What role do we play in changing this city going forward?
Moving into a fresh week following a week of civil unrest tied to the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by a Charlotte police officer, a question remains. Observer reporter Elizabeth Leland asked it: “Will Charlotte continue to be associated – as Obama did in his speech Saturday – with cities overpowered by racial discord? Or will Charlotte become the city that helps change America’s painful narrative?”
Before this past weekend’s protests continued, I saw some steps in that second direction. On Thursday, Yelp Charlotte’s community manager Nikki Wolfe undertook a “cookies for kindness” initiative, passing out 500 free cookies to people around uptown with the support of Cupcrazed Cakery.
Ken Nwadike, founder of the Free Hugs Project, was photographed giving free hugs to both police officers and protestors.
And on Friday, I saw a black woman stand in the Belk Theater with her hand raised. Other people, black and white, rose around her and stood for the entire length of Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice,” played by the Charlotte Symphony. More than 100 people attended One Charlotte: A Performance for Peace, a free concert hosted by the symphony during the Friday lunch hour.
Conductor Christopher Warren-Green said his colleagues showed up to perform with him when he asked, with no rehearsal. Hugh McColl showed up when he asked, too. “Music is a great healer,” Warren-Green said.
“It’s a nice way to start to heal ourselves and hopefully the rest of the city,” attendee Karyn O’Donnell said about the concert. She said music brought together all types of people that afternoon.
Karyn O’Donnell
Following Copland’s “Simple Gifts,” McColl came to the stage and quoted words by peacemakers in our nation’s history, Maya Angelou and Martin Luther King Jr.
Then he added his own words: “What I want to say today is the time is now. And I want to challenge everyone, particularly the white community, to begin today to talk with and listen to the concerns of each other. Black lives do matter. All lives matter. Our children’s lives matter and their future matters. Now it’s time to come together to solve our social and economic problems.”
For starters, McColl said it’s a goal of his to help create jobs to bring young people out of poverty in this city.
“But the main thing we need to do is to start talking with each other, not past each other,” he said.
The symphony concluded with “Amazing Grace,” and, standing in the balcony as the crowd stayed seated, I found myself waiting for something truly amazing to happen. I don’t know what I expected — only that it didn’t happen.
And that’s because citywide change doesn’t happen during a lunchtime concert for peace. It doesn’t happen in an hour, and it probably won’t happen in a day, or even this week.
But positive change starts by showing up for other people.
“I (saw) the outbreak of violence that had happened recently and I was just concerned,” said another concert attendee, Robin Davis, when asked why she ventured to Belk Theater on Friday. “To see if there was a way that I could contribute positively in the neighborhood. … I said you know what, I’m going out no matter if it’s raining or drizzling, whatever, I’m showing up to support my city.”
Showing up is the first step. For you, that might mean attending an event centered on peace. Or organizing that event. Or passing out cookies in the streets. Or stopping your car to let a pedestrian safely cross the road. Or giving free hugs to diffuse tensions. Or pushing for revisions in the justice system, if you’re in government. Or adjusting the way you respond in a pressure situation, whether you’re with CMPD or not.
We all play at least one role in changing this city. Which one is yours?
This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "What role do we play in changing this city going forward?."