Texas church to donate $13 million to help those hurt by their slave-owning, confederate supporting history
The Rt. Rev. David M. Reed Bishop of West Texas
The first bishop elected to the Episcopal Diocese of Texas was a slave owner who pushed for loyalty to the Confederacy during the Civil War. The first church in the diocese, Christ Episcopal Church in Matagorda, was built by slaves. Now, Texas Episcopalians are addressing the church's history of racism and slavery by dedicating $13 million to help heal the communities injured by it.
Funding from the Missionary Vision for Racial Justice initiative will go toward "racial reconciliation projects and scholarships" at historically black colleges, seminaries, and organizations in Texas. Some will also help underwrite work by the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization that created a lynching memorial in Alabama.
Bishop C. Andrew Doyle, the head of the Texas diocese, met with 38 representatives of historic black churches, inviting them to collaborate on what the church can do to work toward racial justice.
Though the Episcopal Church is one of the least racially diverse in the nation—90% of its members are white and only 4% are black— church leaders have publicly advocated for racial justice, including testifying before Congress in favor of the idea of reparations for slavery in 2019.
Reverend Michael Curry, the first African American to be elected as the denomination's top bishop in the U.S., wrote in a letter that the initiative "to be honest, took my breath away" when he first heard about it.
Doyle told the Houston Chronicle that some people may take issue with the $13 million initiative because of its focus on the past, but said that we can't build a just and equal future without reconciling historical injustices.
"When we believe that God is big enough to mend the broken, we should not be afraid of naming truths that are part of our history…All of our futures are tied to our past. There isn't one future that is somehow disconnected from the story that got us here, and we must be willing to see the connectedness of the past to see how it shapes our future.
There is still a lot of institutional racism and a good measure of change is still needed."
Doyle has pointed out that this initiative is just one step in the process of racial healing. Let's hope more churches and organizations take similar steps to acknowledge and atone for the sins of the past in ways that will open the way for a more just and equitable future.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
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Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."