Thursdays 11:00am - 12:00pm (EDT)
WHAT WILL THE AUDIENCE LEARN?
The audience will discover how communities can reconcile acts of terrorism and ways to create a new identity. Listeners will also hear how one person can make a difference.
EPISODE SUMMARY:
In 1902, Alonzo Tucker was lynched in front of 300 spectators in Coos Bay Oregon. He was one of 4400 racial terror lynchings in the United States during the period between Reconstruction and World War II. The pain and trauma of these vicious acts have lasting impact for individuals of African American descent and for the communities where such violence took place. How does a community grapple with its past? How does one person become the voice to right such wrongs?
Join Rev. Dr. TLC and her guest, Taylor Stewart, as they discuss the importance of remembrance, repair, and redemption in reconciling a lynching.They will also discuss Stewart's work with the Sunrise Project whose goal is to assist former sundown towns in reconciling their history and by developing a new identity as a sunrise town.
Tune in for this important conversation at TalkRadio.nyc
Rev. Dr. TLC kicks off her show with a guided meditation. She introduces the topic for the episode: how do we reconcile a lynching? Rev. Dr. TLC asks how these horrific events impact us today. She welcomes her guest Taylor Stewart who compares lynching to death row. Taylor is a graduate of the University of Portland with a degree in communication and a master’s in social work. Taylor understands that his voice matters. He started the Oregon Remembrance Project. You can find more information at oregonremembrance.org. Rev. Dr. TLC says it’s important to remember our history to repair it
Rev. Dr. TLC asks Taylor what habits he has that keep him grounded while working to dismantle racism. Taylor explains how important it is to take care of yourself. It takes work to be happy and grounded. He says it helps to have hobbies like sports and outlets like music. Rev. Dr. TLC and Taylor discuss Dr. King and how he was young during his activism. Taylor states it was important for him to know how young Dr. King was because it inspired him to get involved at a young age. Taylor took a civil rights trip to the south in 2018 and was inspired to get involved. He talks about an opportunity he came across when he graduated college. He was unsure if he was the right fit because of his lack of experience. It wasn’t until he visited the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum that he got the confidence to get involved.
Taylor has a TedTalk called Reconciling A Lynching. He briefly breaks down three things we need to do in order to reconcile a lynching. There are three R words within the idea of reconciliation. They are remembrance, repair, and redemption. In order to get to redemption, we need to have the courage to go through the first two stages. Taylor believes we can’t change the past, but we can change our relationship with it. Taylor and Rev. Dr. TLC continue to discuss the importance of remembering our history. He goes on to explain how we can repair our history. Taylor says we must repair the fundamental question of who our society believes deserves death. The answer continues to be black people. The value of black people’s lives is in question. Taylor believes Capital punishment has replaced lynching. He helps leads the efforts to end the death penalty in Oregon.
Taylor says over the last four years; he has learned that ordinary people can do extraordinary things when you ask the question, “why not me.” He worked with the community of Coos Bay for three years to memorialize Alonzo Tucker. Taylor tells Rev. Dr. TLC about his speech at the historical marker unveiling. He didn’t tell anyone that his speech was about ending the death penalty in Oregon. Taylor says he got a positive reception. Rev. Dr. TLC asks Taylor if there was ever a time he felt like giving up. He explains it as a roller coaster of constantly feeling overwhelmed but knowing this is what you are meant to do. You can find Taylor Stewart on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), and you can also find more information at oregonremembrance.org.
00:00:47.060 --> 00:00:56.989 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: hello and welcome to the dismantle Racism show. I'm your host, the Reverend Dr. Tlc. Her goal for the show is to uncover.
00:00:57.150 --> 00:01:23.390 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: dismantle and eradicate racism, because we really do want to create a world where racial equity exists for everyone. I'm your host, the Reverend Dr. Tlc. And I want to just to invite you, as you are listening to the show, to really take note of what your questions are. If you are listening. Live, please make sure that you send in your questions because you can find us on.
00:01:23.580 --> 00:01:42.590 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and Youtube streaming@talkradio.nyc. And put your questions in the chat so that we can answer those questions on the show. It is important for us to hear your voice. It's important also for you, even after the the show, to leave your comments and your thoughts.
00:01:42.600 --> 00:01:59.830 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Because if we are going to move forward, we need to have dialogue about the things that we hear day to day, but particularly on this show. Today we're talking about something that is really powerful, not just for us.
00:01:59.880 --> 00:02:15.810 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: understanding our past and being educated about our past. But really, what do we do to reconcile our past? But before we get into our discussion today, as always, I want to invite us just to center ourselves and take a moment
00:02:16.060 --> 00:02:24.120 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: to ground ourselves for the conversation that we're going to have today, and I want to invite you that it is any point in time
00:02:24.430 --> 00:02:39.010 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: the conversation becomes too heavy for you. Go back to the meditation that we're doing today. Go back to finding your breath, because I understand that there are times we talk about things on the show that are triggering.
00:02:39.070 --> 00:02:42.919 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: And as we've talked about on one of our previous shows
00:02:42.940 --> 00:02:45.899 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: trauma exist within the body.
00:02:46.430 --> 00:02:57.530 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and because it exists within the body, we have to make sure that we're taking care of ourselves. So I know if we're talking about racism, whether it's in the past or currently.
00:02:57.900 --> 00:03:02.370 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Often things trigger us, so go back to your breath.
00:03:02.950 --> 00:03:11.939 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: go back to understanding and knowing who you are, and just breathe through it. So I want to invite you, if you will just for moment
00:03:12.130 --> 00:03:20.010 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: to close your eyes, plant your feet solidly on the floor. If you happen to be outside, place them on the ground.
00:03:20.860 --> 00:03:24.599 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and then I want to invite you just to take a deep breath in
00:03:25.590 --> 00:03:26.950 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and hold it.
00:03:27.980 --> 00:03:31.140 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and then just release it really slowly.
00:03:33.740 --> 00:03:35.750 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Take another deep breath in.
00:03:38.030 --> 00:03:39.260 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: hold it.
00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:42.400 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and release it.
00:03:44.650 --> 00:03:48.119 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and then just begin to breathe normally.
00:03:49.510 --> 00:03:51.380 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: connecting your breath
00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:54.080 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: with your divine wisdom.
00:03:55.540 --> 00:03:57.580 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: your power, source.
00:03:59.580 --> 00:04:02.940 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: breathe in and out, knowing that
00:04:03.420 --> 00:04:05.660 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: you are capable.
00:04:06.030 --> 00:04:08.109 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: a dismantling racism.
00:04:09.460 --> 00:04:12.390 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: You are powerful beyond belief.
00:04:13.070 --> 00:04:15.219 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and what you do. Matters
00:04:17.149 --> 00:04:19.750 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Just take a deep breath in
00:04:20.829 --> 00:04:22.590 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and out
00:04:24.850 --> 00:04:29.370 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: connecting with other folks on this planet
00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:32.200 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: or I engaged in this work.
