The ReStory US Travel Seminar begins with a trip to major civil-rights sights and museums dealing with African-American history. It is an emotional journey in time to survey the tragic injustices suffered by African Americans. Some sites include the Medgar Evans Home, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and the Legacy Museum.
Thus, the paper will discuss the role of individual and corporate memory as a foundation for corporate repentance and reconciliation. This paper contends that unless a person or a group is convicted of the historical injustices and their present effects, then true reconciliation is unlikely. First, this paper will survey the dynamics of the memory of historical events in Scripture. God continually reminds Israel of his redemptive acts that should lead them in their worship. It will also discuss the instances of corporate repentance and the confession of past sins. This paper will then investigate the theological importance of memory in for personal and corporate repentance. If repentance is a change of heart, then it involves recounting and turning away from specific sins. This study will then discuss the observations from the Restory Us Travel Seminar. The paper will then integrate biblical, theological, and historical insights and show that the act or corporate memory of historical injustice may serve as a foundation for reconciliation. Conversely, the denial of historical injustices lessens the possibility of reconciliation.