Remember Them: A Monument by Mario Chiodo in Fox Square, Oakland

I find that to be a fool as to worldly wisdom, and to commit my cause to God, not fearing to offend men, who take offence at the simplicity of truth, is the only way to remain unmoved at the sentiments of others. --John Woolman

Welcome to our new breakfast hangout! Leaving Palo Alto meant leaving our old favorite breakfast hangout, 3G's Cafe. Now we bring our breakfast with us and enjoy it at Fox Square. I've been experiencing the powerful monument, Remember Them, by Mario Chiodo. This morning, as I photographed the sculpture, a man approached me to ask me which was my favorite. We got talking, and then he came over to sit with Greg and me, and we talked about great leaders for justice throughout history. How perfect.

I've been in a heated exchange recently with someone who worries that I may be raising my daughter to have a "victim mentality". When I hear people express thoughts like that, it's like a hard, painful pinch. "Victim mentality" is stored in my brain as coded language to express the belief that the problems African Americans face in this country is largely due to poor attitudes. If they weren't so angry, if they weren't so resentful, if they just tried a little bit harder, the problem of racism would go away. A friend, just yesterday, frustrated by the "victim mentality" comment that I told her about, said to me, (I'm paraphrasing) "I wish white people could spend just one day with brown skin. Just one day." Then this morning I noted Abraham Lincoln's quote: "Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to have it tried on him personally." If you don't personally experience the struggles of racial injustice, you can't ever fully understand. But you can move toward understanding. That's the main point of the Woolman 14 Day Justice Challenge: Read about injustice and share about it with others to move toward understanding. Then commit to speaking out against racial injustice without fearing to offend.

I expect the Woolman 14 Day Justice Challenge to remain always at the heart of A Woolman's Journey. Those courageous folks who complete the challenge will get permanent recognition here on the blog. (Of course you can remain anonymous if you choose.)

Remember the challenge: For fourteen days, read an article about injustice and post it to social media with an honest comment. Tag your post with #Woolman14DayJusticeChallenge.

If you are interested in my journey to speak my truth about racial injustice, please become a follower of the blog, A Woolman's Journey.

Visit www.remember-them.org to learn more about the monument and the artist.