Night of a Thousand Conversations Teach-In

Night Of A Thousand Conversations

Reparations Teach-In/Facilitator’s Guide

Introduction

The Grassroots Reparations Campaign invites you to participate in a season of A Thousand Conversations (SOTC) that leads to and supports #ReparationSunday or #ReparationSabbath. As part of building a culture of reparations every year, we encourage communities to deepen their spiritual practice of reparations during a period of reflection and preparation for #ReparationSunday or #ReparationSabbath in August and December. Beginning December 2nd, the UN International Day for the Abolition of Slavery leading to December 19, Reparations Sabbath or Sunday, we ask you to hold conversations, teach-ins and discussions to lay the foundation for communities to honor the call of for racial justice in America and across the globe.

Given reparations are a spiritual practice that requires personal accountability to repair moral and material harm, we call upon healing from religious, spiritual, faith, ethically-based communities to lead and support a growing movement toward justice and to atone for their role in remaining complicit in systems of injustice.

When performed in the service of healing, justice and unity, reparations becomes a relational practice of healing. This year we culminate with our fifth Reparations Sunday to be held on December 18 and 19. This date marks Jubilee Freedom Day, which honors the liberation of some 25,000 or more people from bondage when Union forces reached the coast of Georgia. In the spirit of this day we are asking you to sign the petition to support the renaming of Calhoun Square to Suzie King Taylor in Savannah, Georgia to honor the unmarked African burial ground and the legacy of her name.

Resources for prayers and spiritual texts for applying spiritual principles that support reparations in various faith traditions can be found here. Resources for White People Reflecting and Taking Action on Reparations can be found here. Consider planning a reparations Sunday for your own faith community or attending one of the Reparations Sabbath or Sunday events here or here.

This Season of a Thousand Conversations Teach-In/Reparations Facilitator’s Guide is designed to provide structure and guidance for (approx.) 1.5 hours of conversation about full reparations. Click here to watch a past Reparations Sunday event.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89868600070