Jess Barrett

Blood & Roses Jess Barrett

In today's world, we must be brave when examining two parallel social dynamics - white racialization and Christian socialization - and how these dynamics work together to reinforce oppression and white supremacy and are passed down intergenerationally, causing intergenerational trauma. Whiteness as we have come to know it is an invisible and perpetual trauma of disconnection, and Christianity is woven into histories of imperialism and violence and must be reclaimed in order to be effective for liberation. I have developed a system known as Blood Work, a process of ancestral healing for white American Christians to reclaim Christianity and heal whiteness on individual, social, and spiritual levels in ways that do not promote cross-racial burden. Blood Work recalls ancient wisdom, seeks to renew Christian values, creates opportunities for restorative justice, and builds bridges toward whole, healthy and just communities. This is important work, and there is no time like the present to begin the work to heal our past, present, and future.