6500 people of protestant, catholic, jewish faith. In his opening comments reflected that we are here to speak with one voice, our deep religious convictions about the dignity of man and rights of all men. What are Congress Considers in terms of public policy, we uphold in terms of Human Dignity. He concluded by saying that this assembly is but a beginning, we have embarked on a crusade that will not be ended until every american has given equal right, equal opportunities of full recognition of her or his Human Dignity. In these words the call is as urgent today as it was 53 years ago. It animates our ongoing commitment to grappling with our historic participation in the institution of slavery. The call that commands us to address with greater vigor, the legacies of racism, segregation and discrimination that persists. A call that inspires a reflection, or action, and our Work Together as university community. I wish to express my appreciation for your presence this evening. Its a privilege to be here. [applause] please join in singing amazing grace, found in your program. Please stand. Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me i once was lost but now im found was blind, but now i see to is grace that taught my heart to fear and grace, my fears relieved how precious did that grace appear, the hour i first believed. The lord has promised good to me, his word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be, as long as life endures. Through many dangers, toils and snares, i have already calm. Calm. Is grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead us home. When we been there 10000 years, bright shining as the sun. Is no less days to sing gods praise, than that when we first be gone up. The in the shadow of rabbi and all the generations of rabbis who fought for justice before me it is my privilege to pay with you tonight. Blessed are you god, spirits and breath of all that lived. Open our eyes this day and every day to see your light, dear god as it shines through every human being. Help us recognize the inherent dignity and quality, radiance and life of all the human family. Blessed are you god who guides our footsteps. Guide us this day toward wholeness, move us away from the racism that divides us and cuts us off from one another and from you. Travis away from the equivocation that honors the divine image and some but i notn others. Blessed are you god gives us strength. Strength and our courage to turn inward and see ourselves as we are in turn outward to pursue the world as it should be. Strengthen us to protect and plead one anothers call. Blessed are you god. Takes care of her o every knee. Bless us and our gathering tonight. Bless us to hear hard truths tonight bravely. If our hearts begin to harden, soften us. If we begin to recoil, or just towards one another and empathy. For this is what you desire for us. Quiet our minds, ready our spirits, for the hard work the world needs us to do. May we be comforted by the knowledge that you are with us every step of the way. Bad be your will and maybe hours. Amen. Please be seated. Good evening. My name is john, im director of the initiative and im honored to partner with our colleagues. Thank you rabbi for the moving prayer. You can tell we are in interfaith community. With saying all the verses of the song. [laughter] i want to say thanks to president joy and his initiative and leadership in many areas. He talked about how we are wrestling was with this in georgetown. Many of you know it has taken a very personal realities with a broader understanding of the sale of human beings to support the college and university. People ask why has georgetowns response been different than other places. There are many reasons. There are two things that we have to think about. One is religious convictions about human life and dignity, but human rights and justice, about solidarity that gives us a different way to look at the world. And the other is the guidance of our president s who took this headon to find a way forward. It took a long time to get here. Moral principles and leadership i things we need to confront racism. Religious institutions and people are part of the problem and elements of the solution. Think about it. People relied on the bible to justify slavery. The clan burned the cross to intimidate africanamericans and catholics and jews. On the hand, the abolitionists, Martin Luther king jr. Was reverent. Cardinal boyle stood up in difficult times. The card on the pastoral letter said step forward. Archbishop gregory step forward. Were here to talk about others ideas and institutions and leadership can make a difference. We have a Remarkable Group of people. One is the pastor. The fact that it only says something about him and us. Tim wallace who has been a leader, preacher, writer, and advocate on this issue for his life. And doctor marcia who has in her teaching and scholarship and also in her leadership on this campus and elsewhere has helped us find a way forward. We will be joined by a hero, someone called the conscious of the congress and representative lewis has a day job. In fact we are assured he is on his way here. So we have hard questions, we have elements of responses and a great group of people to help us. Archbishop, you went to charlottesville after those horrible days. He said as i recall that we have to find better ways to talk about the r word, racism. You live your life, ministered, that with discrimination in your own situation. When my favorite things that he decided he wanted to be a priest before he was catholic. Testament to the power of Catholic Schools in the innercity. I words when he was president and he provided tremendous leadership. I personally will never forget at a time when the church was on trial and i was the parent of young sons, he stood up on sexual abuse and insisted on accountability and change in the church. A pastor courage and a lot of that has come in the area of Racial Justice. So when you say we have trouble talking about racism, what did you mean . How should we be talking about