Love and Justice are not two. Without inner change, there can be no outer change. Without collective change, no change matters. —Rev. angel Kyodo Williams, Sensei
I enjoyed getting to know Rev. angel Kyodo Williams when she presented at the CONSPIRE conference in 2017. She is one of the very few black women Zen Senseis (teachers). Through her Buddhist practice, she seeks to liberate both the oppressed and the oppressors, which is appropriate as we celebrate Juneteenth in the United States today, to recognize the final day of emancipation from slavery in our nation. In this passage, she shares her path to becoming an agent of transformative, peaceful social change.