Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series

Sages from Cicero to Oprah have told us that forgiveness requires us to let go of negative emotions and that it has a unique power to heal our wounds. In Failures of Forgiveness, Myisha Cherry argues that these beliefs couldn’t be more wrong — and that the ways we think about and use forgiveness, personally and as a society, can often do more harm than good. She presents a new and healthier understanding of forgiveness — one that will give us a better chance to recover from wrongdoing and move toward “radical repair.” Cherry began exploring forgiveness after relatives of the victims of the mass shooting at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina, forgave what seemed unforgivable. It appeared to her that many people were more inspired by these acts of forgiveness than they were motivated to confront the racial hatred that led to the killings. She was determined to better understand forgiveness and its role in creating radical change. In a conversation with José Jorge Mendoza, assistant professor of