(10/19/14 1:44am)
As I enter into the rush of midterms during my second-to-last semester of college, I can’t help but to reflect on the events that have shaped my Mercer experience. From football games to Pilgrimage to Penfield to Mercer Service Saturdays, there’s just so much to experience in our own little bubble of paradise. One event, however, that has definitely been one of the most enriching for me is the once-a-semester Unity Service organized by Dr. John Dunaway and the Building the Beloved Community planning committee.
Here, in the City of Macon, where once you step outside the Mercer bubble, the racial divide between black and white becomes as apparent as the sun in the sky, race, whether we choose to accept it or not, still seems to have an effect on our day-to-day interactions with people. One particular area in which this is especially true is where we practice our faith and worship.
Aside from a few churches scattered about in Macon with mixed-race congregations, such as Harvest Cathedral or St. Peter Claver Catholic Church, most churches are either predominantly white or predominantly black. A personal wish of mine is that, one day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of a beloved community would manifest itself here in our humble little city. What does a “beloved community” entail exactly? To me, it means people of different races co-existing not only peacefully but happily together. One part of this is black people and white people worshipping together.
It’s true. White people and black people have different styles of worship, different hymns that they prefer, and different ways by which they give glory to the God whom they worship. The key thing to remember, though, is that all Christians worship the same God. Is it too much to ask for one day a semester, when we set aside our differences, and come together to worship our God together?
Now, we, once again, have that chance. This coming Sunday, Oct. 12, this semester’s Unity Service will be held at Greater Allen AME Church at 269 Pursley Street in Macon’s historic Pleasant Hill neighborhood. It will be at 6:00 PM and is hosted by the Beloved Community Paired Clergy and Rev. Billy G. McFadden. Rev. Dr. Andrew Manis, author of Macon Black and White: An Unutterable Separation in the American Century will deliver a sermon entitled “Wrestling with Race and Reconciliation.”
At the service, I will have a speaking role, announcing the purpose for the occasion and explaining the importance of God’s people worshipping together in the same house, regardless of race, creed, or background. Come and enjoy different styles of music and worship in the presence of a variety of people of different backgrounds.
President Underwood has made a point of requesting student presence at this event. I encourage every Mercer student to consider spending their Sunday evening worshipping in the manifestation of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of a Beloved Community. Come on out. You won’t be disappointed.
(08/15/14 9:18pm)
I grew up in Macon. I went to Central High School.
Start at Margaritas in Mercer Village and walk due West, across the bridge that everyone tells you not to cross. Turn right on Holt Avenue and, about five minutes later, you’ll happen upon the school where I spent four of the most formative years of my life.
My point here is that Macon has always been my home and this little part of town is where I grew into the person I am today.
Just like so many other high school students, I wanted to escape my hometown for college. I was ready for a breath of fresh air, something new, something that would challenge me and stretch my horizons. I was looking for a place far away from home where I could create a new life for myself.
Life for me growing up was tough. I’m an undocumented student. That means the prospect of college for me was bleak. When you’re not eligible for most financial aid, you can’t work legally or drive legally, and, every moment, you live in fear of being discovered, arrested and deported back to a country very much unfamiliar to you, you want to move as far away as possible from the place with which you associate so many bad memories. For me, that place was Macon.
My senior year of high school, I applied to 14 different colleges and universities. My dream school was Yale University. I thought I had the grades, scores and extracurricular involvement to get in.
Boy, was I wrong. The day I was rejected was one of the hardest moments of my life. Shortly thereafter, however, I received a piece of mail from Mercer saying that I had been awarded the Presidential Scholarship, a full-tuition award that would allow me to finally realize my dreams of attending college.
There was one catch, though. Mercer was in Macon, the very place I was trying so hard to leave. I applied to Mercer as my safety schoo, the school I was sure I could easily get into. Mercer was the last place I wanted to be.
I sucked it up and grudgingly told myself, “A college education is a college education, and there are so many people out there who would do much for this opportunity.” I accepted Mercer’s offer and started my freshman year in the fall of 2011.
Three years later, I’m starting my senior year of college. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had no reason to doubt Mercer.
To be completely honest, what brought me here was the very generous scholarship package that Mercer offered me. Mercer saw the potential in me as a learner and a leader, and it gave me the opportunity to attend college—an opportunity that is denied to millions of undocumented students across the country with similar stories.
Today, however, I’ve discovered so much more to value about Mercer than its generosity in awarding scholarship money.
At Mercer, I’ve made best friends, formed valuable and enjoyable relationships with professors and administrators, and refined and honed the skills I need to be an active contributor to the world around me.
Mercer’s given me so much, and I’ve pledged to do what I can to give back. Last year, while I served as the president of SGA, the thing that kept me going was knowing what Mercer had done for me and thinking about what I could do for it.
Professors don’t just teach you the material. They show you ways to apply it. At this point in my life, as I gear up for the real world, potentially going to law school, and getting on with the rest of my life, I have to take the opportunity to thank everyone I’ve encountered at Mercer. In some kind of way, you’ve all influenced me and compelled me to be the individual who I am today.
Today, I’m an activist for immigration reform. I speak out for millions of undocumented students who deserve to be heard. Our system is unjust and I see it as my calling to do my part to help fix it. Mercer gave me the tools to be a leader and an active participant in the affairs around me.
Mercer has grown to mean so much to me. Despite the fact that it was the last place I wanted to be, now it’s the only place I want to be ,and the only place I want others to go. My love for this place runs through the entirety of my existence.