Technology has connected localities with a global community. With that, divisive walls have become evident. At times, these barriers can seem impenetrable.
But while daunting, there’s a solution. Open dialogue can span the divide of politics, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation and race.
In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” author Harper Lee described this bridge well: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from (their) viewpoint, until you climb inside (their) skin and walk around in it.”
Through communication, perspectives are shared. And with a fresh perspective, a better understanding of what others experience is fostered.
Recently, a local organization put Lee’s philosophy into action.
On Sunday morning, about 20 people gathered at the First Congregational Church in Greenfield to hear a panel on racism, aging and health care. The event, which was hosted by the volunteer advocacy group Racial Justice Rising, hosted three speakers who shared personal experiences with racism. A fourth speaker spoke about racial challenges in the home health care industry, which is predominantly a non-white workforce.
Hellen Petties, a 20-year Greenfield resident who raised her two children in the city, recounted being called a racial expletive multiple times when crossing Main Street. More recently, Petties said she asked a neighbor to turn down their music and was told to “go back to her country.”
Another speaker, Don Wright, said that he was recently making a return at a local store when he was advised, “You look like an honest man, you’re free to go.”
Wright, who is a facilitator of the national SEED project that uses dialogue and education to facilitate understanding, said the interaction struck him deeply.
“It just brought back 200 years,” he said, alluding to America’s history of white people telling black people when they could be free.
A third panelist, Yenna Yi, who was born in Korea and has lived in Colrain for the past 15 years, related a few racially charged interactions she has experienced within health care settings. While acting as an advocate for her mother, for example, Yi said she was once treated rudely by a doctor, who initially dismissed all of her questions about her mother’s treatment.
While working locally as a therapist, Yi recounted greeting a new clinician, who ignored Yi until it was apparent that she was a qualified member of the office.
Unfortunately, the bane of racism persists in our society. Communication can erode its grip.
“I think it’s important for dialogue to happen,” Petties said, noting that, through conversation, people are given a chance to explore how their social background might negatively impact others.
Not everyone can relate to the stories shared by Petties, Wright and Yi. But everyone can listen to them, and, as Petties said, “Commit themselves to making change.”