Denver Catholic

want to have homilies about racism, even if there's pushback and people say, "well, none of us here are racist," That's still something that needs to be spoken to. To be willing to be that advocate means having to step out of your comfort zone and to be able to hear some truths that although you may not agree with or may not be part of your experience, it is the reality for others. JANAYE: There's still things that you can continue to learn. A lot of times I think we fall back on our educational system, and from my perspective, there's shortcomings in that, in the way that they tell the history and how they capture part of it, but not all of it. So educating yourselves, but also families; I think that's the biggest thing for me, is talking about it as a family, bringing the issue of race into the home because there's such a taboo around it. If we normalize it, then people can address difference in a different way. It's really just about educating yourself, educating your kids, your friend groups. It's not as visible a form of solidarity as a lot of people would like to see or would like to practice, but in my mind, it's one of the most impactful on a long term scale that we can have. DUSTIN: I'd like to see all of my fellow Catholic peers take a little time to be a little more sensitive to the history, because when you know the history, you see how deeply it impacts the minds and hearts of the black community. This isn't a George Floyd issue; this is the last five times this happened. This is a constant virus; this is a virus that just keeps re-infecting situations again and again, and no two are alike. There's always more to the story than what the news says, but there is a there is a real evil that's hidden in these situations. I would ask my peers to first just understand a little bit of the history and not get locked in on this particular situation here, but see it as a timeline. Look at the timeline of the issues, whether with the police or otherwise, that's spanned quite a ways back, all the way to slavery, and just have a little taste and sensitivity of that history. And then with prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, look at a situation where people are saying "Black Lives Matter" with compassion and empathy before you start getting into the logos or the philosophical. Make sure that you don't allow the evil one or the enemy of our soul to hijack this once again and create schism. I think it's interesting that there's a schematic component to racism. Racial schism is another way I would phrase it. Once something terrible happens to a community, to a race of people, that affects them, that's a racism thing, I think the enemy takes that and tries to create even more schism. Until you experience it, you really don't know what it feels like. And when you do feel it, it's kind of like a kick in the stomach. Maybe we disagree. Maybe there are parts of the story that need to be more thoroughly examined. But that will never happen until we can have that sympathy and that compassion. Understand the history, be empathetic and compassionate, and then realize that in order to win the battle against the enemy himself, you have to keep that bridge and that connection going. 9 DENVER CATHOLIC | JUNE 13-26, 2020

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