People of Color Vignette #4
(no race or ethnic group specified)

We are a day or two into a ten-day spiritual retreat in which there are a significant number of people of color.  We sit in a circle for “council” and
pass a “talking-stone.”  We each speak, or not, as we choose.  According to
the form of the council, we do our best to speak from our hearts, from the truth of the moment.  The talking-stone first comes to several people
of color.

One person takes the stone and speaks with enthusiasm about the
diversity in the room.  It is something that many of us have been keenly
aware of, but which no one has yet mentioned aloud, "Hey guys, we're all here.  Look around.  This is incredible."

The stone continues around the room.  Much of what is said is a positive
acknowledgement and celebration of the diversity in the room.  The stone then comes to Cheryl, a white woman who says, as she weeps, "I hadn't even noticed that we were different.  I am not responsible for what my ancestors did."  Then she speaks for some time about the suffering she has experienced in her own life.

Questions for the reader:  Why do you think Cheryl felt
the need to defend herself?  What might have been difficult about
Cheryl's behavior for the people of color at the retreat?

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