Editorial May 12, 1997 Issue

Ready for more bridge building?

Russ Gerber with contributions from Toni Morrison

Bridge building is going on. People are establishing ties. Communities are coming together. Cultures are joining hands. A small sampling of headlines over past months gives an indication of the range of connections being forged. "Jews, Blacks Build Cultural Bridges." "Joining Hands To Rebuild Church Ruins." "Students Take Peaceful Path To Resolve Tensions."

Stories about people reaching out to others are inspiring. Take, for example, what's going on in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Six years ago, riots broke out following the death of an African-American child who was killed in an automobile accident in which the driver was Jewish. Hours later a Jewish student was fatally stabbed. Today, after some quiet bridge building between the two communities, relations have improved considerably. Essa Abed, director of a neighborhood family service center, was one of the first people to reach out. He formed a consortium of leaders from the two communities. In a report in The Christian Science Monitor, Abed is quoted as saying, "I think we recognize the fact that people wanted to heal and bring the communities together."^{ Christina Nifong, "Jews, Blacks Build Cultural Bridges," Monitor, February 10, 1997 .}

Such examples remind us that even in those corners of human life where divisions seem deep and irreparable, people are still working diligently to break through barriers, to reach out to their neighbors and overcome whatever keeps them apart. Given the fact that God created man in His image—in the likeness of divine Love—it's really quite natural to expect individuals to be compassionate and understanding, to treat one another with the greatest love and respect—at all times. Man's true nature is the reflection of Love itself.

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