Yeah, I like Star Wars, but I’m not a nerd.
Yesterday I met with Tony and Miss Mabel. They are the actual physical manifestation of the North Tulsa Heritage Foundation. Their purpose is to educate the community about our heritage particularly as it applies to north Tulsa. Now I don’t live in north Tulsa but as I confessed I’ve been spending a lot of time up there lately. I have begun to feel that for me personally the heritage of north Tulsa is important to us as a city, a state, a nation and as a people of God.
All this week I’ve been depressing you with stories of injustice and violence. Today I want you to know that Tony and Miss Mabel represent the hope of this important issue. I felt very comfortable in the upstairs office of the Mabel B. Little Heritage House. Miss Mackey and Tony shared with me their vision for educating more people about the Tulsa race riot. Their objective is not to shame us into guilt or fear, but to create an opportunity for people to think about how they relate to each other particularly as different races. They are especially passionate about reaching children because children have the tendency to be brutally honest and they don’t carry with them the same prejudices that jade us as adults.
I’ll be honest with you, I still struggle with the idea of reconciling races. It seems so utopian and unobtainable. But after my meeting yesterday I began to feel as though there is hope. Tony made a statement that really helped me to see where we as a society can begin to turn the tide and move toward more racial harmony.
“You can redirect your thinking through education.”
I like that. I think its a great place to start.
So what do you need to learn?
There are a lot of goals that God’s people have that are utopian and unobtainable. I believe that is part of having faith. Longing for things that we know are impossible. If He gives us the desire, we have to be faithful to do our part and let Him do the rest. We all have to start with our own hearts though and let Him work there. That is what you are doing and it is very good. I feel the same way about gender issues, if you want the truth. Will I ever just be a Christian, or will I always feel like a second class citizen? I have never felt that way in my life until I got involved in ministry. But I gotta keep loving and keep trusting God will make things better.
tawny-great point. I was reminded of this issue a couple of months ago by Anne Jackson. Check a post from her blog here:
http://www.flowerdust.net/2008/05/01/guest-blogger-no-girls-allowed/
Thanks Kenyon. Go look at the last comment on there.
Doh! My bad.
That’s ok, it was fun to read again now that I “know” more of those people now.
[...] familiar with the Tulsa Race Riot then you should go back and read these posts here, here, here and here. You can find the official state historical report on the race riot [...]