Leanne Gutierrez,
Eden Prairie, MN.

Growing up white and privileged in a midwestern college town, I later lived in a Central American country for several years, married a man from that country and now have been raising a beautiful multi-culture/multi-colored family in various states in the midwest. Seeing racism, watching my family process it and experience it in varying degrees with a variety of responses is eye-opening, terrifying, heart-rending, and encouraging. I am learning what my role is, and seeing how my American-born children and foreign-born husband respond to situations and attitudes is so amazing. I never want to be taken back to my complacent upbringing, and yet I am still learning how to be a force for change in myself and in the country I live in and love. It is one thing to take on racism in my own life and heart, and yet another to watch my children do the same. Praying for wisdom, and courage for them, for myself, and for this entire country to have the conversations and receive the healing that is so necessary as we evolve and grow.