A discussion at the Selma Public Library

Summary: How does one rebuild a heart? It starts with creating a space to remember that people and communities can and do heal. Audio & image file below.

Background: From 1978-1987 I lived in Selma, Alabama. I benefitted greatly from Selma public schools and the Selma Public Library.  (One essay about my 6th grade teacher, Jean Jackson who is depicted in the upcoming film about Selma is found here: “Let it go.”)

In 2013 I was humbled to be invited to speak at a gathering at the Selma Public Library. In the audience would be many of the people who raised me: teachers, librarians, and classmates. These are also people who have faithfully served on the front lines of our community doing the hard work of real community-building within the spheres in which they operate. They have worked in this context for a very long time. The last thing one does with front-line community-building veterans is bore them or lecture them!  (Many people come to Selma to lecture its citizens, but ultimately this is rather silly as the citizens usually have much more practical experience in this sphere than those speaking.)

I wanted to honor my audience and share some of what I’d seen in other places about rebuilding hearts.

The audio is here and images that accompany it are just below.

Audio file, roughly 8 1/2 minutes

The .pdf file of images to accompany the audio can be found right here (7 MB)