00:04:34.610 --> 00:04:40.609 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Is your breathing in and out. Think about the people that you know personally.
00:04:41.050 --> 00:04:43.540 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: who are engaging in this work.
00:04:45.340 --> 00:04:46.990 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: feel their energy.
00:04:48.380 --> 00:04:50.040 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: connect with them.
00:04:51.690 --> 00:04:54.300 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Recognize that you're not alone.
00:04:56.960 --> 00:05:04.069 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: And now breathe in and out, connecting with the people that you don't even know personally.
00:05:04.510 --> 00:05:07.810 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: But you know they are engaging in the work.
00:05:07.890 --> 00:05:10.300 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Connect with them energetically
00:05:12.270 --> 00:05:14.230 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: connect with their power.
00:05:17.030 --> 00:05:19.460 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Just continue to breathe in
00:05:20.090 --> 00:05:21.480 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and out.
00:05:21.860 --> 00:05:23.900 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and large anger circle
00:05:24.420 --> 00:05:26.220 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: of connectedness
00:05:26.930 --> 00:05:29.540 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: by connecting with the ancestors
00:05:30.510 --> 00:05:32.899 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and those who came before you
00:05:34.790 --> 00:05:37.699 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: who were engaged in this work, people
00:05:37.730 --> 00:05:39.519 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: of all colors.
00:05:40.810 --> 00:05:42.690 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: of all ethnicities.
00:05:43.490 --> 00:05:44.950 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: of all faith
00:05:46.130 --> 00:05:47.790 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: throughout the world.
00:05:50.190 --> 00:05:52.489 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: So just connect for a moment
00:05:53.470 --> 00:05:56.460 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: in this vast circle of humanity
00:05:57.930 --> 00:06:00.650 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: with all the individuals
00:06:01.870 --> 00:06:03.910 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that you can learn from them.
00:06:05.610 --> 00:06:07.730 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: you can gain strength from them.
00:06:08.750 --> 00:06:09.670 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: hope.
00:06:12.660 --> 00:06:14.160 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: determination.
00:06:15.780 --> 00:06:17.160 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: commitment.
00:06:17.900 --> 00:06:19.199 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and faith.
00:06:21.760 --> 00:06:23.650 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: So just breathe in
00:06:24.550 --> 00:06:25.960 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and out.
00:06:27.980 --> 00:06:33.890 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: celebrating each of those individuals, and giving gratitude for each of those individuals
00:06:37.430 --> 00:06:43.170 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: just breathe in and out, always remembering your breath.
00:06:43.610 --> 00:06:44.909 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: your power.
00:06:47.640 --> 00:06:50.360 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: allow it to ground you in this moment.
00:06:55.370 --> 00:06:57.369 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Now take a deep breath in
00:06:58.420 --> 00:07:01.280 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: recognizing that the power of one
00:07:02.210 --> 00:07:05.130 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: contributes to the power of community.
00:07:06.350 --> 00:07:08.680 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and you have the power
00:07:08.860 --> 00:07:10.870 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: to change the status quo.
00:07:12.850 --> 00:07:14.630 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: I'll take a deep breath in.
00:07:16.030 --> 00:07:17.569 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Sign it out.
00:07:18.440 --> 00:07:19.890 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: And last week, yeah.
00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:23.180 hmm.
00:07:26.400 --> 00:07:31.379 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Today we are going to be talking about how to reconcile.
00:07:31.460 --> 00:07:32.540 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Oh, launching
00:07:35.430 --> 00:07:40.189 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century.
00:07:40.380 --> 00:07:42.100 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: I to be Wells.
00:07:42.140 --> 00:07:47.660 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: a journalist from my hometown in Holly Springs, Mississippi.
00:07:47.980 --> 00:07:54.629 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: wrote about the lynchings that were occurring across these United States of America.
00:07:57.050 --> 00:08:07.569 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: There are over 4,400 lions that have occurred on these grounds of the United States.
00:08:08.080 --> 00:08:14.120 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Brian Stevenson, in recent years, with the equal Justice initiative.
00:08:14.530 --> 00:08:22.620 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: has talked about these lynchings, and it's been instrumental in starting a lynching memorial.
00:08:23.060 --> 00:08:30.210 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Now, you might say, Why do we need to have a memorial? Why do we need to even remember our past?
00:08:30.810 --> 00:08:35.570 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Because there's no way of reconciling our past, unless we remember
00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:44.140 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: my guest on the show today is going to be talking about. How do we reconcile and lynching
00:08:44.780 --> 00:08:57.089 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and remembering people like Alonso Tucker, who in 1,902, was lynched in front of 300 spectators, including children.
00:08:57.330 --> 00:08:59.120 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: includes Bay Oregon.
00:08:59.900 --> 00:09:03.920 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: How do we reconcile something so heinous?
00:09:04.050 --> 00:09:13.420 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: How do we not understand that the remnants of that lynching and and the remnants of over 4,000 individuals
00:09:14.850 --> 00:09:17.600 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: who were hanging from trees?
00:09:18.500 --> 00:09:35.569 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Folks watched that happen? How do we not understand that that still impacts us today? The trauma associated with that? The people who witnessed that the little children who witnessed that and carry that in their bodies
00:09:35.960 --> 00:09:45.329 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: carried that in their minds about what they thought about black people, even what they thought about white people who could do such a thing.
00:09:45.570 --> 00:09:48.519 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: What trauma did that instill in there?
00:09:49.180 --> 00:09:53.510 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: What Tara did it? And still in black people.
00:09:54.470 --> 00:09:58.659 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: people who were lent simply for walking down the Street
00:09:59.290 --> 00:10:02.349 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: for saying something to white children.
00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:07.270 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: whose parents perhaps thought that they shouldn't have said what they said to them
00:10:07.900 --> 00:10:10.730 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: for all kinds of foolish reasons.
00:10:11.800 --> 00:10:16.509 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: So we may think that that lynching is in the past.
00:10:17.780 --> 00:10:19.099 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: but it is not.
00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:24.229 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: We know, from Michelle Alexander who talks about the new Jim Crow.
00:10:24.660 --> 00:10:31.440 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: She talks about mass incarceration as being a semblance of Jim Crow. But our guests today.
00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:33.399 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Taylor Stewart
00:10:33.750 --> 00:10:38.440 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: actually talks about lynching as it relates to death. Row.
00:10:39.430 --> 00:10:44.019 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Oh, it is still alive and well.
00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:51.860 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: So today, on our show we're going to be talking about how to get to the point of reconciliation. Is it possible
00:10:53.500 --> 00:10:55.439 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Taylor Stewart thinks so.
00:10:55.760 --> 00:11:11.260 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Taylor is a graduate from the University of Portland. He graduated in 2,018, with a degree in communications and a masters in social work from Portland State University in 2,021.
