Gather At The Table – With Tom DeWolf & Sharon Morgan

Bill Myers Inspires

Bill Myers Inspires Winner of the Phillis Wheatley Book Award for Nonfiction/Biography & Memoir, "Gather at the Table" authors Sharon Leslie Morgan and Thomas Norman DeWolf join Bill Myers to discuss their Healing Journey as a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade. Gather at the Table is the story of two everyday people from diverse backgrounds who are on a mission to overcome the trauma of America’s legacy of slavery and the lingering effects of present-day racism. Over a three year period, the interracial pair traveled thousands of miles through twenty-seven states and overseas, building an improbable relationship. Using genealogy as an undercurrent, they visited each other’s families, ancestral towns, court houses, sites of racial terror, cemeteries, plantations and antebellum mansions, seeking to come to terms with the history out of which racism evolved. The book illuminates healing models developed at the Center for Justice & Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University through their Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) and Coming to the Table programs. Eastern Mennonite University is an acclaimed resource for peacebuilding, having introduced trauma healing models in war ravaged countries around the world. Coming to the Table is an initiative focused on bringing together descendants of enslaved people with descendants of slaveholders; providing leadership, resources and a supportive network for those who wish to acknowledge and heal the enduring wounds. The healing model presented in Gather at the Table involves four interrelated practices: Sharing histories of race with openness and honesty; connecting with others across racial lines; exploring healing through dialogue, ritual, apology, etc.; and actively seeking to heal the pervasive, present-day, structural wounds of racial inequality and injustice. Tom and Sharon hope to inspire a national dialogue about the legacies of slavery and racism and offer practical guidance for individuals and groups dedicated to healing America. https://comingtothetable.org/ ~ More About Bill Myers Inspires ~ Emmy Award-winning actor Bill Myers is an accomplished actor, jazz musician, filmmaker, writer, educator, and speaker. As a bi-racial man who is both black and white, Bill leverages his background, talents, and voice through creativity, compassion, and connection as activism for social justice to focus on uniting the divide and compelling change. In a civic leadership capacity, he has served as President of the African American Jazz Caucus in NYC, member of the Indianapolis Cultural Development Committee, and served as President of the Indianapolis Downtown Optimist Club. In addition to his Emmy Award, Bill has received many awards and notable commissions for his work including being commissioned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art to create an original work for Dr. Martin Luther King Day entitled “The Music, Martin & Me.” Bill Myers seeks to encourage, enlighten, and empower others through the power of entertainment to affect social justice. You can find him at his website Billmyersinspires.com, Bill Myers Inspires on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/billmyersinspires/, Twitter https://twitter.com/bmyersinspires1, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/billmyersinspires/ , or via email [e-mail]. To get more of Bill Myers Inspires, be sure to visit the podcast page for replays of all her shows here: https://www.inspiredchoicesnetwork.com/podcast/bill-myers-inspires/