History

People often cite the phrase, "If we don't learn from the past, we are doomed to repeat it." In all the times I heard it (and the few times I repeated it myself), I nodded along, confident that I both understood the quote and was doing my part to heed its warning. Leading up to and especially after the 2016 election, I took a step back to look at everything I thought I knew, including that quote. What I failed to understand before, and what CONNECT has helped me realize, is that in order to truly draw lessons from the past, we must first learn about the past. All of it. Dr. Anderson's book and the discussions that it inspired have helped me better understand the darkest portions of our history. Those discussions offered more questions than answers, and I feel inspired to trace back the issues we are seeing today to better understand their roots and to think more critically about their solutions.

Further, I think our discussions have helped me see the issues at hand are more than just part of the "political climate." I think the spotlight on Trump and others has helped bring oxygen to these conversations, but the questions of equality and justice that we discussed transcend election seasons and political parties. Discrimination and hate don't have an off-season or a singular candidate, and unless we continue to commit ourselves to calling them out whenever, wherever, and however we see them, they will continue to thrive — in the political arena and beyond.

— ​Jamie Kamlet Fragale