During Rosh Hashanah services the prayer leader chants a personal entreaty that begins, “Hineni”. By using that one word we are reminded of Abraham’s response when God calls on him to sacrifice his only son: Here I am. The cantor, who prays both with and for the whole congregation, uses this prayer to beg God to recognize that he or she was chosen because of the beauty of their voice; any unworthiness are his or hers alone; and to ask God to cover the transgressions of the congregation with love.
I have always cherished this prayer. I don’t know how wonderful my artistic voice might be. But I want use my voice to understand how we are deeply, emotionally and unconsciously driven by this country’s fraught creation story. America’s past will continue to violate our most hopeful and kind desires for unity and equality unless white people join black people to directly confront the ruinous effects of white supremacy on all our social and economic interactions.
I am here. Hopefully my art will add some understanding to the past of this American present.