Atlanta-based racial justice leader Dr. Catherine Meeks argues that the idea of “racial reconciliation” is fundamentally misleading.
“Reconciliation implies a broken relationship that needs repair,” she said. “But in this country, there has never been a real relationship based on equality. What existed were transactional relationships. What enslaved person had a genuine relationship with an enslaver? How could such a thing exist? As James Baldwin said, ‘We must name what is wrong with us—and then decide what we want to do about it.’ I want to advocate for relationships grounded in seeing one another as human beings and recognizing what we share.”
This philosophy anchors her new book, “Bridging the Rivers of Difference: A Proclamation of Unity in Resistance.” Dr. Meeks centers a core question: Why do communities facing similar struggles remain divided, and what would it take to build true unity?
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