As Bloomington-Normal’s landmark Not In Our Town anti-racism campaign approaches its third decade with an expanded mission and a new grassroots focus, this seems the ideal time to call for a Season4Reason across the Twin Cities.
December is a time of multicultural celebration -- Christian traditions of Christmas, Hanukkah observances by the Jewish community, Bodhi Day commemorating the enlightenment of the original Buddha, and Kwanzaa, as celebrated by many African-Americans. In October, Hindus communitywide celebrated Diwali, the Indian fall festival of lights, and January marks the Muslim observance of the prophet Muhammad’s birth.
This is also a potential season of discontent. Individuals and families address serious and divisive holiday-related economic and domestic issues; late-semester academic pressures can escalate into bullying, addiction, crime, and cross-cultural conflict; and the differences between the haves and the have-nots often come crisply and raggedly into focus. Recent elections, U.S. and world events, and ongoing debate about immigration, domestic security, and community-police relations have generated conflict and alienation where commonality and appreciation should flourish.
It’s a season when compassion, empathy, tolerance, and, indeed, reason must prevail among Twin Citians of all races, faith communities, cultures, and lifestyles. We want the same things – family security, individual opportunity, acceptance or at least respect from our peers, the American right to live and love as we choose. We want a safe, inclusive community where everyone has a place at the table, in society and the economy, in the classroom.
As Not In Our Town embarks on a new phase of education, enlightenment, and growth, we’re asking our friends, families, neighbors, classmates, and community leaders to embrace a new winter celebration – a celebration of each other. A season where old hatreds, smoldering resentments, and fear of the merely different fall away in the face of reason.