00:11:11.890 --> 00:11:31.080 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: He is a dynamic young individual who understood that his voice matters and you will hear all about what he's done with, not only with his voice, but with his actions. Taylor started the Organ Remembrance project in 2,018
00:11:31.730 --> 00:11:44.749 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: to help communities on earth stories of injustice, and engage in the necessary truth, telling, and repair required to reconcile instances of historical harm.
00:11:46.160 --> 00:11:56.079 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: I want us to understand that this work of reconciliation is deeply rooted in how we get to dismantling racism.
00:11:56.400 --> 00:11:59.150 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Because if we Don't understand
00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:01.219 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that we need to remember
00:12:02.900 --> 00:12:05.279 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: if we don't understand
00:12:05.450 --> 00:12:07.310 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that repairing
00:12:07.390 --> 00:12:15.359 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: is about more than just taking a course on dismantling racism, which, of course, I invite us to do.
00:12:16.060 --> 00:12:19.109 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: But it is about the deep work
00:12:19.400 --> 00:12:20.830 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: of repairing
00:12:21.020 --> 00:12:33.870 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and reconciling, and we'll talk about the third are in there. I want to invite you, if you would, to be sure to listen to tailor's. Ted, talk on. How do you reconcile the legend
00:12:34.330 --> 00:12:36.389 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Because he talks about
00:12:36.610 --> 00:12:38.660 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Alonso Tucker?
00:12:39.260 --> 00:12:42.889 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: But how a particular community
00:12:43.790 --> 00:12:47.350 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: went through the process of reconciliation.
00:12:48.260 --> 00:12:52.339 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Taylor invites his audience to join him
00:12:52.710 --> 00:12:54.810 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: in repairing
00:12:56.030 --> 00:12:57.530 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: in order to help
00:12:57.940 --> 00:13:01.039 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: in order to help just a little bit
00:13:02.340 --> 00:13:03.760 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: reconcile
00:13:04.470 --> 00:13:05.520 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: a lunche.
00:13:06.740 --> 00:13:09.350 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: We must do it one step at a time.
00:13:09.660 --> 00:13:13.219 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: So I want to welcome to our show.
00:13:13.560 --> 00:13:25.849 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Taylor Stewart, and we're gonna welcome Taylor, and then we're gonna take a really quick break, Taylor. Welcome, Welcome, welcome to the show. I thank you for being up so early this morning to join me for the show.
00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:31.060 Taylor Stewart: Oh, thank you. I'm here in Portland, Oregon, and I couldn't be happier.
00:13:31.160 --> 00:13:44.389 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and and i'm so delighted that you're bringing your energy so early this morning, and I just want to say, before we go to the break. I want to thank you. I want to thank you for stepping up
00:13:44.730 --> 00:13:48.329 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: to say that your voice matters, and to do something
00:13:48.430 --> 00:13:50.730 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: to repair
00:13:51.740 --> 00:13:53.329 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: what has been done
00:13:54.100 --> 00:13:55.240 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: to
00:13:55.430 --> 00:13:57.150 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: our ancestors.
00:13:57.780 --> 00:14:04.600 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and to repair communities that are hurting in this profoundly
00:14:04.870 --> 00:14:07.500 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: in this profound way. Actually.
00:14:07.620 --> 00:14:15.790 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: And I think what you're doing shows us that we don't have to live with the guilt and shame of our past
00:14:15.880 --> 00:14:17.980 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: in a way that keeps us stuck.
00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:34.609 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: but moves us to action. So when we come back I want to hear all about the work that you did in Coos Bay, as well as some of the other work that you are doing with communities. This is the dismantle racism show. I'm your host to Reverend Dr. Tail. See, we'll be right back.
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00:16:19.500 --> 00:16:23.290 the
00:16:23.560 --> 00:16:24.470 the
00:16:25.900 --> 00:16:26.770 you.
00:16:49.240 --> 00:17:00.249 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: We're back the dismantle racism show. My guest today is Taylor Stewart, who has been working with communities in Oregon, helping them to reconcile
00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:19.060 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: their past and more ways than one before the break. We were talking about specifically around lynching. But there's some other things that Taylor is doing as well. But, Taylor, before we get started with the work that you are doing. I know personally how demanding this work is.
00:17:19.099 --> 00:17:26.369 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and one of the things I always love to start out with is a question around.
00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:45.010 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: How do you stay grounded in doing this work? Because not everybody is happy when they see us coming, and when we want to talk about race. So what do you do to balance out the difficulties with doing work around racial equity and dismantling racism and healing?
00:17:45.710 --> 00:17:59.050 Taylor Stewart: You know for me, I've learned that taking care of yourself is just as important as doing the work. I've been doing this for about 4 years now, and I've also learned that sort of
00:17:59.090 --> 00:18:14.970 Taylor Stewart: my personal happiness is is my responsibility, and that it takes. It sounds a little counterintuitive, but it it takes work to be grounded to be happy, and so I'm. I'm a very simple man. I care about 4 things in this world.
00:18:15.220 --> 00:18:31.510 Taylor Stewart: race and racism. Nba. Basketball, Us. National news, and R. And B. I. So those 4 things are are my passions, and having hobbies like sports and and outlets like music.
00:18:31.520 --> 00:18:41.330 Taylor Stewart: or really what would keep me balanced. It sounds a little silly, but I actually have a more difficult time during the the the Nba off season staying back
00:18:41.410 --> 00:18:51.299 Taylor Stewart: Allen to doing this work. So luckily that's the summer time, and i'm able to enjoy sort of time with friends and family. But I've learned the importance of
00:18:51.310 --> 00:19:03.579 Taylor Stewart: not trivializing these hobbies because they are intrinsically important to you actually being able to do the important work during your your regular regular sort of life.
00:19:03.600 --> 00:19:18.790 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Yeah, I so agree with you, and you know what. Thank goodness for music and for R. And B. Because you can have access to that any time you want to. So i'm. I'm often inspired by music.
00:19:18.860 --> 00:19:22.339 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: you know. So, Taylor, when I think about you.
00:19:23.500 --> 00:19:27.399 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: I think about the fact that you've chosen.
00:19:27.490 --> 00:19:30.140 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: because it is a choice to answer the call.
00:19:30.900 --> 00:19:34.289 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: To engage in this work as a young
00:19:34.390 --> 00:19:35.510 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: person.
00:19:35.840 --> 00:19:43.140 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and I think about Dr. King. You know Dr. King was 26 when he was elected
00:19:43.410 --> 00:19:52.380 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: as president of the Montgomery Improvement Association to lead the Bus Boycott. Now, when I think about myself at 24,
00:19:52.640 --> 00:20:04.619 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: or even when I think about myself at 28. Yes, I was focused. I think I was getting my Phd at at that age, but I don't know that I would have been thinking about leading a cause.
