St. Davids, PA: At the weekly Windows on the World series today Eastern University held a panel entitled The Micah 6:8 Imperative: Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly; Addressing the Justice Issues We Face Today. The panelists included Dr. Francesca Nuzzolese, Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation and Pastoral Care at Palmer Theological Seminary, Dr. Drick Boyd Professor in the Urban Studies Department and author of White Allies in the Struggle for Racial Justice and student David Quinones ’17, co-founder of the Hosea 4:6 Initiative. The panel was moderated by Megan Acedo, Coordinator of Student Ministries and Service Learning and Interim Director of INST 150.
Moderator Megan Acedo had the panel begin the session by discussing their respective areas of interest and their current work within the realm of social justice. David Quinones relayed his journey in creating the Hosea 4:6 Initiative and explained how he came to the realization that individuals of all backgrounds “need to understand each other as a people.” Dr. Boyd explained the five things he believes the work of social justice are include: equity, community, sustainability, peace and democracy . He is currently working to combat institutionalized racism and gave an example of the disparaties surrounding school district funding. Dr. Nuzzolese gave a moving introduction about a recent trip she made to Russia to attend a conference on Human Trafficking and shared how when she is facing serious issues of social injustice in her work she “uses compassion to move into action…to move it toward a different vision and possibility.”
When asked by Moderator Acedo how the panelists work through barriers to their justice work Dr. Boyd replied quickly with “hope” and he further explained that “even if we don’t feel optimistic we can live into hope” and that hope is not something he has but something he does. Dr. Nuzzolese recommended the audience “have gratitude when facing barriers, have gratitude for small victories and look for beauty in all things.”
When a student in the audience asked the panel what their vision for justice was David Quinones replied “To never stop working for it.” Dr. Boyd responded that his vision included his work with Provost Iddings to establish a future research center for social justice at Eastern. Dr. Nuzzolese said her vision included new laws in countries for children where there currently are none, and she added that she challenged the audience to be “inspired to look for justice everywhere.”