Day 1 - Let Us Pray
“I been praying, little brother,” Elisha said, “and I sure ain’t going to stop praying now.”
“For me,” persisted John, his tears falling, “for me.”
- James Baldwin, Go Tell It on the Mountain, 1953
We turn to Baldwin as a witness, so that we might hear his words of truth on issues of race and violence. We turn to Baldwin as a prophet, so that we might see his vision of hope for our collective future. We turn to Baldwin as a teacher, so that he might teach us to pray when the words feel so difficult to find. After the killing of teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida in 2012, author Jesmyn Ward wrote, "In desperation, I sought James Baldwin." We, too, despair, and we, too, look to Baldwin as we lift our prayers to God.