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Day 1, Ash Wednesday: Standing on Ashes

Repentance is a discipline Americans have never been good at practicing. Our country was built on the backs of slaves, built on land belonging to Native Americans, built by conquest, and conquest rarely happens without violence. We burned this country into existence, forged it from fire, nourished it with blood. Our nation stands on ashes.
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A Letter to My White Ignatian Family

Editor's Note: Today's reflection is written by Kristen Trudo, a 15-16 Jesuit Volunteer, and was inspired by her recent experiences working in St. Louis, Missouri. Read her previous reflection about her JV experience here. Dear You, Writing about race scares me. I’m intimidated by the misconception that my words represent the experience of an entire race of people. I know they don’t. But I also know that some people will assume that they do. You are white. So perhaps this does not resonate with you. I believe that one must write anyways, though. And my objective is simple: I once heard that “justice is the minimum of love.” So I suppose I am challenging you, as a person of the Ignatian family, to not speak of love until you can first work for justice.

Tamir Rice Still Speaks. Are We Listening?

This summer, I looked square in the eyes at the pain caused by Tamir Rice’s death. While working as an intern for Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (the congressional representative for the Cleveland area), I talked to constituents who were absolutely heartbroken for their community and frustrated by government leaders’ lack of action. Of course, the police brutality and violence they faced was nothing new. While the rest of the city was just waking up to instances of police brutality, it had been their reality for years. The death of Tamir, though, reopened old wounds in an unexpectedly visceral way.