Spring 2009 | Volume 1, Number 3

JPC Director's Note

Tali Hairston tells how this issue of the Perkins Perspective shows the power of restorative reconciliation. Watch the video.

Radical Reconciliation Behind Bars

A few months ago, it never crossed my mind that I would find myself visiting Tony Ng, one of three co-defendants in the largest homicide in state history: The Wah Mee massacre of 1983. But I hadn't met Sherry Danza, a black-belt welding grandmother living with muscular dystrophy. Read the full story.

Leaving One Stage for Another

"Lower your head a bit please," Seattle Pacific University's President Philip Eaton calmly asked me during SPU's 2006 Commencement ceremony. Being visually impaired, the act wasn't immediate . . . It was my moment on stage, and I did not have a clue. Read the full story.

Memory, Reconciliation, and Healing

"Tuskegee, Tuskegee, Tuskegee," the supposedly frightened black patient yells at his doctor in a Saturday Night Live skit that was more about signifying a problem than simple humor. His mantra reflects widespread knowledge about a research study often called The Tuskegee Study, which was more formally a labeled a study of "untreated syphilis in the male Negro" run by the U.S. Public Health Service in and around Tuskegee, Alabama, from 1932 to 1972. Read the full story.

The (Sub)Urban Scene

Crying Out for the Kingdom

The year is 2009. The global count of humans that are in the slave trade is 200 million, writes Benjamin Nolot, in The Battlefront of the 21st Century. And 70-75 percent of them are in the sex-trafficking industry. Read the full story.

A Church Finds a Way to Embrace the World at Its Doorstep

Red and gold paper lanterns, garlands, and a candy-dispensing ox mascot greeted 1,200 participants on January 24, 2009, at one of the most extensive Lunar New Year celebrations in the Seattle area. Read the full story.

Two Student Interns Welcomed by the John Perkins Center at SPU

Although the Perkins Center works with numerous students leaders in Urban Involvement, Latreia, SPRINT, and CityQuest, two students will focus on learning more about the many reconciliation efforts of the center. Read the full story.

The Global Outlook

A Journey of Love: Adoption and the Pursuit of Racial Reconciliation

How do you spell reconciliation? One way is a-d-o-p-t-i-o-n. At Westminster Chapel in Bellevue, Washington, 25 members have discovered adoption as means to demonstrating reconciliation by providing parentless children a "forever home." Read the full story.

Following Jesus in China

Across all the provinces, across all educational and social levels, and across a wide variety of ethnic groups, a massive movement is sweeping China. People are thinking and talking about Jesus. Read the full story.

Book Review

The Dangerous Act of Worship: Living God's Call to Justice

Undoubtedly, Mark Labberton's 2007 book The Dangerous Act of Worship will be filed under "worship" in most church, college, and seminary libraries. Too bad. Might as well put it in a wood crate and ship it to denominational headquarters. Read the full story.

Book Excerpt

Let Justice Roll Down

"Something happened to me in the hospital. God showed me I couldn't do everything alone. I couldn't be the big strong superman showing blacks the way to the Promised Land." Read the full story.

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April 6
Community Bible Study With John Perkins
7 p.m.
Emerald City Bible Fellowship

April 7
Lecture With Dr. John Perkins
9:30 a.m., Free
Seattle First Methodist Church,
3200 Third Ave. W., Seattle

Dr. John Perkins, a founding member with President Philip Eaton of the John Perkins Center for Reconciliation, Leadership Training, and Community Development, returns to Seattle Pacific University for this annual lecture.

April 16
American Heritage Series: Caribbean Americans

7 p.m., $7 general admission
$5 for students/seniors
Northwest African American Museum, 2300 South Massachusetts St., Seattle
Visit BrownPaperTickets.com or call 1-800-838-3006 for tickets.

See the political and cultural contributions of Americans of black Caribbean ancestry. Co-sponsored by Northwest African American Museum and the Simpson Center for the Humanities at the University of Washington.

April 17–19
Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival
Seattle Center House,
Fisher Pavilion

Japanese food, tea ceremony demonstrations, and artwork give a modern and ancient view of this complex culture. The event commemorates Japan’s gift of 1,000 blossoming cherry trees to Seattle in 1976.

April 25
2nd Annual On the Road to Educational Justice Annual Conference
8 a.m.–4 p.m., $50 general admission; $10/full-time undergraduate students
Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Wash.
Register Online.

Six interactive workshops led by scholars and social justice activists in the Pacific Northwest. Also two plenary sessions. Attendees will have the opportunity to attend a film screening of a documentary on social justice.

May 16
Dance Masterclass With Camille A. Brown
11 a.m., Free
University Heights-Second Floor Floor Studio: 5031, University Way NE, Seattle
Age group: 13 yrs to adult
Limited space, RSVP required to ewajocentre@aol.com or call 206-322-0155.

Camille A. Brown's work combines contemporary and West African movement. The class includes a warm-up, followed by discovering ways to challenge the dancer's artistic approach.

May 3
Asian-Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration
Seattle Center House

Delve into the cultures of Asia with spectacular lion dances, youth drill teams, martial arts, taiko drums and incredible artists from around the state at the Asian-Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration.

May 9
Spirit of West Africa
Seattle Center House

Explore the African roots of hip-hop, jazz, and rock with live performances by local and touring artists from Ghana, Senegal, Benin, Nigeria, Gambia, and Guinea. Take African drum and dance workshops and more.

May 12–16
Seattle International Children's Festival
Seattle Center Grounds

The Seattle International Children's Festival celebrates world cultures through the performing arts.

May 19
Shirin Ebadi: Seattle Arts and Lectures
7:30 p.m., $10–$60
Benaroya Hall, Seattle

Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian lawyer, human rights activist, and founder of Children’s Rights Support Association in Iran.

June 20
Third Annual Seattle Iranian Festival
11 a.m.–11 p.m.; Free
Seattle Center House

Musical and dance performances, Rumi poetry, foods, an art exhibit, puppet shows, and face , presented by the Iranian American Community Alliance.