Van moves us all to the core!

A heartfelt Good Afternoon (1:40 p.m. here in California, USA) to all you incredible Facilitators and Community Leaders out there!

This morning has been quite a journey for those of us here at the Gathering. We launched right into an extraordinary presentation from Van Jones of the Ella Baker Center, a treasured ally in our work and famous to us all through his words in the Symposium. Van brought his heart and soul, shared his truth and brought us face to face with parts of our world and ourselves that are hard to confront. He spoke of the reality of the social and racial injustice of which we only touch the tip of the iceberg of, in the Symposium.

He acknowledged our courage in taking on issues of social justice in the first place and being willing to go deeper. He also shared his early warnings to Lynne, Tracy and others that this would be a difficult task, that we might not be ready for such a deeply painful undertaking. Throughout Van's emotional sharing it became increasing evident that he was going to throw it all out on the table, no holding back. We wept with Van as he reminded us of the history of abandonment and betrayal experienced by black people during the 1960's and since in the fight for civil rights.

We were implored to listen and truly hear the voices of those in the category of "other", those who share our world and suffer directly everyday due to the injustices of our current culture and economic system. It is our responsibility to understand the history of imperialism, colonialism, slavery, oppression, white supremacy and the impacts of centuries of racism and the other "isms" which plague our society today. We can, and must now step up to the plate, understand and face our history for our collective survival. It is time to come back to the table with people of color from a place of humility, respect, service, openness and willingness to learn.

Van brought it home that the racist lives inside of each of us, the oppressor is not "out there" but "in here". It is up to each one of us to transform ourselves through our spiritual work which will be the bridge to the possibility of truly effective progress in the realm of social justice.