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Charles City group works to bridge racial divide

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By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Events over the last several years have shined a light on racial tensions and race relations in the United States, coming to a head recently with incidents in Charlottesville, Virginia.

A Charles City group has been working for about a year and a half to address race-related issues locally, and to provide a forum for people to discuss the topic and to interact with people from different cultures.

An afternoon meeting Sunday, Aug. 20, of the local Be the Bridge group had been scheduled well before violence broke out between white nationalists and counterprotestors in Charlottesville last weekend, resulting in one woman dead and several dozen people injured.

But that event and the nation’s reaction to it shows just how important it is to address the issue at the local community level, Be the Bridge organizers told the Press Wednesday.

Be the Bridge will hold a meeting at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 502 Clark St. It is meant to be a discussion about racial and cultural tensions that can divide a community, including talking about strategies to combat stereotypes and issues that affect harmony, according to announcements about the meeting.

“With today’s climate people are really clamoring for this,” said Phil Knighten, one of the meeting organizers and a member of Be the Bridge. “The purpose of the group is racial reconciliation — unity in the community.”

Vicki Bruening, who helped start the local group, said it’s “super important” to make efforts on the local level, because those efforts add up.

“It’s beginning a conversation, hearing each other’s stories,” Bruening said. “It’s breaking down barriers and understanding each other — it changes how you see each other and how you live.”

Bruening and a friend, Keisha Cunnings, started the local Be the Bridge group in March 2016 after Bruening saw Latasha Morrison talk about her national Be the Bridge reconciliation group during an online conference.

The Charles City group started holding regular meetings during the school year, with about 15 to 20 people attending, Bruening said.

Knighten attended one of those meetings and became actively involved in the group.

The group recently has focused on more social events, holding several picnics that each attracted 40 to 50 people.

The meeting Sunday will be a chance for more focused discussion again.

Knighten said the meetings start with a prayer, introductions and statement of the group’s purpose, then go into questions and discussion.

Both Knighten and Bruening said it’s likely the events in Charlottesville will come up.

“We talk about attitudes about race,” Knighten said. “It’s an open dialogue to understand each other, an opportunity to get together with people of other cultures.”

“It’s breaking down walls — everyone loving each other regardless of race, nationality, sexual orientation,” Bruening said. “If we choose to see each other as children of God — we were all made in the image of God — it changes things.

“Even here, if people just know we exist and what we’re fighting for, maybe it will make people be a little softer toward each other,” she said.

Bruening encouraged anyone interested to attend Sunday — to “come and be a part, use their voices and ask questions, … just show up.”

Refreshments will be provided and transportation can be arranged by calling Bruening at 319-239-4698, or Knighten at 641-330-9465.

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