“Turning Love into Action”

Dear SOE Colleagues,

My prayers go out to you and your families as we experience ever more changing and  challenging times.  I also pray we will learn from these challenges and turn our observations, reflections, and experiences into ACTION.  I am reflecting on the events of this weekend and the outpouring of shock, grief, and unrest over the untimely death of George Floyd.  As we pray for Mr. Floyd and his family, many are drawing connections to the 1992 Rodney King events in Los Angeles.  At that time, I was a high school administrator and I remember my thoughts and actions focused on the safety of our students and of my sons who were high school age.  I remember we were all horrified at the treatment Rodney King endured.  I find myself asking the question:  Why are we still witnessing the brutal treatment of African American men some 28 years later?  The riots today look very similar to the riots in 1992, as LAUSD Board member Nick Melvoin called the riots, “the language of the unheard.”  I find myself asking:  What have I done to change the system of inequity?  What have I done to promote social justice?

In the Catholic tradition, today is Pentecost, the feast where the Holy Spirit came to the apostles to help them overcome their fears and give them the strength they needed to bring about change.  As I prayed for all of you in the virtual Mass this morning, I found myself reflecting on the need for the strength to bring about healing.  I vowed to live the gospel message and turn LOVE into ACTION.  I call on all of us to reflect on ways we can each turn LOVE into ACTION.  How must we ACT to fight against racism?  How must we work with all our educator candidates, new and in those in the field, to fight against racism, employ restorative justice practices, and live lives motivated by the ”fire of LOVE?”  We have work to do!  I believe together we can make a difference and we can change systems, but we must start today.  We must listen, really listen to the needs of those at the margins.  We must reflect, discern, and then we MUST ACT!  Moving forward in the SOE, we can explore ways that together we can live out and act on our mission of social justice.  As Maya Angelou wrote, “If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.”

Thank you for reading!  Thank you for caring!  Thank you for ACTING!

God Bless,

Mary

Mary K. McCullough, PhD

Interim Dean
Professor
School of Education

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