Lecrae led a conversation at Yale University for the second time. This time around, the conversation is addressing mental health, faith, culture, and social justice.
After some students formally introduced the event, a student performed in a southern drawl a poem about creating a home outside of the place where you were born and finding joy in the little things of life. Definitely take the time to listen to that!
Then Lecrae comes to the podium. After asking for honesty and openness from the audience, he delves into his childhood. Sexually abused at age 7, he was forced to just shove those feelings down, pretend nothing happened, and “keep moving forward.” People told him he acted like his father, which Lecrae took as an insult. It’s no wonder he suffered from trauma when events such as Trayvon Martin occurred. Lecrae didn’t know how to deal with the trauma since he had been taught to just ignore the feelings.
Through trial and error, however, the rapper figured out what he had to do. “I had to open the closet. I had to look in that closet that I had stuffed all that trauma, all that pain, all that suffering, and I had to stare it in the face. All of that failure, I had to stare it in the face. I had to look at it and allow it to make it into a new me.”
After his speech, the event turned into a town hall meeting type scenario, where the audience discussed thoughts and asked Lecrae questions. The conversation went from social justice to how culture shapes who we are.
For More, Watch the Conversation with Lecrae Below:
Lecrae also preached a sermon on a passage in Hebrews. Check that out here.
