We have been deeply shaped by the stories we’ve told ourselves about God. We have also been shaped by the stories we’ve told ourselves about ourselves. The victor wrote our history. Celebrating the heroes of our nation’s founding, the crafters of our national story marked its progression through a timeline of military conquests and economic exploits. The stories of the conquered and exploited have rarely risen to a height to be heard or seen beyond family and local community. These marginalized narratives must be pushed to the center. We must see them. We must reckon with them. These stories unearth the details of how and why and where racial hierarchy was built and protected. These stories raise a primal scream that cuts to the bone and reveals the depths and contours of our shattered national soul.
From “Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World–and How to Repair It All” by Lisa Sharon Harper