their own systemic privileges, repenting of them, righting wrongs, and moving into restorative reconciliation. In doing so, they’ve taken heat from their White friends. They’ve been called names. They’ve been told there’s no reason to repent from wrongs so far back in history, no reason to stir up the past. Their churches have labeled them “liberal” or “leftist” or “snowflakes.” Still, they’ve continued to press into the work and become strong allies. They h...