00:20:04.890 --> 00:20:06.620 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: a leading a community.
00:20:07.410 --> 00:20:13.469 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: And so I admire. When young people step up to the plate and say, i'm going to do this. So
00:20:13.580 --> 00:20:20.090 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: talk to us a little bit about what got you started with doing this work.
00:20:20.620 --> 00:20:38.719 Taylor Stewart: You know I it's it's funny. You mentioned the the Doctor King being 26, so he was elected president, the Montgomery Improvement Association on December fifth, 1,955 and I was actually born 40 years later to the day on December fifth 1,995,
00:20:38.730 --> 00:20:47.380 Taylor Stewart: and so I've always felt the connection to that date in particular, and I remember when I was young. It was important for me to know
00:20:47.540 --> 00:21:06.429 Taylor Stewart: that Martin Luther King was also young, and that I could see myself doing that work despite my age. And so what really got me started doing all of this work was a civil rights trip. I took to the American South in 2,018. We went to Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas.
00:21:06.520 --> 00:21:16.049 Taylor Stewart: I had especially been looking forward to the portion of the tripper, would be going to Montgomery because I was a big fan of Brian Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative
00:21:16.190 --> 00:21:31.830 Taylor Stewart: in 2,018. The Equal Justice Initiative opened up 2 museums in Montgomery. One was called the Legacy Museum, which chronicled the link between slavery and mass incarceration with the belief that slavery didn't end in 1,865. It just evolved
00:21:32.120 --> 00:21:47.219 Taylor Stewart: that museum helped me see the through line of our historical injustice to many of our present-day racial disproportionalities. But as you mentioned earlier, the other museum that the equal justice initiative opened was the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.
00:21:47.760 --> 00:21:49.070 Taylor Stewart: the Lynching Museum.
00:21:49.400 --> 00:21:59.819 Taylor Stewart: When you enter the National Memorial for Peace and justice, you're met with these 6 foot high pillars that have the name of the State, the name of the county, and then the names of everyone who is lynched in that county.
00:22:00.090 --> 00:22:12.799 Taylor Stewart: This Museum took what had always felt like this abstract history, and had it personalized with the names of people who were lynched in this country. What was most meaningful for me, was seeing names with the last name. Stewart.
00:22:12.810 --> 00:22:30.580 Taylor Stewart: knowing that simply time and place separated me from the name on that pillar, and I've lived in Oregon my entire life, and I couldn't believe that I had to go all the way to Montgomery, Alabama, just to learn that there had been at least one widely documented lynching of an African American here in Oregon.
00:22:30.590 --> 00:22:46.350 Taylor Stewart: And so I was so moved by this encounter with history that I wanted to share it with others, and luckily, in conjunction with the National Memorial for Peace and justice, the Equal Justice Initiative also started what's called the Community Remembrance Project.
00:22:46.630 --> 00:22:57.349 Taylor Stewart: The community. Remembrance project aims to work in the communities where the lynchings of African Americans took place, to find healing and reconciliation through a sober reflection on history.
00:22:57.400 --> 00:23:11.010 Taylor Stewart: There is an interest form online about the involved in the Community Remembrance project, and I would love to say that when I first saw that I was immediately like, signed me up. How can I help Brian? But
00:23:11.020 --> 00:23:26.559 Taylor Stewart: in reality I was too nervous to fill out the interest form. After all, this was the equal justice, initiative, and I was a recent college grad with 0 relevant experience, and I figured to myself.
00:23:27.250 --> 00:23:34.379 Taylor Stewart: who am I to really think that I could be of any help. So I decided that I wasn't going to fill out the interest form.
00:23:34.490 --> 00:23:35.700 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: but
00:23:35.960 --> 00:23:41.119 Taylor Stewart: thankfully. 2 encounters from the rest of my trip inspired me to change my mind.
00:23:41.400 --> 00:23:52.700 Taylor Stewart: The first was a quote from John Lewis, longtime Civil Rights, Icon and Congressman from Georgia, who asked, if not us then, who, if not now. Then, when
00:23:53.280 --> 00:24:09.429 Taylor Stewart: I don't remember where I was when I first read that quote. But I remember having that feeling inside of me where I was kind of like Hmm. I was like, Are you talking to me? I was like, I don't. I don't really like this feeling inside of me like i'll think about it. John.
00:24:09.490 --> 00:24:12.889 Taylor Stewart: Second thing was the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.
00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:31.310 Taylor Stewart: There they just focused on Mississippi history. So there was no Martin Luther King, Rosa parks. Malcolm X. Individuals who we kind of deify and are hard to relate to. Instead, the Museum told the story of everyday Mississippians, who did their part to pave the way for justice. And so
00:24:31.320 --> 00:24:46.369 Taylor Stewart: there at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum is where I learned that you don't have to be an extraordinary person to do extraordinary things. And so those 2 encounters gave me the courage to reach out to the equal Justice initiative. And
00:24:46.410 --> 00:24:53.559 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: here we are 4 years later. I. So so I love that story, because even as you're talking about it.
00:24:54.120 --> 00:24:55.130 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: so
00:24:55.640 --> 00:24:56.900 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: you
00:24:56.920 --> 00:25:01.509 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: are bringing up the fact. First of all, they we're not taught what we need to be taught
00:25:01.780 --> 00:25:07.129 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: about our history. That's one thing, because you have to travel across the country to do that.
00:25:07.370 --> 00:25:11.039 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: The second thing that I I heard you talk about.
00:25:11.470 --> 00:25:13.640 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: That's really important
00:25:13.780 --> 00:25:14.810 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: is
00:25:15.120 --> 00:25:27.609 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: being present to what is happening in that moment, and what you're experiencing and to continue to walk through what you're experiencing, because to say that you you saw
00:25:28.150 --> 00:25:30.079 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: this, the names
00:25:30.870 --> 00:25:33.140 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and it resonated with you.
00:25:33.240 --> 00:25:35.269 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: But then fear, step down.
00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:37.830 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and so you decided that
00:25:37.950 --> 00:25:39.079 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: can't do it.
00:25:39.460 --> 00:25:54.160 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: But then you kept moving, and that's what I want our audience to know. You keep moving and keep listening to that voice that is inside of you. So that voice when you got to John Lewis said, you have to do something right. And then
00:25:54.640 --> 00:26:11.039 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: strategically a. As it's not. Maybe I shouldn't say strategically. But the way you ended up going through this, I think everything is as my friend Hillary would say, is a divine choreography. Right? So then you go to that next phase. It kept building up on it. You got the tap
00:26:11.120 --> 00:26:12.589 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: to say, do this.
00:26:13.460 --> 00:26:22.210 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and then John Lewis gave you another tab. And then you saw ordinary people do an extraordinary thing, and quite frankly, I think that that does make
00:26:22.260 --> 00:26:28.510 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: us. We're all extraordinary in some ways, whether we use it or not. So I want to encourage
00:26:28.890 --> 00:26:31.070 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: our listeners to hear your process.
