Rodney Bullard, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility for Chick-fil-A, Inc. and Executive Director of the Chick-fil-A Foundation, opened the October 2nd Transform Westside Summit with an insightful devotion. Drawing inspiration from the Bible’s book of Nehemiah and from the story of abolitionist and United States Senator Charles Sumner, Bullard zeroed in on the topic of “Bullying in the Neighborhood” while emphasizing that those working to build a better future for Atlanta’s Historic Westiside should not be deterred when confronting the reality of systemic oppression.

Bullard closed by reassuring listeners that “your blessing is in the bully,” encouraging them to not let people “bully us out of the purpose that we know is better than the bully.” As we move forward in uplifting the people of the Westside, these lessons are timely and vital to dismantling all forms of oppression and creating a new Westside future built on equity, social justice, and economic opportunity.

View Rodney Bullard’s full devotional message below.