Dear Second Tuesday Friends,
I am hopeful that during the last few months you have been healthy and secure during times of massive turmoil and openings for immense transformation.  I have missed being with you so much.  We all have been overwhelmed with wave after wave of information about COVID-19, being on the economic precipice, tragic deaths, amazing protests, and converging movements.  There are even dozens of discussions and articles about Juneteenth that did not happen even a year ago. I chose to not add to the flood of data coming your way, but instead be quiet and reflective.
There is no way to predict when it would be safe to resume gatherings at Park Hill United Methodist Church.  So many of us are in the high risk category.  I must announce that it is time to bring this iteration of racial dialogues to a conclusion. It has been a very difficult decision that I’ve wrestled with and discussed with the facilitation team for weeks. After twenty-two years I must shift my energy and focus.
I am so grateful to you, the hundreds of people who have been involved and journeyed with us to create a space where we can learn, challenge each other, provide support for facing the oppressive forces we face daily, and build a caring community.  You have brought your curiosity, ideas, skills, stories, frustrations, insights, and hopes.  Thank you for your commitment to re-member a broken human family.  So many enduring friendships and connections have come from our time together.
I want to express my profound thanks to the team that has been with us to make things happen: Dena Samuels, John Ferguson, Angela Davis, Jason Vitello, Kenny Wiley, the staff at Park Hill, and the dozens of guests who have answered the invitation to come share their wisdom with us. A special shout out is due to our resident poet Norma Johnson.
We always wanted to provide a model for how to engage around a most difficult subject.  And now it seems that the whole country, indeed the world, is talking about race and equity and what to do about it. I don’t see this as a “mission accomplished” moment, but an important step in the momentum a movement needs to go from this new public awareness to crafting alternatives and putting in place the foundations for a new paradigm.
Don’t forget that 12 years ago, after the election of President Obama, the popular sentiment became that the country had become “post-racial.”  In fact, it uncovered the fact that we are Most Racial as a nation. We must help those new to their racial awareness understand that the work is much deeper than pulling down statues, than changing the names on buildings or neighborhoods. The work is getting to the deep roots of ideology and structures.
One of our founding mothers, Clara Villarosa, wrote to me last month, “I gave you a seed and you made a huge tree.”  I would add that the tree has lots of branches and plenty of roots.  I’m proud of the number of conversations we have helped create or inspired in many churches, schools, living rooms, board rooms, documentaries, and geographical areas.  We have heard from many deep thought leaders, writers, and activists.
I feel that you have everything you need to keep going.  First of all, you have the desire to make a difference.  Second, you have participated in and seen how important an historical perspective is to disrupting the old racial agreements that built our current institutions.  You are aware of the cost of racism and separation to the psyche of white people in addition to the deadly toll to Black America, other people of color, and the LGBTQ community.  Add to that the ever-growing body of books, videos, websites, and other resources that bring clarity to the ongoing debates in society.  I feel confident that there is an abundance of tools you can employ to move our discussions into action.
I will be doing the same thing – taking what I have learned for decades and taking actions for reparations.  I have been working with a group of donors, a panel of African Americans, and the Denver Foundation, who want to be part of local solutions to the legacy and consequences of slavery.  We have created the Denver Reparations Fund whose purpose is to rebuild institutions within the Black Community of the Denver Metro Area as well as throughout the State of Colorado and beyond that were destroyed during the enslavement of African and African descendant people; to facilitate the reestablishment of Black institutions that were destroyed by the oppression that was imposed post-slavery; and to facilitate the development of Black institutions that were prevented from coming into existence by that oppression.
You can donate to the fund by clicking here.  I would love to keep you aware of what we are doing and opportunities to get involved in a variety of ways.  Once we make the official announcement, I will send you a link in which you can opt in to receiving more details about reparations.  We may also send you occasional messages from this Second Tuesday address about opportunities and events we think you find interesting.  Feel free to opt out if you are not interested in receiving emails.
It is fitting that this message is going out on Juneteenth because that has been our annual meeting to close each season.  I hope we can gather one more time to celebrate when the environment is adequately safe.  In the spirit of sharing reflections at each Juneteenth celebration, please take a look at this article from Teaching Tolerance on the historical significance of the holiday.  It is a reminder that enslaved Black people in America always resisted and strived for freedom -- even as we see today that it is only Black resistance in protests that finally moves the country to change even a little.
Finally, I want to share something that Cornel West said in dialogue with our friend Belvie Rooks.  It’s from her new book with her late husband Dedan Gills, I Give You the Springtime of My Blushing Heart. “The truth is, we are all wounded.  The only question is whether we use our wounds to wound others or whether we use our wounds to heal.”
Once you have been meaningfully exposed to the reality of a system based on supremacy, you cannot un-see it.  I trust that you will continue to learn, continue to share, take risks, and make a difference.  It’s been my honor to share part of your journey.

With deep love and respect,
Harold Fields
fuzzyfield@aol.com