00:26:31.270 --> 00:26:42.499 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: You decided that you would do something because you kept getting the tap, and I just want to make that connection back to Dr. King, because we are coming up on Dr. King's holiday.
00:26:42.750 --> 00:26:49.410 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that it is about doing the work that our ancestors started. So it is no small matter
00:26:49.850 --> 00:26:55.189 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that you were born on on the same day that he started a movement, and that is spoke to you
00:26:55.370 --> 00:26:59.220 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: because I think the seeds are planet long before you ever walked
00:26:59.300 --> 00:27:06.880 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: into those museums the seas were planed. So I just want to acknowledge that that you're answering a call.
00:27:06.910 --> 00:27:12.550 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and it's beautiful. It's wonderful. So then tell us.
00:27:12.990 --> 00:27:15.050 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: you know I want to know
00:27:15.270 --> 00:27:20.360 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: what happened after you started things. But before we get there.
00:27:21.690 --> 00:27:23.770 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: How were you before you took the trip?
00:27:24.390 --> 00:27:29.729 Taylor Stewart: You know what it's a good question. One of the reasons why I felt that feeling of
00:27:29.850 --> 00:27:33.439 Taylor Stewart: Who am I to really think that I could be of any help? Is
00:27:33.730 --> 00:27:41.260 Taylor Stewart: I, for the vast majority of my life was not concerned with issues of of race and racism.
00:27:41.510 --> 00:27:52.009 Taylor Stewart: I actually grew up in a a sort of conservative white evangelical environment that very much shaped the way I interacted in the world.
00:27:52.020 --> 00:28:03.119 Taylor Stewart: I tell people that I missed out on one of the most important days of my life in 2,008, when Barack Obama was elected the first black President of the United States, because AD. I've been old enough.
00:28:03.530 --> 00:28:06.680 Taylor Stewart: I would have voted for John Mccain and Sarah Palin
00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:17.629 Taylor Stewart: in 2,012 I would have voted for Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney graduated High School, registered Republican with the dream of becoming a tough on crime prosecutor.
00:28:17.800 --> 00:28:30.189 Taylor Stewart: I used to be actually a passionate supporter of the death penalty. I gave a speech, my junior year of college in favor of capital punishment, and i'm not that old, so that wasn't that long ago
00:28:30.430 --> 00:28:33.190 Taylor Stewart: people ask me what changed.
00:28:33.340 --> 00:28:45.920 Taylor Stewart: And, to be honest, there was no singular light bulb moment. There was no one argument, no one college lecture. It was a long 2 and a half ideal, logical shift, where
00:28:46.090 --> 00:29:01.759 Taylor Stewart: I i'd always cared about justice. But what change was my understanding of injustice. And so when I do this work today, I tell people that i'm not trying to get people to see new values, but to see the values they already have in a new way.
00:29:01.770 --> 00:29:15.909 Taylor Stewart: And I think that this perspective, the the learning that I've undergone has really impacted my ability to help other people experience that same sort of transformation from from learning about history. And so that is what
00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:25.269 Taylor Stewart: inspired me. To start this work in the first place, is to simply do for others what was done for me, and that is what continues to motivate me in this work today.
00:29:25.460 --> 00:29:40.990 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Well, it's interesting, because i'm sure you must be received very well in your in your hometown. If it was very conservative and evangelical, because often we go and we gain new information. But there are lots of other people who don't have
00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:57.810 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that new learning. And so sometimes we're pushing up against both. And so, while I would love to hear about a part of that that process. What i'd like to do when we come back from the break is, I really want you to talk about
00:29:57.820 --> 00:30:13.280 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: your work on reconciliation and hone in on what you believe are the key components to doing that. So we have to take a break, and when we come back. We'll hear a bit more from Taylor Store. It stays, too.
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00:32:14.480 --> 00:32:32.660 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: we're back with my guest today, Taylor Stewart, before we start our conversation around reconciliation and lynching. I do just want to invite you to go to any place that you stream your music and please download my meditations
00:32:32.670 --> 00:32:52.509 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: on dismantling racism. It really helps us to stay focused and grounded so anywhere you do your streaming. You can find those meditations, and they're in alignment with my book on dismantling racism. So I invite you to go. Take a take a listen to those. So, Taylor. We are back, and
00:32:52.520 --> 00:33:11.100 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and your Ted Talk. You talk specifically about 3 things that we need to do in order to reconcile a luncheon. So if you would, i'd like to hear just very briefly, because I want people to go and listen to the Ted Talk.
00:33:11.130 --> 00:33:17.000 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Tell us what those 3 things are to help us get to that point of reconciliation.
00:33:17.660 --> 00:33:23.939 Taylor Stewart: Yes, the question, how do you reconcile? Lynching has changed my life?
00:33:24.240 --> 00:33:28.749 Taylor Stewart: Not to say that 4 years ago I had the knowledge
00:33:28.870 --> 00:33:42.010 Taylor Stewart: to answer that question. But what I did have, and what I learned from from those like Dr. King and those before me, is to have the courage to ask these impossible questions; and then being willing
00:33:42.020 --> 00:33:55.199 Taylor Stewart: to search for an answer. And so over these last 4 years, I've learned there are 3 are words within this idea of reconciliation, remembrance, repair and redemption.
00:33:55.330 --> 00:34:02.970 Taylor Stewart: And then, in order for us to get to that last our word of redemption, we need to have the courage it takes to undertake. The first 2.
00:34:03.290 --> 00:34:09.920 Taylor Stewart: I believe that we can't change the past, but we can always change our relationship to it.
00:34:10.020 --> 00:34:12.659 Taylor Stewart: History is a story.
00:34:12.820 --> 00:34:31.160 Taylor Stewart: and importantly, it's a story that's not finished. It's ongoing, which means that you and I are in charge of the ending. And so I believe that there's a a resistance to talking about these stories of historical and justice, because people feel powerless to what has happened.
00:34:31.170 --> 00:34:40.119 Taylor Stewart: But what I like to do is to try to give people the belief that they do, in fact, have power to control how those stories end. And so.
00:34:40.130 --> 00:34:53.849 Taylor Stewart: through the remembrance work and the ongoing work we have tried to elongate Alonso Tucker Story that so that his story doesn't end in 1,902. But it actually continues on into the 20 first century
00:34:53.860 --> 00:35:06.670 Taylor Stewart: through the remembrance work, the steps that we're undertaking to engage in repair, so that we can hopefully one day bring him that semblance of redemptive justice because of this new ending that we've given to his story.
00:35:06.760 --> 00:35:19.559 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Hmm. Hmm. All right. Great. Thank you for that. Because you're showing how important it is to remember, because most people don't want to remember painful things. And so what about that second step, then?
00:35:19.670 --> 00:35:21.350 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: So we have a number.
