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After
the Walk-- Next Steps
September
29, 2004 Slavery Reconciliation Walk Thru Annapolis is Only
a Beginning Step for the "First City of Healing"
The Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation's efforts will not
end with the Walk and the conclusion of the week-long events
scheduled to take place in Annapolis. The focus of the Slavery
Reconciliation Walk is on the Four Healing Steps, but the
long-term objective is to actively engage people in the
community in open dialogues and activities that support
and encourage results-oriented efforts leading to racial
healing.
The painful reality of the Walk serves as a reminder of
the pent up emotionally charged feelings that many of us
struggle with in today's society. The vision is to turn
that bitterness, fear, and mistrust into positive efforts
that reenergize and point Annapolis toward a direction that
will it to one day be called the "First City of Healing."
To achieve that dream, over the next few months the Foundation
will be launching two very important programs:
Reconciliation Study Circles use a time-honored method
of bringing people together (study circles) for productive
dialogue. These community-wide group gatherings will be
organized to develop action-oriented approaches for reconciliation
and healing. Within these settings, the agreed upon framework
will require that there will be no demonization or humiliation
of circle participants. Further the circle participants
must have a goal of leading toward action steps. The Reconciliation
Study Circles, broadly applied, can be a major catalyst
to other community action, which begins the process of building
a better community.
The ForgivenessConnection™ is a new way
to provide counseling and support to European and African
Americans seeking to find the tools, activities and other
resources to help build personal, community or organizational
paths to forgiveness and healing. The ForgivenessConnection™
will eventually exist in cyberspace, offsite programs and
tools, and in bricks and mortar. As we grow, the ForgivenessConnection™
will also be a go-to place for Europeans and Africans
around the Diaspora who are seeking to find paths toward
forgiveness and healing.
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