When the light of God entered her angry, hurt heart, Alicea Joy Davis discovered a new realm of happiness—one illuminated by love and unity and devoid of resentment. 16 years ago, her life changed entirely; instead of hate toward white America, she welcomed an abundance of forgiveness, making racial reconciliation her life mission. As the founder of Friends of Reconciliation, her Christian non-profit, Alicea is passionately stewarding a vision of a world with no divisions, inviting everyone to join her movement. Through her artistry production company, she recently created an essential survey destined to provide the answer to one of the most crucial questions permeating the racial conversation: Are Black Americans ready to forgive white people?
Alicea Davis, “Black church, speak up on the survey”
Based in Detroit, Michigan, Alicea’s study has attracted the attention of both black and white church communities. “70% of blacks say they do forgive!” she shares. “The remaining 30% said they are trying to forgive white America. So far, no one has said that they do not forgive.” Alicea is preaching for 1 million survey responses.
Despite these statistics, Alicea believes that more people, especially Christians, want to forgive and are simply lacking a platform to express that. Now, her survey is offering Black citizens a unique opportunity to strengthen their bond with Jesus by expressing forgiveness for the atrocities of white oppression. For the white population, the survey, available on Alicea’s website, is a one-of-a-kind chance to witness the rise of forgiveness among the Black communities, which will ultimately shatter more divisions and help white people overcome guilt.
On a mission to attract a million Black citizens who want to contribute to a better future, Alicea has entrenched her impact through multiple ventures and ideas. Through copyrights and trademarks, with her art and poetry to help overcome inferiority, her works will be partially given to underserved communities. “Inferiority is a difficult complex to conquer, and so is guilt. But after all, we are all loved and forgiven at the foot of Jesus Christ. That’s what my movement is all about. I am forgiven, so are you—let’s unite.” she adds.
According to Alicea, one of the most crucial challenges hindering progress is that generations leave this earth without complete progress. We pick up where they started, not where they left off. To illustrate her point, having the same conversation for hundreds of years in the black community. In 2020, George Floyd helped the white community to join in, so we should continue forward progress now. Continuing the conversation, with forward motion, means we listen instead of going back and forth. Collaboration is required for unification and reconciliation.
Contributing to these challenges is a vicious circle of going back to the starting point once the mindset progresses. In other words, the mindset shifts seen currently have occurred in the past, regressing toward disparity once the generations that sparked change pass away. Alicea adds, “We’re just going in circles because we pick up where they left off instead of going the extra mile. As Martin Luther King said, we’re picking up his mantle, and if there’s justice—we celebrate. And justice has been served almost, or nearly every time since 2020.”
Alicea Joy Davis, a needed voice in the racial reconciliation choir, is dedicated to reshaping the current landscape, bridging the gap between the past and present, and championing a world of unity and hatred-free love. Giving a platform to all those sharing her vision, Alicea created the Church survey, a simple yet impactful questionnaire delving into one of the most prominent issues in America. To support Alicea’s mission further, everyone has a chance to donate – by clicking a button below the survey – and join the movement to help Christ forgive the mountain of hate and anger.
“We see that more white people are our allies! But they don’t know they’re forgiven, they don’t know we’re moving ahead, and don’t know that we love them,” she shares. “We have come a long way, and we need to support the continuation of racial healing and reconciliation. We ourselves were forgiven by God many times. He is gracious, he is good; and if God is gracious to us, we should be gracious to one another. I believe most black citizens in the church agree, and the survey will prove it. The only way for unity is to march forth together, without confusion about racial progress, guilt, hate, and divisions.”
