Like you, we at CBPS have been emotionally affected over the past couple of weeks by the death of George Floyd and by our fellow Americans’ expressions of outrage, grief, and solidarity.
In our work here in our Eastern Shore community, we know that some of our neighbors have suffered greater injustice due to racism or bias than can ever be fully recognized. We know that some people of goodwill may not understand this, due to limited experience or due to the blinders of their own troubles. We also know that most of us are far more complex than can possibly be defined by the dichotomies of oppressed versus oppressor, disenfranchised versus privileged, Black versus White (or Blue). In our work with our clients, wemeet people where they are, with whatever “baggage” they carry, to help them unpack a heavy burden or two, to lighten their load for the road ahead.
Yet as healers by profession, we at CBPS cannot ignore the poisonous impact that racism and bias have had, and still have, on the lives of people who have no choice but to suffer that toxicity. To treat a patient’s condition, first we must diagnose it. To heal the deep wounds of racism and bias in America, first we must acknowledge those wounds, however unpleasant they are to see.
Though imperfect, we at CBPS resolve to continue to strive to “be the change” we wish to see in the world—that is, while supporting all of our clients, to shoulder our part in America’s responsibility to work toward becoming a more just nation, “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
We invite you to join us by shouldering your part, however, you can. This need not be a call to civil disobedience, public outcry, or political action. You might answer this call by simply making a little more room in your heart for people who are different from yourself—by just giving someone the benefit of the doubt, by giving them a chance, by extending to them a little of the trust you might extend to someone who seems a lot like you.
It is a stressful time to live in America. As a nation, this year we were already stressed by divisive politics, a deadly pandemic, and an injured economy. Now salt has been poured into America’s racial wounds. Faced with these adversities, we have a choice. We may attack one another, or we may support one another. Divided, we fall. But united…we stand.
