 “Moment to Movementâ€
BRIDGE invites all in the Evansville area to gather at the C.K. Newsome Center at 6:45 PM, Thursday, June 25, the one-month anniversary of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyds’ recorded murder created a moment of recognition for many people of the long-standing injustice people of color, especially African American men, have suffered at the hands of law enforcement.
Protests across the country, including several rallies in Evansville, have given a legitimate and important outlet to growing community outrage. A diverse coalition of people—all races, ethnicities, and ages—have taken part in this expression of pain and anger.
BRIDGE wants to funnel these emotions now into action for long-term change. Thus, the name of this event: “Moment to Movement.†It will be held on the grassy lawn in front of the C.K. Newsome Community Center at 100 Walnut Street. We ask attendees to wear a face mask, observe safe social-distancing and, if they wish to join in kneeling at one point, bring a small pillow. The event will begin with music and include time for reflection, brief speeches, and a call to action, concluding by 7:30.
BRIDGE (Building Respect and Integrity in Diverse Great Evansville) began 4 years ago. “Believing that bridges are better than walls, BRIDGE seeks to foster positive relationships, understanding, and dialogue across the diverse Evansville community. Partnering with all race, ethnic, and faith groups, BRIDGE will create opportunities for engagement in an atmosphere of respect and openness.†We envision, “a community in which all people are accepted and treated with dignity.†Over the past two years, BRIDGE has held events to help our community understand how implicit bias distorts our individual perspective and how systemic racism continues to create disparate outcomes by race. We worked with the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library last summer and fall on a series of events to help us all begin to see these often-unseen forces and start to work at changing them within each of us and our society.
FOOTNOTE: BRIDGE welcomes other groups to endorse, publicize, and join us at this event. CAJE (Congregations Acting for Justice and Empowerment) is currently a co-sponsor. The rain date for this event is the following evening, Friday, June 26 at the same time.
