Damaged Heritage: Presentation and Discussion with J. Chester Johnson

On October 8, 2020 at 5:00 pm, the Center for Reconciliation welcomed author J. Chester Johnson for a virtual presentation on and discussion of his recent publication, Damaged Heritage: The Elaine Race Massacre and A Story of Reconciliation. Following his comments, Johnson engaged with incisive questions from the audience and gave his insights on the work of racial reconciliation.

An illuminating journey to racial reconciliation experienced by two Americans – one Black and one white – Damaged Heritage examines how white Americans’ excessive reverence of the past permits the damaged heritage of racism to be transferred from generation to generation. It also offers a blueprint for how our society can at last acknowledge – and repudiate – damaged heritage and begin a path toward true healing.

A well-known poet, essayist, and translator from the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River Delta, Johnson has written extensively on race and civil rights, including composing the Litany for the Episcopal Church’s National Day of Repentance for its role in transatlantic slavery and related evils.

Speakers (in order of remarks):

• Julia Renaud (moderator), Exhibition Manager & Curator, Center for Reconciliation
• J. Chester Johnson, author, Damaged Heritage: The Elaine Race Massacre and A Story of Reconciliation