'Forgiveness Confronts Race, Relationships, and the Social', Volume V of Vernon Press’s The Philosophy of Forgiveness series, is an exercise in listening. Listening to others, and not just waiting for them to stop speaking, requires a willingness to recognize the worth of the other and to believe that what they say is worthy of consideration. Much like reading a book, one must strive to quiet the constant voice in one’s head in order to hear and process the information communicated. Listening is not always easy, and it takes considerable practice, but it is one of the most effective means for developing understanding and growing as an intellectual and moral person. Literature dealing with forgiveness lacks many important voices, including those from First Peoples, African American, LatinX, and LGTBQ+ , and many others, and the authors of 'Forgiveness Confronts Race, Relationships, and the Social' begin the task of closing these gaps, discussing topics from folk and other social and political issues to racism, systems of oppression, and religion. The authors were asked to explore forgiveness from their own understandings of underrepresented aspects of forgiveness, and readers will hopefully be enlightened and inspired to make their own diverse voices of forgiveness heard, creating a true dialogue of diversity and wisdom.

'Forgiveness Confronts Race, Relationships, and the Social', Volume V of Vernon Press's The Philosophy of Forgiveness series, is an exercise in listening. Listening to others, and not just waiting for them to stop speaking, requires a willingness to recognize the worth of the other and to believe that what they say is worthy of consideration. Much like reading a book, one must strive to quiet the constant voice in one's head in order to hear and process the information communicated. Listening is not always easy, and it takes considerable practice, but it is one of the most effective means for developing understanding and growing as an intellectual and moral person. Literature dealing with forgiveness lacks many important voices, including those from First Peoples, African American, LatinX, and LGTBQ+, and many others, and the authors of 'Forgiveness Confronts Race, Relationships, and the Social' begin the task of closing these gaps, discussing topics from folk and other social and political issues to racism, systems of oppression, and religion. The authors were asked to explore forgiveness from their own understandings of underrepresented aspects of forgiveness, and readers will hopefully be enlightened and inspired to make their own diverse voices of forgiveness heard, creating a true dialogue of diversity and wisdom.

The arguments within the contemporary literature paint a clear picture: popular discourse is marked with extreme partisanship and polarization, threatening democracy, tolerance, diversity, pluralism, and cooperation. Polarization simplifies and deforms language, ideas, and people. Polarization reduces the complexities of social life into an oppositional binary based on crude distinctions revolving around partial and harmful reified conceptions of self and other. Since the egocentric “us versus them” narratives catalyze conflicts which tend to violence, polarization is itself a cause of violence. The project of peace, then, is aided by the project of depolarization. But what can we do to bring about a transformation away from polarity to peace? What are the real polarities obscuring the path to peace? Is it a question of freedom versus control? Is it one of absolutism versus open-mindedness? Is it good versus evil? In a time of increasingly poisonous national politics, widening tribal polarity, and fragmented and fragmenting communities, what sense does it even make to appeal to reason, discourse, and compromise? The authors in this volume attempt to answer these and other questions relating to polarity and politics in the pursuit of peace and justice, the guiding ideals of the Concerned Philosophers for Peace and Brill's Philosophy of Peace series.

This inter-disciplinary collection explores the wealth of nuances surrounding the concept and practice of forgiving. The essays within this work ask what it means to forgive, what constitutes an appropriate space to forgive, what is to be expected of the victim and wrongdoer, what actions must be connected to political forms of forgiveness?

While we are all familiar with the lives of prominent Black civil rights leaders, few of us have a sense of what is entailed in developing a White anti-racist identity. Few of us can name the White activists who joined the struggle against discrimination, let alone understand the complexities, stresses and contradictions of doing this work while benefiting from the privileges they enjoyed as Whites. This book fills that gap by vividly presenting – in their own words – the personal stories, experiences and reflections of fifteen prominent White anti-racists. They recount the circumstances that led them to undertake this work, describe key moments and insights along their journeys, and frankly admit their continuing lapses and mistakes. They make it clear that confronting oppression (including their own prejudices) – whether about race, sexual orientation, ability or other differences – is a lifelong process of learning. The chapters in this book are full of inspirational and lesson-rich stories about the expanding awareness of White social justice advocates and activists who grappled with their White privilege and their early socialization and decided to work against structural injustice and personal prejudice. The authors are also self-critical, questioning their motivations and commitments, and acknowledging that – as Whites and possessors of other privileged identities – they continue to benefit from White privilege even as they work against it.This is an eye-opening book for anyone who wants to understand what it means to be White and the reality of what is involved in becoming a White anti-racist and social justice advocate; is interested in the paths taken by those who have gone before; and wants to engage reflectively and critically in this difficult and important work.Contributing AuthorsWarren J. BlumenfeldAbby L. FerberJane K. FernandesMichelle FineDiane J. GoodmanPaul C. GorskiHeather W. HackmanGary R. HowardKevin JenningsFrances E. KendallPaul KivelJames W. LoewenPeggy McIntoshJulie O’MaraAlan RabinowitzAndrea RabinowitzChristine E. Sleeter

