What's the Conversation Around Your Dinner Table?

Black Churches in Texas: A Guide to Historic Congregations by Clyde McQueen (2000)

The centuries long history of the US has been replete with racial bias and discrimination. Conversations between Black people and white people about this topic doesn’t really happen very often. In fact, I’ve been called out in the group for saying that I have Black friends, as if I might have only one or two, therefore I am not a racist (because that’s the typical white argument). The truth is that I DO have Black friends. But I haven’t had the same conversations with them as I do with the Black women in The Gathering. Why not?

One woman in the group who I have come to adore said that every time they and their friends have a meal together, they discuss how to keep their sons safe. Every time.

When Clyde McQueen, a Black man who graduated from Prairie View University, found he needed a place to eat lunch while driving his agriculture route around Central Texas, he knew he’d find safe haven under the trees in the parking lot of a Black church. Year after year, Clyde drove same route but the churches weren’t the same. Some of them were gone - burned, fell down, closed, sold. Clyde realized he needed to memorialize these Texas landmarks, so he and his wife began a years’ long mission of documentation. The result is the book “Black Churches in Texas: A Guide to Historic Congregations” published in 2000 by Texas A&M University Press. Clyde and Connie were incredible people: she was a teacher and a friend of my mother’s. In fact, my mother thought of Connie as her sister. I learned a lot from them, and that’s the subject for another time.

I know Clyde and Connie had those dinner conversations, and I know their sons were kept safe because of them. But I know they suffered racial injustice. Otherwise, why would a man need to eat his lunch in a parking lot every day of his working career?

Black Lives Matter. Have that conversation around your table this week. Ask the question, “Have you ever worried that your son would be stopped by the police, dragged out of the car, thrown to the ground, and…and…”

The Gathering - Uncomfortable Conversations in an Uncomfortable Time

The year 2020 was one that was filled with fear. George Floyd was murdered May 25, 2020.   

People rose up in protest against police brutality against Black people & inequality between how Blacks and whites are treated. I saw in the knitting world that there was an attempt to battle racism. Different businesses were attaching position statements of inclusion to their websites. I couldn’t figure out why nothing was being said in the polymer clay world. It was just crickets.

Cynthia Tinapple set up an interview with Debbie Jackson, a well-known Black polymer clay artist. Their video is powerful, gut wrenching and reminds us how racial issues impact all of us in a visceral way.

Debbie said we must do something, so she put together a group of Black and white polymer clay artists and we began a conversation. Many conversations. In fact, we’ve been meeting every 2 weeks for a year.

So today, July 15, 2021, marks the one-year anniversary of The Gathering.

Who Are We?

We came together seeking answers and a safe place. We call ourselves “The Gathering”. And as a group of 14 women - 7 Black and 7 white, living in different states and varied community types from cities to rural areas, we have commonalities. We all work with polymer clay, but most of us also work in other mediums including fiber, mosaic, murals, paint, ceramics, precious metals, writing, and printing. We are a varied group with wide interests. We are passionate, and we are artists.

What Are We Doing?

*When (mostly) strangers come together through shared values, interests and desires that result in a deeper understanding of each other, we all grow. And we hopefully develop lasting friendships.

The relentless racism that still infects America is growing. Our group’s attempt to listen to other voices will culminate in October with a collaborative art exhibit revolving around words. WORDS. Because words matter. How we use them, to whom we direct them, where they go, and the effect they have matter.

So a group art show of Black women and white women, each speaking their truth in consideration of the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement will shed light on the revolution of our group and the evolution of each one of us.

We strive for a celebration of love and persistence from our collective hearts and souls for a better tomorrow through the arts, conversation and new friendship.

It’s a start.

The Gathering 2021