On October 28, 2017, the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing made a pilgrimage to honor 56 martyrs who were lynched in Clarke County, Georgia. The day’s activities included a Liturgy for Martyrs at Chestnut Grove Baptist Church where the Rev. Naomi Tutu preached. Following the service was a screening of the documentary film 13th, as well as a tour of the Chestnut Grove School (founded in 1887) and the cemetery containing graves of slaves.
The Center, which opened in October 2017, offers a model of prayerful education that forms and reforms individual and collective action: a defined curriculum, thoughtful training, pilgrimages, and dialogue. Guided by faith and led by intention, the Center will continue its important work until our work is no longer needed. We seek the beloved community and the rewards of living life in that community – free of racism.
“We cannot get well racially, in the United States of America, until we tell the truth. Until we own the truth. Lynching is a part of our history, a part of our truth. We keep on trying to get to justice without doing the work.” – Dr. Catherine Meeks
The Center is an inter-generational, faith-based organization providing curriculum, activities and experiences for those engaging in the daily work of dismantling prejudice and ending systemic racism. Learn more about this important work.