Activities and Participation


Community Rally and March to the Ecumenical Service at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception. Monday, January 16, 2012 9:00 A.M. Rally at the Town Square in Tyler 9:45 A.M. March begins at the Square South on Broadway 10:00 A.M. Ecumenical Service Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter", Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tyler's Liberty Theatre 7:00pm To Kill A Mockingbird	"Lift Every Voice and Sing"

“The Role of Proper English Teaching and Usage”

"Still the Most Segregated Hour in America"

Thanks to all of you who attended our breakfast meeting at Cox’s Grill downtown on May 20th. We had lively, productive discussion and decided to continue with our topic, “Still the Most Segregated Hour in America—Sunday Morning.”

There seemed to be a consensus to add variety and spice to our evening meeting coming up this week, Thursday evening, June 9th, at 6:30pm—where better to do this than at Namaste Bombay Indian restaurant, 713 WSW Loop 323 (just west of Eyemasters off Brookside Drive.) They have a banquet room awaiting TTRRF. We will have several special guests who are knowledgeable, experienced, and qualified to speak about racial diversity in our local places of worship.

Several ideas to ponder from our discussions last time: first, most would have agreed that coming together in our respective religious communities is a time of worship and encountering God. That said, do we want our worship and encounter of God to be comfortable or something that disturbs our comfort? Much like coming together as a race relations forum, do we attend because “we have it all together,” or do we attend because we realize we are all “works in progress” with much more personal growth ahead of us?

Finally, the older I get the more I realize that all I bring to any discussion is my perspective—rarely, if ever, “the answer.” And I think that holds true for everyone. Therefore, what remains very important is not that we agree or disagree or that we are correct in our thinking; rather it is vital that we listen respectfully to the perspectives of others and speak humbly from our own, always hoping that we grow together.

If you haven’t lately, check out this poem:

Blind Men and the Elephant
-- by John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887)

See you Thursday night!
STEVE RUSSELL, Chairman 903-530-4338
Tyler Together Race Relations Forum