DeGette, Guzman facilitate talk on healing racial divide

Increased understanding between different communities and races will be the key to healing the racial divide in Denver, a faith-based group agreed Saturday. A collection of community members, pastors, civil rights activists and political figures gathered at Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church to discuss ongoing discrimination around the state, tied into larger race issues being played out on a national stage.

Roughly 40 people attended the event, organized by U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette. Sen. Lucia Guzman, D-Denver, moderated the discussion, which involved an open dialogue between Guzman, DeGette and the audience. "I'm honored to have been invited to share in this occasion with the faith community and those who are concerned with these issues," Guzman said. "I applaud Congresswoman DeGette for addressing these issues head on. It's not just about issues in Ferguson but about issues right here in Denver." DeGette, a Democrat who began her career as a civil rights attorney, opened the event with a discussion about recent strife between police and the black community around the U.S.

"The faith community has a very important role in helping the community come together to talk about these issues," said DeGette, who attends Montview Presbyterian. "It's easy to become complacent, but we have to recognize there is discrimination happening right here in Denver."

For the next hour and a half, audience members were invited to share their views on everything from hope in the face of discrimination to what actions must be taken moving forward. Many said the most important step will be to increase understanding between different communities and police specifically. Then, once the understanding is there, more concrete action can be taken.

"We still have a ways to go," said Imam Abdur-Rahim Ali, representing the Black Leadership Caucus. "We need to go beyond conversation towards progress and movement. As people of faith, we have to have hope. Goodness is on the rise."Throughout the discussion, many people sitting in the pews took notes and expressed agreement with the speakers. Some returned to the microphone more than once to express their views.

Ben Sanders and his wife, Angela, each took a turn discussing their involvement with the Denver Freedom Riders and the Black Lives Matter campaign. Last month, they organized a nonviolent protest at the Denver capitol, only to be preemptively locked out of the building. "That powerfully illustrated for me much of what we're fighting against," said Ben Sanders, who is also an associate minister at the New Hope Baptist Church. "We need to improve the relationship between police and the community."

Angela Sanders said she and her husband, both in their 30s, focus on encouraging young people to take up the issue. She was pleased with the turnout for Saturday's event. "I really appreciated the very transparent and frank remarks both (DeGette and Guzman) made about this issue," Sanders said. "It wasn't fluff; it wasn't the same old, same old. I think more conversations like this are important."