it . Theyre trying to make the case that we can talk about tough issues through civil dialogue, when we find it hard . Should we do to overcome our avoidance of the r word. Defended difficult in the history of this nation because they become so polarized. In some ways we have lost the ability to speak civilly to one another. Like is difficult because the issue of racism at its core is a spiritual difficulty. Spiritual moment. Like any spiritual moment, it calls us to conversion. We are freedom anyways to talk about the race question and talk about racism with one another because it might reveal that what we thought we understood, we dont understand. Thats part of a spiritual conversion, to acknowledge that what we thought we possess that made us feel secure, we dont. When young men with torches march through the streets of charlottesville saying you will not replace it. When young black men lose their lives in our cities in conflict with police and broader violence, when as president joy said, africanamericans are twice as likely to be jobless in the city and infant mortality is twice as high for africanamerican babies. If its a spiritual conversion, how to those reality shape not only our spiritual response but our personal, or public response . Part of this moment in our responses there have been moments within our history, recent history where we reached a moment. Whether it was a civil rights, voiding rights act and so much hope in achieving that threshold that we confuse it. The disappointment we find ourselves facing the same issues, and sometimes even more complex issues that we thought if we could only connect this piece of legislation, if this young articulate african man can be elected president , surely we have crossed the threshold. These events cause us to doubt that we might ever be able to achieve those moments of real and deep spiritual reconciliation. You talk about spiritual conversion and whether well cross that bridge. What are the roles and responsibilities of religious institutions in this period were in a chapel not a lecture hall. We begin with song and prayer not a political call to arms. Pope francis seems to be a universal leader who can touch her conscience in ways that many others cannot. Whats the responsibility of religious institutions and what can we learn from religious leaders but for civic and political and community leaders. What is his message . I think pope francis and doctor king said the role of faith is to accompany people. To walk with them lifes journey and only not only just walk with them, challenge them. Its the work of evangelization and inviting people to conversion earlier it was reference that doctor king, the world refers to him as doctor king is first referencing. That his leadership was primarily a spiritual leadership. Theres no question that he was directly involved with the civil changes that took place as part of the silver Rights Movement. But he was first of all one who spoke to the heart of our nation about the spiritual values that were being ignored. Marcia, your scholar professor at georgetown. You are a native of chicago. This is atlanta night but also chicago night at georgetown. Youve received many awards for your teaching. Youve written an incredible book about young africanamerican girls growing up yet, but i want to ask about is the experience of serving on this working group. Almost all of us walked in and off to the right is isaac caulkins hall. It used to be called milady ho home. Who is father milady . Who is Isaac Hawkins . And why is that important . When you think about the work that we did, for a number of us it was an exploration into the history of georgetown and the jesuits in the United States. Father milady was an American Catholic in a time when American Catholics were not clear about the question of slavery. Who is also a leader at Georgetown University who had a choice. The choice pivoted round human beings. That was the 272 men, women, and children to reconcile for the debt for georgetown. Its really important for us to understand why we made the decision to rename not only milady home to Isaac Hawkins hall. These two halls in the renaming of important for other institutions to resist the false idolatry to building confederate statues and flakes. The symbol in our culture that people devoting these things rather than thinking about the spiritual conversions. To say that we are no longer going to put a place of honor for this person who had a legitimate choice in a moment would catholics are grappling about the question of slavery amid the choice that was the most nefarious and fundamental in strengthening slavery. Lower talking is a group about the renaming were also thinking about the powerful character of isaac in the pipe on the sacrifice. If we imagine our institutions have been predicated on human life and dignity and perhaps there be a different relationship to her institution and each other. The second is named after emery she establishes go for africanamerican girls. Having a memorial on campus tour helps us remember the racial composition of georgetown. And to imagine a person whos living free life and watching her brothers and sisters. The complexity and challenge that both of the figures lived with. During that Human Dignity in a world that cannot see that is one of the ways the process can animate and help students understand why we pursue the education we do here at georgetown. So people would say that the simple and making that judgment as they made their judgment a long time ago, what are the attitudes and behaviors . What are the actions we have to take to not talk about the legacy years ago but deal with the reality today. You study the sum of this, separate from faith. If you dont believe what was being talked about, what are the moral qualities . What are the civic virtues swinging to deal with a time like this . At the heart of White Supremacy with think about the power it tries to consolidate. What has happened in our nation as we have conversations about unending legacy and what we do about racism