Drawing Hope From Hate: Thoughts on Charlottesville

Meet Marvin Strombo, pictured right. In 1944, Strombo was a U.S. Marine fighting in Saipan when he took a calligraphy-covered silk flag from the pocket of a fallen enemy soldier. Allied troops frequently took these flags from the bodies of their enemies as souvenirs.

For years, that flag hung in Strombo's home in a glass-fronted gun cabinet. In 2012, through a chain of events, Strombo was connected to a non-profit organization called the Obon Society. This humanitarian group works to provide opportunities for reconciliation by helping return Japanese battlefield souvenirs, taken during WWII, to the families of fallen soldiers. With their help, Strombo learned that the flag he had taken all those years ago belonged to Yasue Sadao.

Strombo also learned that Yasue's surviving siblings had questions about how and where their brother had died. Most Japanese families never learned details of how their loved ones died or ever received their remains, enabling them to properly grieve. So Strombo did something remarkable.

At age 93, he traveled 10,000 miles to return the flag and provide answers to the family of his former enemy. This courageous act had the power to bring about reconciliation of former enemies and help a family find healing from the pain of their past. You can read this powerful story in its entirety here.

As I've processed the hate-filled and tragic events of last weekend, I've felt something odd: Hope. For the first time in a long time, I feel hopeful that we are going to get the opportunity to forge reconciliation across barriers that have been in place for decades - just as Marvin Strombo has done. It's hard to look hate in the face and not feel compelled to change it.

Please don't hear me discounting the pain and anger that many are feeling - those feelings are fully justified and right. I've surely wrestled through a lot of what others are feeling over the last 16 years as a wife to an African-American man and mother to five brown-skinned children (and in all honesty, I've probably handled it less gracefully than many of you are doing right now).

The reason I feel hopeful in the midst of this hate and tragedy is that I see Charlottesville as a turning point. It feels like we've been going back and forth for years about whether the U.S. still truly has a problem with racism. Different sides have different perspectives based on their own life experiences.

When we feel sick and don't know what's wrong, we seek a diagnosis. Last weekend felt like a diagnosis. And once you get a diagnosis you can get started with treatment. Charlottesville showed us all that America does indeed have a problem with racism. Now that we can all agree that there is a problem, we can begin working on creating solutions to the problem together.

Reconciliation is a difficult and courageous journey that always comes with a cost, but I think it's time to take action in order to move our country forward. We can't pass this broken legacy on to our children without at least attempting to set some things right while we're still here. Maybe we won't travel 10,000 miles like Marvin Strombo did, but it's time to start taking some steps to set some things right.

I have a lot of thoughts on solutions and strategies moving forward and I'm working on a follow-up blog post to keep this one from getting any longer. However, if you live locally, we are hoping to facilitate a few first steps this coming weekend.

My husband and I are making ourselves available to pray and continue dialogue. If you're around Saturday morning, we will be praying from 7:30-8:30 and staying around to talk from 8:30-9:30 in downtown Staunton (Location TBD). We will also be available on Sunday morning from 7:30-8:30 at Staunton Hardees (also downtown) and at 9 my husband will be speaking at Staunton Alliance Church on what the church can do practically to enact change.

I know these are only small steps, but my prayer is that this is only the beginning of lasting change in our city and beyond. Hope to see you there!