Can We Understand Another’s Reality?

(Prayer offered on the Public Address system for the entire La Salle Academy educational community on Monday morning, 25 February 2019—Black History Month)

Let us remember we are in the presence of God.

Everyday we live in our own little reality. We experience different sights, different people, different ideas. However, we have no way of knowing how another person experiences each day. We could ask them how their day was, or what they are up to that day, but we will never be able to see for ourselves how they experienced their 24 hours. Since we don’t know how other people experience their day, it is easy to forget and overlook all the injustices people face each day.

We have no way of knowing how many times a man got pulled over because he is black.

We have no way of knowing how many times a Person Of Color got paid less at a job compared to their white coworkers.

We have no way of knowing how many times a black woman had her hair unwantedly touched or asked if her hair was her real hair.

We have no way of knowing how many times a woman didn’t speak up for herself for fear of being seen as an angry black woman.

We have no way of knowing how many times a couple got denied housing in a neighborhood because of their skin color.

However, what we do know is that all these injustices, whether big or small, persist in a disgusting reality.

Let us pray. Allow us all to always defend and uphold the rights of Persons Of Color. Give us the strength to fight against these injustices and injustice of all kinds, even when it is difficult. And let us remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

Saint John Baptist de La Salle…pray for us.

Live Jesus in our hearts…forever.

Andrew Flaherty–Class of 2019

 

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