today. We dont have the leadership that saying to us, its not just about a conversion of your heart, its about the restoration of your own Human Dignity. Think a person who has invested themselves has no idea of their own Human Dignity. We havent lived in that context that provides the moral inventory. I may bring up the election. Thats what i do. This past election was a moment where we went from a real shock and then a three ring circus about reaching across the aisle. Instead of saying, take a moment think about the consequences of your power and its predicated on the power and what we sit with that. The problem with the antiracist work is that it is wellintentioned but it never requires anything of the person sinking conversion. No moral wrestling no real reconciliation. In terms of people organized around religious communities, and at the only ones with access to the moral question. Any member of this community has to grapple with that question. When we decide there just for the churchy folks we lose sight of the vision and our capacity to see this through. But we did at georgetown was instructive but husband says the more you can tolerate negative emotions of others, the better you do in the world. Thats really hard to do. But never as a nation have we sat with the negative emotion of what White Supremacy has done in the we think healing as possible. And its not. I love many things about you. You say tough things in ways that if i descend instead a push us away. Nobody likes a grim dogooder. And you call us to justice, you say joyful justice. I never thought those words went together. But someone who is a practice of that is jim wallace, hes a friend, a bestselling author, colleague, baseball coach, he coached other peoples kids thats as close as you get to purgatory in this life. But you talked about moral wrestling. This is a man who is done moral wrestling since his teenage years gore growing up in michigan where he asked her questions about segregation and discrimination and got involved with the black church. He has written 12 bucks which is almost as hard as coaching for 11 years. Your latest book is americas original sin. Racism, White Privilege on the bridge to the new america. I have my copy i suggest you get one. Why is racism americas original sin . What is your understanding of White Privilege . What is the bridge to the new america when a lot of people simply want to make America Great again. When i realize we would have this in chapel was very grateful. This is a great place for this conversation. Particularly in the last few years it is clear we are not going to get where we need by just talking politics. We need to talk about theology and go deeper. Whats at stake is the soul of the nation. As well as the integrity of faith. Father and i were doing the Racial Justice week at marquette. He said to the students, how many of you white students have ever heard racism named and called the sin from the pulpits. Yes that all the time. Almost no white students raise their hand. We heard about conversion this and we dont talk about. Wasnt just slavery, it was the kind of slavery that we created. We wipe christians in particular because he said you cant do it or doing. If you believe people are made in the image of god so great risk continuing threat mass incarceration, healthcare, education, jobs. Its about the image of god. You mentioned Little League baseball coaching. But White Privilege, every black pair ive ever coach for 22 seasons every black player i ever knew has had the talk with their dad or mom of how to behave in the presence of a police officer. What to do, not to do, how to hold your hands, and my weight players ever had that talk with mom and dad. And very few of their parents, white parents even knew what was going on. The talk. The talk is everywhere. Its about what black parents have to tell their kids. White privilege, safety. I cant tell you activist academics they talk about White Privilege they talk about their kids and how the dont feel safe for their kids walking out the door for any door in the city. So the answer is repentance. That word is important in jewish and islamic traditions. Doesnt mean you feel guilty or sorry. It means turning around and going in a new direction. What we say in chapel about sin, repentance, and conversion has to be turning around things and placing systems. Education, healthcare, thats the test thats the test of our words here. What are words in our hearts . This nation isnt going to get to the bridge if it doesnt go deeper into policy. Two weeks ago i had the privilege of going down to see its an upscale lovely place i was gonna go play golf and then the game was worthy when i was stressed to go play golf Young White Lady came and asked me she asked wheres the restaurant the presumption was that if a black man was at the colony, no matter how he was stressed so that was that he was a staffer. The presumption, is it possible that this black man so is this man here to play golf like my husband, the presumption is the opposite. It takes on what youre saying about White Privilege is the importance of black parents speaking to their children about this is how you must behave in the events that were stopped for a ticket. You for the inability to reach is anything but a servant so then imagine a world with housing discrimination, they can even get there. I think something that i found people asking what can i do. They want them assigning a book. What can i do, we no longer engage this question. Its more important to look about what you have done. What are the choices youre making that it caused harm. After he spent time with that, what are you willing to do. What is your imagination allow you to think about in terms of doing the work. We have to think that the prescriptions x, y, and z. We have to wrestle with the fact that our behavior has caused limitations to imagination. Once we deal with the we can imagine that on a larger scale. The solution is not superficial. Its in the heart and soul. The chief executive has the same stories. Peopl