Philosopher Myisha Cherry teaches us the right ways to deal with wrongdoing in our lives and the world Sages from Cicero to Oprah have told us that forgiveness requires us to let go of negative emotions and that it has a unique power to heal our wounds. In Failures of Forgiveness, Myisha Cherry argues that these beliefs couldn’t be more wrong—and that the ways we think about and use forgiveness, personally and as a society, can often do more harm than good. She presents a new and healthier understanding of forgiveness—one that will give us a better chance to recover from wrongdoing and move toward “radical repair.” Cherry began exploring forgiveness after some relatives of the victims of the mass shooting at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina, forgave what seemed unforgiveable. She was troubled that many observers appeared to be more inspired by these acts of forgiveness than they were motivated to confront the racial hatred that led to the killings. That is a big mistake, Cherry argues. Forgiveness isn’t magic. We can forgive and still be angry, there can be good reasons not to forgive, and forgiving a wrong without tackling its roots solves nothing. Examining how forgiveness can go wrong in families, between friends, at work, and in the media, politics, and beyond, Cherry addresses forgiveness and race, canceling versus forgiving, self-forgiveness, and more. She takes the burden of forgiveness off those who have been wronged and offers guidance both to those deciding whether and how to forgive and those seeking forgiveness. By showing us how to do forgiveness better, Failures of Forgiveness promises to transform how we deal with wrongdoing in our lives, opening a new path to true healing and reconciliation.

Volume II of Vernon Press’s series on the Philosophy of Forgiveness offers several challenging and provocative chapters that seek to push the conversation in new directions and dimensions. Volume I, Explorations of Forgiveness: Personal, Relational, and Religious, began the task of creating a consistent multi-dimensional account of forgiveness, and Volume II’s New Dimensions of Forgiveness continues this goal by presenting a set of chapters that delve into several deep conceptual and metaphysical features of forgiveness. New Dimensions of Forgiveness creates a theoretical framework for understanding the many nuanced features of forgiveness, namely, third-party forgiveness, forgiveness as an aesthetic process, the role of resentment in warranting forgiveness, the moral status of self-forgiveness, epistemic trust, forgiveness’s influence on the moral status of persons, forgiveness in time, the status of Substance and Subject within a Hegelian framework, Jacques Derrida’s “impossible” forgiveness, and the use of imaginative “magic” to become a maximal forgiver. Readers will be challenged to question and come to terms with many oft-overlooked, yet important philosophical dimensions of forgiveness.

This book introduces Coming to the Table’s approach to a continuously evolving set of purposeful theories, ideas, experiments, guidelines, and intentions, all dedicated to facilitating racial healing and transformation. People of color, relative to white people, fall on the negative side of virtually all measurable social indicators. The “living wound” is seen in the significant disparities in average household wealth, unemployment and poverty rates, infant mortality rates, access to healthcare and life expectancy, education, housing, and treatment within, and by, the criminal justice system. Coming to the Table (CTTT) was born in 2006 when two dozen descendants from both sides of the system of enslavement gathered together at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), in collaboration with the Center for Justice & Peacebuilding (CJP). Stories were shared and friendships began. The participants began to envision a more connected and truthful world that would address the unresolved and persistent effects of the historic institution of slavery. This Little Book shares Coming to the Table’s vision for the United States—a vision of a just and truthful society that acknowledges and seeks to heal from the racial wounds of the past. Readers will learn practical skills for better listening; discover tips for building authentic, accountable relationships; and will find specific and varied ideas for taking action. The table of contents includes: Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Trauma Awareness and Resilience Chapter 3: Restorative Justice Chapter 4: Uncovering History Chapter 5: Making Connections Chapter 6: Circles, Touchstones, and Values Chapter 7: Working Toward Healing Chapter 8: Taking Action Chapter 9: Liberation and Transformation And subject include Unresolved Trauma, Brown v. Board of Education, Lynching, Connecting with Your Own Story, Wht Healing Looks Like, Engage Your Community, and much more.

The Philosophy of Forgiveness is multi-dimensional and complex. As recent scholarly philosophical works on forgiveness illustrate, incorporating personal, relational, political, ethical, psychological, and religious dimensions into one consistent conception of “forgiveness” is difficult. As part of Vernon Press’s series on the Philosophy of Forgiveness, Explorations of Forgiveness: Personal, Relational, and Religious begins the task of creating a consistent multidimensional account of forgiveness by bringing together multiple voices from around the globe to analyze, discuss, and draw conclusions about how best to understand forgiveness. The volume’s three opening chapters examine forgiveness as a relational concept, and offer insights into the role of forgiveness in repairing, sustaining, stewarding, and healing relationships damaged by wrongdoing. Continuing with the relational theme, the next four chapters incorporate Hannah Arendt’s philosophical teachings (both her writings and her life) into the discussion to offer several intriguing conclusions relating to “unforgivable” persons and acts. The final chapters examine the nature of forgiveness from three major world religions: Buddhism, Christianity, and Confucianism.

Pioneers in the study of forgiveness, Robert Enright and Joanna North have compiled a collection of twelve essays ranging from a first-person account of the mother of a murdered child to an assessment of the United States’ post-war reconciliations with Germany and Vietnam. This book explores forgiveness in interpersonal relationships, family relationships, the individual and society relationship, and international relations through the eyes of philosophers and educators as well as a psychologist, police chief-turned-minister, law professor, sociologist, psychiatrist, social worker, and theologian.