00:35:21.740 --> 00:35:29.459 Taylor Stewart: Then we repair. We have to put an end to the harm, as it presently exists in the case of lynching.
00:35:29.530 --> 00:35:39.000 Taylor Stewart: I believe that we have to repair the fundamental question of who our society believes deserves death, because the answer
00:35:39.130 --> 00:35:40.680 Taylor Stewart: continues to be
00:35:40.980 --> 00:35:43.649 Taylor Stewart: people that look like you and me.
00:35:43.770 --> 00:35:50.090 Taylor Stewart: and that the value of our lives are tied up in this question, too.
00:35:50.150 --> 00:36:01.469 Taylor Stewart: I believe that you don't have to care about the people on death row to care about the death penalty. You just have to care about what their sentences mean to us.
00:36:01.520 --> 00:36:08.719 Taylor Stewart: There is no greater determination of the value of life than the lives we are willing to take.
00:36:08.730 --> 00:36:32.009 Taylor Stewart: and capital punishment has simply replaced lynching as the tool of that determination. And so I help lead the efforts to end the death penalty and organ really focusing in on Alonso Tucker story, this legacy of lynching, and, most importantly, the racial disproportionality that we see in capital punishment in the United States.
00:36:32.020 --> 00:36:45.629 Taylor Stewart: I believe that there is no justice unless there is equal justice, and that the system that we depend upon to dispense the most ultimate form of justice is too flawed to produce anything but injustice.
00:36:45.640 --> 00:37:02.859 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: So I want you to speak before it before you go too far, because I I know the numbers in terms of the number of black people and people of color who are lynched in this lunch in terms of capital punishment.
00:37:02.950 --> 00:37:11.349 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: You said the worst disproportionately, but I think people need to hear numbers, because sometimes things are just words to folks.
00:37:11.510 --> 00:37:13.919 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: This is a moral issue
00:37:14.060 --> 00:37:27.379 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that we're talking about. It isn't an intellectual issue. So tell us a little bit about what the numbers are in terms of who is sentenced to death row in this country.
00:37:27.860 --> 00:37:41.900 Taylor Stewart: So actually, at the same time that lynching in the United States started to go down. During the middle half of the twentieth century State sanctioned executions were actually going up in a mere image of lynching statistics
00:37:41.940 --> 00:37:44.259 Taylor Stewart: during the 1930 s
00:37:44.460 --> 00:37:57.439 Taylor Stewart: two-thirds of all executions across the United States were of African Americans, between 1,910 to 1,950, while only making up 22 of the South's population.
00:37:57.730 --> 00:38:10.089 Taylor Stewart: African-americans have accounted for 75 of all of those who are executed in that region, and today African Americans make up 13% of the population but 41
00:38:10.100 --> 00:38:26.050 Taylor Stewart: of those who are on Death row. And when we consider the fact that of that 41%, nearly all for African American males. The African American males only make up 6.5 of our population. We have to ask ourselves.
00:38:26.120 --> 00:38:29.470 Taylor Stewart: How do we get from 6.5 to 41%.
00:38:29.500 --> 00:38:30.399 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Yeah.
00:38:30.570 --> 00:38:50.019 Taylor Stewart: This history of lynching, I believe, is so foundational to our understanding of capital punishment today that we can't understand why we have this racial disproportionality unless we begin to look at this fundamental question of who our society believes, deserves that.
00:38:50.150 --> 00:38:51.270 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: And then
00:38:51.430 --> 00:39:02.609 Taylor Stewart: that's the only way we can truly go about repairing. The legacy of lynching is by putting an end to that harm, as it still presently exists in our society today.
00:39:02.710 --> 00:39:14.829 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Hmm. I love that. I love that I love the remembrance, and I love the repairing because you can't repair something that you can't remember, and you can't repair something if you do not look at how our current day
00:39:15.250 --> 00:39:16.680 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: mimics
00:39:16.970 --> 00:39:21.269 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: our history, and it's so profound, because
00:39:21.660 --> 00:39:38.790 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: most people just walk through the world just things, you know, in in many ways self absorbed and not caring about something unless it's directly related to their group, and even their people of color, who don't recognize those numbers that you're talking about. So you're requiring us to wake up
00:39:39.080 --> 00:39:53.360 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and learn and become educated on how our country is still systemically races, and how that impacts a group of people. So now the third, then part to reconciliation is
00:39:53.950 --> 00:39:55.020 Taylor Stewart: redemption.
00:39:55.570 --> 00:39:59.609 Taylor Stewart: Reconciliation is a narrative, Arc. And so
00:39:59.720 --> 00:40:12.269 Taylor Stewart: we do the the remembrance to understand the first part. We do the repair to understand what we're doing today, and then we envision this new future a new ending to the story, one that I believe
00:40:12.710 --> 00:40:13.660 Taylor Stewart: hand
00:40:13.750 --> 00:40:28.029 Taylor Stewart: help provide the semblance of justice to the end of the story. And so, in the case of Alonso Tucker, I don't believe that his story can end in any other way than a true affirmation of the value of his life.
00:40:28.070 --> 00:40:31.240 Taylor Stewart: and I believe that we can make that affirmation
00:40:31.280 --> 00:40:39.659 Taylor Stewart: by using his story as the impetus to ends the death penalty in organ. And so you know, as
00:40:39.890 --> 00:40:42.399 Taylor Stewart: black lives. Matter fades from
00:40:42.430 --> 00:40:46.449 Taylor Stewart: our long signs, or social media or hashtags.
00:40:46.480 --> 00:40:53.750 Taylor Stewart: I believe that really now is the time to commit ourselves to, to to true affirmation.
00:40:53.990 --> 00:41:03.330 Taylor Stewart: It's easy to post a black square, easy to go to the local park. But do we have the courage to to give up something
00:41:03.490 --> 00:41:07.779 Taylor Stewart: like the death penalty in our society. You know.
00:41:08.150 --> 00:41:12.110 Taylor Stewart: It's hard to come up with an argument, for why we should
00:41:12.180 --> 00:41:26.970 Taylor Stewart: not sent you know they they. They're understandable arguments for sentencing someone to death who has committed a heinous crime. But are we willing to get rid of that system as a whole, because we understand that it can be so flawed.
00:41:27.220 --> 00:41:45.339 Taylor Stewart: I believe, is the sacrifice that is needed in doing this kind of racial justice work. I've learned that doing this work cannot be done without sacrifice. Maybe it's a comfortability, maybe it's certain. But sometimes it is something systemic like
00:41:45.620 --> 00:41:57.539 Taylor Stewart: capital punishment that we do need to sacrifice, to get to that more just country, that more just organ that I know we all want. But it just takes courage to get there.
