Hope Fresno was an event intended to specifically unite White and African American congregations in Fresno County, whilst simultaneously spreading the awareness of racial injustice towards citizens of African descent.

Upon arrival at The Well, it was obvious that the church was packed with a racially diverse group, eager to hear what would unfold. Brad Bell, head pastor of The Well’s North Campus (where the event was held), sat amongst the panel of African American leaders to get to the core of the issue.

A major theme throughout the event was storytelling. Most would agree that a common goal between panelists was for no one to leave without some sort of change of heart. This goal was achieved through real-life, tangible tales of racial injustice.

The panel included Dr. Paul Lawrence Binion II, Senior Pastor of Westside Church of God, Bryson White, Community Organizer with Faith in Community and Sabrina Kelly of Habitat for Humanity. The speakers all took their time telling stories of how they had been affected by phenomenon such as white privilege.

Pastor Bell also spoke from his perspective, as a benefactor of ordeals like white privilege, offering the point of view that many caucasian citizens share.

“From my perspective, of a white middle class dude, I saw things a certain way,” Bell said. “But I began to see that there was another life experience that was very confusing to me. In many ways I felt very accused and angry because I’m not a racist or a guy who would intentionally discriminate against anyone.”

Bell went on to explain his new line of thinking after being introduced to the new concept of white privilege.

“What I was told that I was a recipient of white privilege and there was nothing I could do about that,” Bell continued. “It was very disheartening, and at the same time very encouraging because I sat with my friend and I heard my friend. I began to see things differently.”

However, the truth behind racial inequality prevailed through eye-witness accounts. Several panelists visited Ferguson during the time of the Mike Brown protests, and told the real story behind what occurred versus what the media showed. In short, not even a fraction of the true military presence and brashness was shown on news stations, whereas peaceful protesters were made to look violent.

After the event was over, Sabrina Kelly took some time with staffers to explain how she got involved with the Hope Fresno cause.
“Brad and I are really good friends,” Kelly said. “And I share my stories about my nephews with him all the time, because I struggle with how we never understand the reality of their lives as black men in the city or the concept of being a black man in the United States.”

As she continued, Kelly revealed that her main purpose in speaking to this congregation is rooted in the idea of empathy.

“As I was sharing this, which is something I struggle with all the time, he [Bell] said, ‘you need to tell your story in context of white privilege,'” Kelly said. “If you hear these stories from media, but you don’t experience them, it kind of goes over your head. You can think, ‘maybe that’s not true’, or ‘that’s not my experience.’ But if you hear somebody’s personal story, you can develop empathy; and that’s my goal here. If you develop empathy on this learning journey with us, then maybe things will change.”

The panel discussion was concluded by Deth Im, from People Improving Communities through Organization, with an introduction to the activities taking place on Sat, Feb. 7.

Im led exercises which were to provide an opportunity to experience systemic injustice through an exercise and then provided an open forum to share and learn from each other. Attendees also heard from the representative from Faith in Fresno, who provided statistical information about his city.

The Well Community Church can be reached via Twitter: @wellchurch. Faith in Community can be reached via Twitter: @FIC_Fresno.

These writers can be reach via Twitter: @_chloemueller and @_sarapeterson.

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