Last night, I was in a room where it happens. I won’t say the room where it happens, because I believe there are many such rooms. But the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice (ICPJ) held its annual Harvest Dinner with a couple hundred people, and it was truly a room like that. With a great deal of connection and cross-pollination, relationships were forged and deepened. Multiple times, people said, “Look around this room,” inviting us to take in the scene. It was filled with community members who are change agents, activists, creatives, and people who love deeply. We had music and speeches that drew us together. We shared opportunities to applaud honorees who were presented with awards for their vision and work in our county.
Desirae Simmons, one of ICPJ’s Co-Directors, began her address by saying, “Gathering together is a radical act.” I appreciated that statement, and it felt undeniably true.
I also heard some additional quotes that will stay with me:
Shihab Jackson, recipient of the Anti-Racist Advocate Award, shared that our county includes 12% Black residents, but 40% of the county’s population experiencing homelessness are Black. Jackson then said, “Every trauma inflicted on our community deserves an equal and opposite level of joy.” We were invited into advocacy and joy together.
A Brighter Way is an organization that uplifts the experiences and leadership of people who have been formerly incarcerated. Through mentoring, they help each other to “find a brighter way and thrive.” Adam Grant, the Executive Director, said, “I believe justice is giving people what they need to be whole, not giving them what they ‘deserve’ because they haven’t been so.” He also added, “I don’t care what you’ve done; I care what you want to do. We’re not inviting people into avoidance. We’re inviting them into aspiration.” And then: “So many people have prayed for us. But don’t only do that in privacy, on the inside. Don’t only pray in the bedrooms. Pray for us in the boardrooms. That’s how we build change.” In great love for one another, the team of leaders at A Brighter Way lifted each other up with gratitude and with tears. Many of us in the room had those tears too.
Gathering together is truly a radical act. These gatherings create rooms where it happens.
— Renee Roederer
Smuggling Grace 