00:41:57.550 --> 00:42:16.560 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and and I think that there's a sacrifice even to ourselves, to really engage in this work, because what you're asking people to do is not be performed performative in their ideas about racial equity, because I will agree with you wholeheartedly that
00:42:16.570 --> 00:42:19.289 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: you know. At the end of
00:42:19.300 --> 00:42:49.290 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: I shouldn't say at the end of 2,020. It really, after George Floyd was murdered, so many people had their black lives matter signs up and marching in the street. And then what happened? Towards the end of 2,000, and 20, or even 2,021. We don't see it as much anymore. But there is a call and this calling is really a life calling to do this work. It may not be protesting, but it may be doing some of the work that you all are doing in your community there
00:42:49.300 --> 00:42:57.229 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: in Oregon. There are people I know, in in the towns that you've worked in who are really seeking
00:42:57.270 --> 00:42:58.379 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: to
00:42:58.770 --> 00:43:14.680 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: reconcile their past. And so I want to talk with you a little bit when we return from our break in a few minutes. To find out would have been some of the things that you've done. What was the final result really, of
00:43:15.050 --> 00:43:20.269 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: this work that you've done in Coos Bay, where Alonso was lynched.
00:43:20.360 --> 00:43:37.510 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: And also there's other work that you're doing as well in the sundowning towns or people who've had a history of that. So when we come back from our break, we won't have very much time. But i'd love to hear more about that. And again.
00:43:37.560 --> 00:43:43.850 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Taylor, I just want to acknowledge the important work that you're doing by stepping up
00:43:43.900 --> 00:43:47.710 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and stepping out into this new
00:43:48.030 --> 00:43:51.539 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: new journey, even though it's. It's been about 4 years.
00:43:51.580 --> 00:43:58.859 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: But I appreciate the work that you're doing so. We're going to take a quick break, and then we'll be right back to learn more about what you're doing.
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00:46:04.680 --> 00:46:09.070 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: We're back with my guest today. Taylor, Stewart Taylor.
00:46:09.200 --> 00:46:21.829 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: There's so much I want to ask you about. But let's go first to what is happen in cool space since you decided that you were going to fill out that form
00:46:21.870 --> 00:46:25.739 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and move beyond your fear, and be one of those
00:46:25.800 --> 00:46:31.139 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: every day. Extraordinary people who are walking this planet.
00:46:31.530 --> 00:46:35.269 Taylor Stewart: Yes, over the last 4 years. I've learned that
00:46:35.310 --> 00:46:42.389 Taylor Stewart: ordinary people have the power to do extraordinary things by simply asking the question, Why not me?
00:46:42.650 --> 00:46:57.990 Taylor Stewart: And so that's the question that we started to ask in Coos Bay is, is not why me? But why not me? Why not us? Why can't we do this? And so I worked with the community of Coos Bay for 3 years to memorialize Alonso Tucker.
00:46:58.000 --> 00:47:17.839 Taylor Stewart: February, 2,020. We held a soil collection ceremony near the spot of the lynching, and June 2,021. We unveiled the historical marker in the community to memorialize both Alonso Tucker and the thousands of other African Americans who were l in this country, and actually at the historical marker unveiling.
00:47:17.890 --> 00:47:21.210 Taylor Stewart: I I didn't tell anybody I was gonna do this.
00:47:21.260 --> 00:47:31.390 Taylor Stewart: I didn't even tell the equal Justice initiative. But I made my whole speech at that ceremony all about how we needed to end the death penalty in organ, and
00:47:31.440 --> 00:47:43.750 Taylor Stewart: admittedly I was a little bit nervous about how this would go over. Trump won Coos County by 11 points and 2,020. So I was unsure. How this this message about doing something
00:47:43.780 --> 00:48:00.610 Taylor Stewart: potentially political would go over, and to my enthusiastic surprise there was a this message resonated with folks and folks in Coos Bay were like. Yes, this is the next step
00:48:00.620 --> 00:48:13.060 Taylor Stewart: towards this work that we've been doing. We need to in the death penalty in Oregon, and so that really was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life, and it really did teach me that
00:48:13.150 --> 00:48:32.459 Taylor Stewart: no matter where you go, you can find enough people who are willing to choose justice if given the opportunity. It's just a matter of getting them to see when there's been injustice
00:48:33.480 --> 00:48:36.949 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: to understand the process of
00:48:37.030 --> 00:48:43.369 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: just doing this work and being committed. Were there ever any times that you said
00:48:43.960 --> 00:48:49.620 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: I should stop doing this, or you felt tired and weary, and wanted to give up, but something
00:48:49.640 --> 00:48:51.340 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: propelled you to go on
00:48:52.070 --> 00:49:11.340 Taylor Stewart: absolutely. So the how? What happened was so when I actually first filled out that interest form via the Equal Justice initiative. They got back to me a few months later, and had given me email addresses of 3 other people who filled out that same interest form.
00:49:11.380 --> 00:49:13.919 Taylor Stewart: And I, you know
00:49:14.070 --> 00:49:24.149 Taylor Stewart: I had to work up the courage just to to send the first email. I was like, I don't know how to do this project. What I can do is is get the ball rolling. And then.
00:49:24.550 --> 00:49:34.089 Taylor Stewart: unsurprisingly, everyone was from Portland, and I was like that's still not helpful. I still know 0 people in Goose Bay organ, and so
00:49:34.100 --> 00:49:49.970 Taylor Stewart: we we sent. We met at a. We have a a restaurant chain in Oregon called me minimums, and we met at one downtown, and I distinctly remember driving to that Make minimums thinking I can't wait to meet who's gonna lead this?
00:49:49.980 --> 00:49:54.319 Taylor Stewart: And then distinctly remember driving home like oh, no!
00:49:54.970 --> 00:50:00.720 Taylor Stewart: What just happened to me. And so I have constantly felt that
00:50:00.750 --> 00:50:08.280 Taylor Stewart: that overwhelming feeling at the at, the the realization of who I need to become. To do this work.
00:50:08.320 --> 00:50:22.219 Taylor Stewart: I eventually make contact with the History Museum down in Coos Bay, and I traveled from Portland down to Kuz Bay, and I thought I was gonna meet with hey? 5 or 6 folks.
00:50:22.230 --> 00:50:41.700 Taylor Stewart: and then I walk into this room at a community college, and I see there's about 20 people in the room, and I think to myself, oh, a meeting might have just finished, and then it does for me. No, no, they're here for you, and I just think they remember closing the door behind me, looking at the door handle going.
00:50:41.710 --> 00:50:54.030 Taylor Stewart: Lord help me! And so I have constantly felt overwhelmed. The the the the first meeting down in Coos Bay. Oh, it went! Great people were excited. They're like, Yes, let's do this
00:50:54.040 --> 00:51:04.230 Taylor Stewart: A month or 2 later I make plans to go to another meeting in Coos Bay, and then out of the 20 something people who are invited.
