A Public Reflection

For quite a while now, we at the Social Justice Initiative (SJI) have been struggling to write a Statement in response to the growing number of immeasurable atrocities and injustices occurring all around us since our earlier Statement on Racial Injustice. While the SJI is located at Bryn Mawr College here in Pennsylvania, we have purposely also partnered with kindred others in the broader community to create Space and make Time for sharing perspectives and enacting practices that deepen our collective ability to best understand, convene dialogues, and respond.

We join with all of you reading this now in grieving the devastatingly senseless loss of Lives everywhere. We recognize the various shapes that violence can take: individual abuse at home, at work, or on the streets; communities without basic resources needed for survival; legislation that enshrines the inequitable treatment of people and communities; and conflicts between nations that increasingly escalate into war. Moreover, we recognize the immediate and multigenerational impact such violence can have on individuals and communities physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. And we also recognize the need to take collective responsibility for past and current harms.

The ongoing acts of blatant and subversive violence, perpetuated through inequities and inequalities, have contributed to the SJI’s inability to “write a public statement;” we can never put an end – literally a period – at the end of such a statement. Just as when any of us thinks we have seen and spoken about “it all,” something else horrific happens, extending the list of atrocities we had earlier acknowledged.

Yet we know that silence can be misunderstood as complacency and even compliance. With that in mind, we turn from the idea of a Statement toward drafting this Public Reflection of both outrage and hope, of both fear and faith, honoring and holding the tensions that exist between these states of Being.

The SJI will continue to seek meaning “full” interconnections with individuals, organizations, and communities, locally, nationally, and globally, steadfastly committed to doing our part in bettering the Quality of Life for all.

We at (y)our SJI believe that it is precisely during times of violence that Community becomes most important. The SJI is such a Community, one grounded in the practice of dialogue as a central tool to (re)imagine and to co-create a world in which all Life is valued; a Community deliberately working toward everyone having the opportunity to engage in the processes of Self- and Other forgiveness and demonstrations of courage and compassion, learning and living the components of cultural humility and radical love. As our College has affirmed, we must all “condemn written, visual, oral, and physical attacks in all forms,” and stay “mindful of the humanity and the lived experiences that others bring to the table.”

To the SJI, dialogue isn’t just about talking. It’s about connecting, together creating communities that are responsive to the needs of everyone, providing opportunities for healing, reconciliation, and restoration. 

We know that while this is easy to say, admittedly it’s hard to do – and even harder to sustain. Yet risking to engage in open-minded and open-hearted exchanges that include candor, transparency, and authenticity in Community with others is exactly what is needed, and especially now. 

At the SJI we look forward to the day when we are able to put a period even at the end of these kinds of Public Reflections, as we continue to live into the practices of peace and justice, for all.

Thank you for walking with us on this journey of deep courage and great heart as we strive to individually let our Lives speak as together we act, recognizing that for right now reflections like this one will end with 

To Be Continued …

A Statement on Racial Injustice

During these unprecedented times of both high uncertainties and tragic realities, Social Justice Initiative remains committed to its vision: utilizing the Four Pathways to best see the ways of advancing the knowledge, values, and skills of those who seek to co-create a more just world for themselves and their communities. 

Over the recent years, our global understanding of the need for healing has deepened as we fight against the widespread and deadly invasion of the COVID-19 pandemic. This microscopic virus and its variants has ensured that we are no longer able to deny the chronicity of multiple healthcare disparities and inequities. Even more recently we have all been reminded of our need to heal from another pandemic, one that has existed for as long as time itself– the infectious agents of Anti-Black racism and hate.

The SJI is unequivocal when we say "Black Lives Matter". We know that until we address the racial injustice of African-Americans, justice for everyone everywhere remains endangered and precarious.

We remember Eric Garner, Botham Jean, Tatiana Jefferson, Eric Reason, Dominique Clayton, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Amadou Diallo and and countless others who senselessly lost their lives to police violence. We must remain steadfast in our commitment to doing our part in effecting genuine justice for all.

The SJI knows that the components of social justice can be taught, learned, embodied, and enacted within and among individuals and communities. We remain hope 'full' that now there will be the shared will to do so.

We thank you for continuing to be a part of our SJI Community, embracing you all as much needed Social Justice Warriors. We wish that you and everyone in your hearts stay safe and well in all ways, and look forward to our remaining connected.