There is a great need all across America and the globe to convene summits on race relations. Philly, the city of brotherly love is to be congratulated for holding their third annual beer summit, which drew an even larger crowd larger than last year with an even more invigorating conversation.
What a great thing if cities all across America would follow suit.
Kudos to David Brown who was inspired, by the “Beer Summit” held at the White House by President Barack Obama after the incident that occurred in Cambridge, Mass. with Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Police Sgt. James Crowley, to organize a summit in Philadelphia.
You may recall that two years ago, Professor Gates, who is black, was arrested and taken away in handcuffs by Officer Crowley, who is white, after having a heated exchange. Gates was trying to enter his home, after misplacing his keys, in a predominantly white neighborhood. Apparently, Gates with all of his credentials could not convince the white officer that a black man belonged in the house and neighborhood. After a heated exchange, Gates was hauled off in handcuffs.
The summit, the President held on the White House lawn following the incident as a gesture to improve race relations, propelled David Brown to take a real step in his hometown of Philadelphia. Brown called a friend and colleague, Todd Bernstein who led the Martin Luther King Day of Service and Global Citizens, to help land the summit.
They should be commended for their dedication. The first year, the summit attracted a few dozen people from all over the city. The second summit crowd was even smaller, but they had another rich and healthy dialogue. The one held last week drew the largest gathering yet, with an even more robust conversation. This year’s summit had as a guest, sociologist and author, Elijah Anderson.
These summits occurred without the fanfare, and out of the spotlight of the media — just real, caring, and maybe curious, folks getting together to lay their issues and concerns on the table; wanting to learn and better understand each other beyond the stereotypes, labels, and prejudicial thinking we often hide behind.
It doesn’t have to be a beer summit. It could be a tea summit, a gathering in the shade with lemonade — but a gathering nonetheless to have meaningful and enriching dialogue and sharing of cause and culture. When you look at the negative incidents of racism occurring on a daily basis right here at home and all around the globe, a gathering, and a coming together is what we all desperately need.
Let more gatherings begin. David Brown and Todd Bernstein bothered. Imagine what could happen if more of us did.