00:51:05.030 --> 00:51:12.279 Taylor Stewart: 2 people showed up, and that really was the the low point of
00:51:12.430 --> 00:51:15.880 Taylor Stewart: this entire project. I figured
00:51:16.580 --> 00:51:29.729 Taylor Stewart: I've just put a year of effort into this project, and it's going to go nowhere. I happened to be leaving dinner, and I ran into someone who just couldn't make it, and I had told them I was like. You know
00:51:29.930 --> 00:51:36.970 Taylor Stewart: there is no way we're going to get that historical marker. I don't even think we can do the soil collection.
00:51:36.980 --> 00:51:56.950 Taylor Stewart: And so, but you know, with talking with folks they're like, you know what. Even if we don't have a lot of people let's still do this. We, as a small group of people, even if it's 10 to 15, can do something to honor Alonso Tucker. And so it really was that
00:51:57.340 --> 00:52:05.239 Taylor Stewart: continuing, what I set out to do is that I was going to memorialize Alonso Tucker, even if no one else knew.
00:52:05.260 --> 00:52:23.379 Taylor Stewart: And just by bringing that same, that spirit and that commitment I was eventually able to find people that were like. No, this is something our whole community should be a part of, and so I was able to meet particularly an old history teacher in Cuz Bay, named Steve Gryph.
00:52:23.390 --> 00:52:31.830 Taylor Stewart: who was truly inspirational in bringing that soil collection to the rest of his community.
00:52:32.180 --> 00:52:34.730 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Just when we are about to give up.
00:52:35.140 --> 00:52:46.490 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: There's always as a as I quoted my book, a RAM in the bush, somebody to inspire somebody that helps us go the next mile. And what this says to me, Taylor, is that
00:52:46.700 --> 00:52:50.979 it? Just reiterate what I was saying in my meditation
00:52:51.150 --> 00:52:52.430 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: is that
00:52:52.470 --> 00:53:00.930 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: we are all interconnected, and we are all connected with other people who want to do this work. There are people out here
00:53:00.960 --> 00:53:13.030 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: who are passionate about this, and we are not alone. And so I just want to thank you for continuing to do the work. Now we are down to the last few minutes of the show, and I just really before we go.
00:53:13.480 --> 00:53:22.689 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: I know that you're doing work with sundowning communities, those communities where black folks were not allowed to be after sundown.
00:53:22.770 --> 00:53:26.050 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and there were signs that are posted, you know
00:53:26.090 --> 00:53:28.490 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: don't be caught here after sundown.
00:53:29.620 --> 00:53:30.399 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: What
00:53:30.620 --> 00:53:44.589 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: your work now is is connected with the Sunrise Project. Can you tell us in just about 30 s or so. What is the Sunrise project?
00:53:44.600 --> 00:53:51.800 Taylor Stewart: We chose that name with the idea that sunrise is the opposite to sundown and signals the start of a new day.
00:53:51.810 --> 00:54:14.539 Taylor Stewart: so similar to the story of Alonso Tucker. We're looking to rewrite the ending to the story of a sundown town and create an Indian where a formally exclusionary community can become one of the communities most intentionally committed to inclusivity because of its history. What's exciting is we're looking to culminate much of this work in the installation of a historical marker.
00:54:14.550 --> 00:54:28.429 Taylor Stewart: One side talking about racial exclusion and organ and grants pass, and the other side which is the community we're working with, and the other side a sunrise commitment statement for the community. So we're trying to
00:54:28.600 --> 00:54:50.089 Taylor Stewart: take what was once a sundown town and create this vision of a sunrise community. And what's exciting is this historical marker that we're working on will actually be the first ever historical marker about sundown towns in the entire United States, and so the goal is to expand this work across Oregon and create a blueprint for communities across the country.
00:54:50.100 --> 00:55:00.760 Taylor Stewart: So I wish I could tell you that it was my idea to use the word sunrise. But that idea actually came from a 69 year old white male truck driver from Grants past, named Randolph.
00:55:00.780 --> 00:55:13.410 Taylor Stewart: Take away is that I hope that people remember that this work is about bringing together ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
00:55:13.720 --> 00:55:14.819 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Taylor.
00:55:14.940 --> 00:55:34.189 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: I want to thank you again for being on the show, and I know that your sites were set on becoming a lawyer, and then, somehow the path kind of changed. But you are doing some amazing work, and in law school might still be a part of the future. Who knows but the point that I want to make
00:55:34.200 --> 00:55:48.510 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: is what you've reiterated throughout this whole time. There's work for each of us to do on dismantling racism. We just have to take up the banner and be committed to doing it. And sometimes that means that our life course might change.
00:55:48.530 --> 00:55:50.250 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: but it will change for the better.
00:55:50.570 --> 00:55:59.309 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: And not only will it change for the better we will be impacting what a lives in ways in which we never imagine we could.
00:55:59.400 --> 00:56:03.509 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Taylor. How can folks get in touch with you?
00:56:04.200 --> 00:56:10.669 Taylor Stewart: Yes, please find me via social media on the Oregon Remembrance Project
00:56:10.950 --> 00:56:28.500 Taylor Stewart: on Facebook Instagram. You can look up. How do you reconcile lynching on Youtube? You can find our website@oregonremembrance.org. And please connect. I would be more than happy to talk more about this truth and reconciliation work.
00:56:28.600 --> 00:56:47.519 Taylor Stewart: As I said, at the very start. My goal in all of this is to do for others what was done for me. My life was transformed by the question, how do you reconcile lynching? And I want to help you and your listeners also have that same opportunity to be transformed by the power of reconciliation.
00:56:47.540 --> 00:57:07.039 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Hmm. Thank you so much, Taylor. We started the show with me, talking about I to be Wells, Brian Stevenson. And now Taylor Stewart, who's doing some really amazing work around remembrance. And I just again want to thank you for stepping up to the plate.
00:57:07.050 --> 00:57:15.379 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and we want to. As we're going into the Martin Luther King, we can to really kind of think about what are the ways in which we can honor
00:57:15.600 --> 00:57:29.729 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: the legacy of all who have come before us, because each and every one of us are standing on their shoulders, the people who sacrificed for us. So think about how you can do the work
00:57:29.740 --> 00:57:46.580 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: of racial reconciliation, racial equity, and dismantling racism. Thanks again to my guest, Taylor Stewart, for being here today, and I want to thank each and every one of you for listening. Weekend and week out. Please be sure to send us your comments
00:57:46.910 --> 00:57:55.379 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and stay tuned for the conscious consultant hour with Sam. How he helps you to walk through life with the greatest of ease and joy
00:57:55.470 --> 00:57:58.520 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: may today you tap into that sacred part of you
00:57:58.900 --> 00:58:14.859 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that allows you to make choices that will manifest your good, while at the same time manifesting the good of those around. You know that we are all one, and exist because of one another, make it a priority to share love.
00:58:14.880 --> 00:58:23.679 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: peace, joy, and compassion. Be well, be safe, be encouraged until next time, bye. For now
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