Roy Lloyd: Combating Racism

Racism eats away at the core of what it means to be fully human.  And combating racism takes more than not acting in a bigoted way. 

The world's religions teach about love of neighbor, but it must be more than an abstract notion.  That commitment starts to become concrete through renouncing what divides us-one skin tone from another. 

Beyond that, there's an actual price that must be paid to even begin to repair the breach created by treating people as property. 

So I'm grateful that there are a few-very faint!-flickers of acknowledgment about beginning to repay that debt. 

One is the recent admission by Georgetown University, founded by the Jesuits, that it sold slaves to underwrite the school.  Georgetown will begin a process of assisting the descendents of those who were auctioned off. 

Ending racism is a sacred mission coming from our deepest and most profound values.  Doing so provides a path to reclaiming the core of our human spirit. 

This is Roy Lloyd.

_ Originally presented as a commentary on 1010 WINS in New York, NY. _