Our first two Common Conversations about Christian Nationalism and Black Burdens lead us now to sit with the trauma created from this history. It is personal and has given us PTSD which we must confront. Our fragile mental health is struggling all the more with a pandemic, political polarization of our communities, images of abuse on black and brown bodies, and a general sense of hopelessness.

• Listen to Dr. Stephanie Pinder-Amaker, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer Director, College Mental Health Program, McLean Hospital, and Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard University,
  
  
• as she talks with Rev. Sabrina N. Gilchrist (class of ’10), NCC, LCMHC, Executive Director of Right Moves For Youth,
  
  
• and Dr. Mark Jensen, Teaching Professor of Pastoral Care and Pastoral Theology at Wake Divinity and Chaplain Supervisor in the Division of FaithHealth at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
  
  
• Moderated by Rev. Laura Barclay (class of ‘08), Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Louisville, KY.

We received questions from Rev. Jessica Stokes (class of '13) Associate Director of Partners in Health and Wholeness, NC Council of Churches, Renisha Harris Lyon current MD/MA in Counseling student of the class of ‘22, Rev. Clare C. Johnson ('11) mental health therapist in private practice, Spartanburg, SC, Mary Beth Beck-Henderson ('21) family educator, Imprints Cares.

Note that the audio version is missing a few components from the video or transcript versions; however, all the conversation is included.

Common Conversations are conversations on common topics between experts in our community and members of the Wake Divinity faculty and staff moderated by Wake Divinity alumnus, students, and supporters. CC is sponsored by the Baptist Commons. 

For our first Common Conversations series in the fall of 2020, we focus on three topics under the theme of “the weight of racism.”

As architects of equity, hope, and healing, we feel there is no more important place to begin than to talk about racism in America. The weight of this injustice is on us all.  As our beloved Deacon  Maya Angelou said, “It is impossible to struggle for civil rights, equal rights for blacks, without including whites. Because equal rights, fair play, justice, are all like the air: we all have it, or none of us has it.”

In our series, we’ll tackle

• The Load of Christian Nationalism and Baptist History for our first episode released in October;
• Black Baptist Burdens | White Baptist Pressures for the second episode released in November; and
• The Gravity of Trauma of These Enmeshed Communities for the third episode released in December.

Don’t worry; you don’t need to be a Baptist to engage.

We hope, however, you’ll do more than watch. We hope you are inspired to start your own conversation after listening to ours. And that you, too, will continue the call for justice, compassion, and reconciliation.