Cracking the Codes

Written on: January 30, 2017

The Associates and the Peacemaking and Nonviolence Committee are co-sponsoring the film Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity. Part 1 was shown on Jan.14 and part 2 will be shown on Feb. 11, 11 a.m. at Holy Redeemer Lafayette.

Filmmaker and racial justice educator Shakti Butler, PhD is a master at inviting people to see themselves as indelibly connected to each other and the world we live in. Dr. Butler is a multiracial African-American woman (African, Arawak Indian, and Russian-Jewish) whose work as a creative and visionary bridge builder has challenged and inspired learning for over two decades. Her work invites her audience to grapple with both the intellectual and emotional complexities of social justice issues.

Dr. Butler is the producer and director of groundbreaking World Trust documentaries. She takes a unique approach to documentary filmmaking. Her core strategy is to harness the power of numerous personal accounts on film.  By experiencing an abundance of voices and stories, viewers more easily include their own lived experiences as part of a larger story. In this way, rooted assumptions, which undergird beliefs and actions, are more readily brought to the surface, contemplated and shared through dialogue. This approach, anchored in transformative learning pedagogy, is an uplifting way to catalyze change.

…More about Cracking the Codes

Sister Eileen Spanier will be inviting students from the 5 Greensboro Area College Catholic Campus Ministries (CCM’s) to view this film on February 19, followed by an opportunity for discussion.

Two of the schools, North Carolina A & T and Bennett College are HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). Of the three remaining schools, one was founded by Quakers (Society of Friends), another is Methodist based and the fifth school is part of the North Carolina University System. Members of 4 of the 5 campus ministries are predominantly minority students, with Caucasian student numbers higher at the CCM on the UNC Greensboro campus. The diversity of the group should provide great potential for a lively conversation.

After the film and discussion, there will be a meal and Sunday Liturgy. Readings for the day taken from Leviticus and Matthew remind us that everyone is our brother and sister and about keeping peace in our hearts. Sr. Eileen adds, “I am sure Father Marcel will help all of us make the connections between the video and our Mass Readings.” 

Sister Dolores O’Dowd encouraged Holy Family Parish in Albion, NY to share the video with their parishioners. Plans are underway to participate in viewing the film and discussing it there, sometime during Lent.

This entry was posted in With a Heart for Justice and tagged: African-American, Cracking the Codes, Greensboro Area College Catholic Campus Ministries, Holy Family Parish Albion NY, Holy Redeemer Lafayette, Peacemaking and Nonviolence Committee, racial injustice, Shakti Butler, World Trust Documentaries