It's Time to Heal. Together.

Was the Harlem Renaissance a failure because it didn’t secure civil rights for African-Americans?

That was the question I dug into for my undergrad dissertation (longer ago than I might care to admit).

My answer to the question was a resounding no!

There was a huge amount of good that came from that rich cultural movement that was in its prime about 100 years ago: music (jazz and blues), poetry, novels, art, academia, and sport (Jack Johnson became the first black heavyweight boxing champion of the world during the period, shattering stereotypes).

But perhaps the best thing that came from the Harlem Renaissance was the inter-racial collaboration that occurred and what that meant in tackling hideously racist stereotypes.

It was the first time that many white Americans came to know, associate with and work with African-Americans.

The pernicious lies inherent within entrenched racist stereotypes simply couldn’t stand up to scrutiny!

The beauty of reaching out and getting to know people from different backgrounds and cultures is discovering that they’re remarkably similar to us!

I call this the people paradox: we’re all different, yet in some fundamental aspects we’re all the same.

We, as a human race, have a lot going on at the moment – a lot of problems that need solutions.

Let’s use our God-given uniqueness and diversity to come together to find those solutions as one body. United.

It’s time to heal. Together.