“The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work.” – Toni Morrison
Earlier this month I had BIG PLANS to do a weekly blog on some of St. Paul AME church’s notable members as part of the congregation’s 150th anniversary celebration. I did two. Then I started seeing disturbing reports from one of our summer interns about racism in our college town. I was sad and angry, but not shocked. Racism has been a part of my experience with this particular town, too. So, I’ve been busy throwing whatever support I can to Grinnell College’s global majority students: I contributed to the gofundme, I slowed down reunion planning (on TWO committees!), and I’ve been in conversation with folks trying to figure out how to improve the situation.
While I didn’t bust out as many blogs and social media posts as I had hoped, Black History Research Collective is keeping it moving: Last week I attended a Grants Resource Opportunity Workshop (GROW) at the Evelyn K. Davis Center to get some help with our fundraising. We’ve got exciting new partnerships in the works with Dr. Sarah Purcell from Grinnell College and Des Moines North High School’s Silvercord Program. We’ve also received our first donation from our friends at Blu Pagoda, LLC!
I’m not giving up on the St. Paul AME sesquicentennial series: 2022 isn’t over yet.
