Topic of Persistence of Racism is Focus for 1st In-Person Event in 3 Years

Gather@Grand, an outreach ministry of the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael since 2015, is an effort to invite partners in study, reflection, and action on a wide range of innovative and relevant content. Invitational by design, Gather@Grand is meant to be just that—a community gathering in our beautiful Gathering Space—and has been a way for everyone to learn from and be inspired by a variety of speakers presenting on a wide range of topics. On Monday, September 19, the Sisters hosted an Open House event to invite others to learn about this year’s chosen topic of systemic racism and the various ways of learning and options for involvement and exploration. It was the first public in-person event in 3 years and more than 75 people joined us.

Program organizer Sr. Barbara Green, OP, shares the origins of the concept, “We are guided by our ongoing commitment to bring the Gospel to bear with depth and compassion on the critical issues of our time. Since 2019, we have chosen to focus on one topic in depth: the persistence of racism, specifically as directed toward African Americans. While our past two years have explored this topic, programs were necessarily virtual. Over the course of the 2022-23 year, the Dominican Sisters invite community members to partner with them to study, reflect, and act on the topic of racism via a variety of modalities.”

Drawing inspiration from the New York Times “Project 1619”, the 2022-23 schedule for Gather@Grand will unfold in a variety of styles and methodologies geared to tackle complex subject matter—lecture/discussions of moments in U.S. history, in-depth facilitated discussions, film analysis, and more.

Read more about various ways to participate – in-person and online!https://sanrafaelop.org/get-involved/gather-at-grand/