Healing Racism Institute will hold a community dialogue on June 24 in Springfield
Jeanette DeForge • June 19, 2025
Her Springfield church is being rebuilt after arson and the man who set it on fire, in a racist tirade, is in custody accused of committing a hate crime. But for Rev. Terrlyn Curry Avery, the story isn’t over.
“As a pastor whose church was burned down, if we don’t look at the rhetoric that caused such racism and hatred we won’t get anywhere,” said Curry Avery, pastor of MLK Community Presbyterian Church and interim executive director of the Healing Racism Institute.
On June 24, the institute will hold a two-hour community dialogue at the University of Massachusetts Henry M. Thomas III campus in Springfield. The agenda: discuss how to fight and heal from racism, especially in the current political environment.
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The Rev. Terrlyn Curry Avery sits in a boat next to the Botti Falls in Ghana. The pastor of Springfield's Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Presbyterian Church recently traveled to Ghana to trace the origins of her ancestors.
The Rev. Terrlyn Curry Avery is the pastor at Martin Luther King Jr. Presbyterian Church. She has advanced degrees including a doctorate from Hofstra University and is interim executive director of the Healing Racism Institute.
