Weakley County Reconciliation Project Presents Youth Summit for Empathy and Compassion at Discovery Park of America

There is a verse in Genesis 50 where Joseph is speaking face to face with the brothers who sold him into slavery.  Life has flipped their circumstances. Joseph was once at their mercy, which resulted in his harm; they now find themselves at his mercy.  Joseph has every opportunity to do the same kind of harm, but instead he essentially says, “what you meant for evil, God has used for good - I will help you.”

This story in scripture is at the heart of the Youth Summit for Empathy and Compassion hosted by Weakley County Reconciliation Project at Discovery Park on April 27th.   The event was sparked by an incident at Discovery Park this past Christmas.  In a Christmas display where vintage notes to Santa Claus were hung, one teenager added lines that alluded to wanting a slave and a plantation for Christmas.  Discovery Park CEO Scott Williams described the events like a parable.  The first person walked by and placed a photo on SnapChat.  The second person did something about it. Discovery Park and the Weakley County Reconciliation Project wanted to continue the good work of doing something about it.

So, on a Sunday night in April we gathered with around 100 youth and adults from Weakley, Obion and Henry County to do the work of writing a different story.  We believe the work of fighting racism is work that must be done in our hearts.  We cannot demonize people, instead, we must learn how to recognize actions, behaviors and patterns that continue to perpetuate racist behavior.  This is long slow work, but we have to start somewhere.

Our evening kicked off with tours led by Michael Larkins of Discovery Park, which invited participants to think about the many interwoven narratives of the museum's artifacts. While we might understand one layer of significance for any given thing, we must recognize that there is always more to the story than we know. 

Quincey Porter, of McCabe United Methodist, led a powerful time of Gospel rap and testimony that invited us to remember that we don’t have to give in to this world's expectations. We are all made in God's image, and we all have gifts to give. We must know our worth if we are ever to see everyone through the eyes of God’s love.

Next up we heard from Dwight Johnson, of Preston Taylor Ministries, who guided us through a framework that can help us bust through “us versus them” mentalities.  “We can’t keep people away from tables we didn’t even create,“ he reminded us.  For Christians engaging in this work, it is critical for us to remember that all of us are dependent on the mercy, grace, and abundance of God.  Therefore, rather than dividing ourselves into the hierarchical structures of the world, we are invited to adopt a “we” mindset.  And, as much as we can agree to that idea on the surface, to truly do this work requires courageous honesty, extraordinary patience, and deep investment.

After a pizza break with pies supplied by Snappy Tomato, Merry Brown, of 3P Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services, guided us through an opportunity to practice precisely the work Dwight invited us to. Through interactive activities, honest questions, and table discussion, we delved into sharing our own experiences and hearing the experiences of others.  Participants told stories that revealed the different experiences we might have in our schools, communities, and even churches based on the color of our skin.  Courageous students shared encounters that made them feel othered, and people spoke honestly of their questions about problems they hadn’t recognized before. 

To wrap up the night, the FLOOD college ministry of Refreshing Church led the group in a letter-writing activity.  The letter to Santa sparked the event… but we wanted to write letters that told a different story.  Youth and adults wrote to God, their community, and even Santa, expressing their wish for empathy and compassion rather than division and hate.  They shared words like,

“Dear Reader… I want you to know you are love, you are respected, you matter!”

“Dear Santa… we create a new way forward through the power of proximity… help me be a  helper of my neighbors…”

“To Whom it may concern… if I would listen to a person who has racist behavior and try to hear their story without judgement nor anger, perhaps this would be a great beginning…”

“Dear God…Help us to own the places where we have done harm and to heal in the places where harm has been done.   Guide us in courageous conversations filled with empathy, compassion, and love.”`

While the first Youth Summit was a fantastic start, we all agree this is just the beginning of the continued courageous conversations and truth-telling that need to be done to own the hurt and harm that has been done, even right here, and to begin the work of healing. The Weakley County Reconciliation Project continues to be committed to offering opportunities for us to share the truth of the harmful effects of racism on everyone and to offer a way forward toward healing together.  There are conversations in place for future youth and leadership training events.

Area churches who had members participate were: McCabe United Methodist, Paris First United Methodist Church, New Hope Youth Choir - Paris, TN, Refreshing Church - Martin, Martin First United Methodist Church, St. Jude Catholic Church, and New Vision Baptist Church.

Local organizations and community members that set up tables were: Weakley County Reconciliation Project, NWTN Local Food Network, Weakley County Prevention Coalition, Beverly & Nikki Claybrooks, and Quincey Porter.

For more information about WCRP, email us at: weakleyreconciliation@gmail.com or check out our website at: www.weakleyreconciliation.com.

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