It is a reminder that Lent is not just about how individuals betray God, but how entire communities and nations betray God s gifts of freedom and dignity and justice. The legacy of race in America. It is no overstatement to say that race has shaped our national soul like no other single factor in our history. But race is a subject most of us, I suspect, would rather avoid. This coming week gives us an opportunity to reflect on that history.
Race is part of our time and our place.
We are firmly embedded in this history of race. Our forebearers fought a terrible civil war over the issue of slavery. Afterwards, our nation remained locked in the vice of legalized racial segregation for a century. Only a generation ago, segregation was broken at a cost of many lives and much national turmoil. We here today live in a city that has a prominent place in the history race in America.