As I continue to move into diversity and inclusion work, I recognize that I must continue to hold my own advantages and disadvantages pass on to me from my family and how use them to navigate and interact between different groups I belong to.

There are people in Lancaster who like me want to begin to address different issues of racism and systems of oppression and build a more inclusive community. Naomi Leapheart has organized a summer ecumenical learning series focusing on racism and incarceration in America. Yesterday was the first event of this learning series.

About 40 citizens joined together at Grace United Church of Christ to view the documentary film Out in the Night. After the film, Pastor Kim Kendrick and Pastor Katie Cort facilitated a discussion with the audience. Pastor Kim first began by sharing her own insights of the film. She was taken aback by the language being used in describing the women who were being assaulted. Similar to Pastor Kim, I too was aware of the type of language being used in talking and labeling Renata, Patreese, Venice, and Terrain.