Many of us are in the business of healing through our work as nurses, doctors, social workers, artists, teachers and clergy. We have an instinctive and readily available sense of when what we are doing eases the physical pain for someone, lessons the pressure one feels through economic hardship or alleviates the hardship of caring for an elderly parent. Healing in all of its various applications suggests relief and help occurring where it is needed most.
Since the death of Michael Brown many in the St. Louis region and with justification have used the word “healing” often. There is an almost universal desire that through the use of the word the anger and pain that many feel will go away. The truth is that most pain whether physical, emotional or social does not disappear simply through words. Some intervention may be necessary to truly allow the ailing person (or people) to heal.
Such is the case in St. Louis here and now.
Those who want healing can no longer conjure up the word as if it has powers that will alleviate the pain. The huge miscalculation is that words can work at a time when the injustices stack up so high and over such a long time that they still have a placebo effect.
For many in our community, words no longer work. Promises have often been broken and by those close as well as distant. Fairness, equity, evenhandedness, honesty and righteousness have now become the lie detectors for the so-called “healers” or those who conjure up the word like an expected magic potion. Buyers beware! Those who speak of healing may not see justice as the vehicle to healing.
Each of us must begin to ask ourselves: What are the hard questions we must ask to bring about real healing and justice in St. Louis? Do we know where the pain is located? Do we even recognize that pain manifests itself in many ways, including destruction to property or peaceful protests or even self-destruction? How long has injustice been there, and are we willing to be a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem?
Many of us are so open to the possibility that St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch is sincere when he says that we can now move towards healing, or that Mayor Francis Slay and Governor Jay Nixon really mean that they want healing also. The proof of their sincerity lies not in the words but in the concrete actions they will take to change the dynamics of justice and equity in St. Louis. This cannot be successfully achieved by a commission alone but must be the obsession of every citizen, major institution and corporation in our region.
If healing is to be achieved, the light workers must represent power, ability and diversity and, yes, some of the wounded. It should include a cross-cultural “dream team” of people whose ideas represent different worldviews, experiences and abilities. Teachers, lawyers, clergy, black, white, immigrant, scientists, members of Civic Progress and more.
This is the opportunity to step forward in the clear light of day when the festering boil of denial about inequity in this region has ruptured during our 250-year anniversary. The Gateway Arch is one of the most powerful images in our region, but when we see the Old Courthouse centered in the middle of the Arch from a distance it provides a prophetic statement: that justice and growth go hand in hand.
Our location in the middle of this country with major rivers crossing through our path physically places us in the heart of the country. Could it be that St. Louis has been given an assignment to come from the heart with strategies that are unlike anything that has ever been done? Are we assigned to bring together the healers from business, science, the arts, education and clergy to promote substantive healing that is fueled by a commitment to equity and justice?
If we do this here it will happen everywhere. We have been given a world stage to create a model of growth that is equitable. Now it is up to us to embrace the gift. Out of crisis there is opportunity.
Cecilia Nadal is the founder and Executive Director of Gitana Productions.
