The University will get a lesson in the power of forgiveness in the upcoming two weeks. The Master’s degree program in Conflict and Dispute Resolution in partner with Community Mediation Services of Eugene will be putting on a series titled “Realms of Forgiveness: An Opportunity For Dialogue.”
The event consists of a two-week series of lectures, community dialogues, a film series, and an essay contest that all explore the subject of forgiveness from perspectives that range from personal to global.
An exhibition at the Fenario Gallery will anchor the series. The exhibition, titled “The F-Word: Photos and Stories of Forgiveness” will have a reception to begin the show Friday at 8 p.m.
The exhibit is designed to “tell the stories of people whose lives have been shattered by violence, tragedy and injustice and who are learning to forgive, reconcile or move on,” according to the press release. The exhibit will feature a series of photographs detailing various stories of forgiveness, with two men’s experiences in particular.
The men, Azim Khamisa and Aqeela Sherrills, have two powerful stories of forgiveness. Khamisa’s son was murdered and instead of seeking revenge, as he was given the opportunity to do, he instead chose to forgive his son’s killer. He went so far as to offer him a job when the young man gets out of jail.
Through the pain of dealing with the loss of his son he was able to see violence in a new way. “I reached the conclusion that there are victims at both ends of the gun,” Khamisa said.
Sherrills, the other man, was a former member of the Los Angeles-based Crips gang who turned his life around. He brokered a peace agreement between the Crips and gang rival, the Bloods, in 1992, and since has worked at the Watts, Calif.-based Community Self-Determination Institute.
Both men will be keynote speakers at the event, and Sherrills will speak at the Fenario Gallery reception.
The series at the University is a part of a larger program originally started by British journalist Marina Cantacuzino and photographer Brian Moody. These two people have collected numerous accounts of forgiveness and have compiled them into this exhibit.
“Realms of Forgiveness: An Opportunity for Dialogue” is intended to encourage people to think about forgiveness in their own lives and in society at large.
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