"Creating a personal vision of what eliminating racism means is an empowering tool that will support other steps you take. Your personal vision can express your hopes and desires about ending racism; it can also express your concerns and fears. Your personal vision about ending racism can take many forms – an affirmation, a prayer, a poem, a song, a painting, a ritual, or any other form of creative expression. Your personal vision statement need not be long, but it should come from your deepest feelings and convictions about ending racism. Your personal vision statement is something you can come back to again and again.
A Sample Personal Vision of Ending Racism
"I honor the oneness of humankind. In our different colors of skin I see a rainbow of humanity. In our different ways of life I feel a harmony of experience. In our different native tongues I hear a symphony of expression. In our different manners of faith I experience many paths to the Divine.
"While I fully embrace my ethnic heritage, I wish not to be judged, or to judge others, by color of skin, way of life, native tongue, or faith. I have compassion for all who suffer under the ignorance and pain of racism and discrimination, and I commit myself to taking steps to bring this suffering to an end.
Ideas for a Personal Vision Statement
• List the three most important reasons you have for eliminating racism. Now fashion these reasons into three paragraphs.
• Write a prayer about ending racism reflecting the religious and spiritual tradition you come from.
• Draw a picture of what it would be like to live without racism.
• Collect five stones of roughly the same size. Paint them different colors – red, black, yellow, brown, and white – representing our different skin colors.
• Collect and arrange five gems or crystals of different colors – red (rose quartz), black (obsidian), yellow (sulfur), brown (amber), and white (clear quartz) – representing the different skin colors of people throughout the world.
• Collect or draw the religious symbols of as many great religions as you can find.
Steps You Can Take
• Create your personal vision statement.
• Set aside a regular moment daily, weekly, or monthly to read or review your personal vision statement and reflect on its meaning.
• Change your personal vision statement as your awareness and actions toward eliminating racism change.
• If your personal vision statement is written or visual, display it somewhere you can read or see it frequently (a bathroom mirror, the refrigerator, a prominent place in your home).
