Ahead of his new book Enlarging the Tent, Jonathon Doering reflects on George Floyd and the importance of activism
In September 2020, I was working as a community development officer in South Yorkshire, quietly weathering Covid lockdown. Life was a little bitter-sweet, with the emphasis on sweet. My family and I were secure, if a little circumscribed in our movements, but essentially safe.
Then – news of a tragedy. George Floyd, an African American, died at the hands of four Minnesota police officers. Like many others, I felt moved to take some kind of action. I reached out to a fellow Quaker and seasoned activist, Nim Njuguna. Our conversation started with me intending to arrange an interview with Nim about race relations in Britain. By the end of that chat, Nim had convinced me to work with him on a series of dialogues where we would interview each other about race, racism, and our responses.
Across the following months, we met over Zoom to explore various topics, ranging from historic guilt, through allyship and potential sources of inspiration, and onto the importance of embracing discomfort.
Our dialogues have developed as a kind of living oral history, recording a meeting of minds between two people, one Black and one White, both open-minded, wanting to discuss positive ways forward on injustice and inequality. As it was a living process, lots of ideas emerged, including the point that we wanted to support readers to take this work forward, which in turn led to us creating ten worksheets on such issues as language, economics, and offering case studies of key Black Quaker figures and their lives.
Since 2020, Nim and I have both faced various challenges and adventures. I have moved with my wife and son to Nottingham. Whilst we miss the people and places of South Yorkshire, we love Nottingham’s vibrant and diverse community. I now have a teaching job in the city centre, with a half hour commute; my bus has become my weekday creative writing office.
Through the same period, Nim, originally from Kenya, has returned to Nakuru, quite close to Nairobi, with his wife Liz. They continue their globetrotting, currently holding a fellowship at Pendle Hill Quaker Centre in Pennsylvania.
So our joint enterprise is gradually maturing and Enlarging the Tent will soon be published. We selected a photograph for the front cover of birds flying free from chains. We hope to see them soar!
Enlarging the Tent is due out from John Hunt Publishing in early December.
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