In his compelling talk illustrated with short films, Ulysses “Butch” Slaughter relates how he was able to offer forgiveness to his aging father after harboring righteous rage and resentment against him for years for his abusive parenting and ultimately killing his mother. The length and depth of his journey illuminates for all of us the corrosive effects of hanging on to hurt and anger; the universal human need to seek, offer, and accept forgiveness; and the healing miracle of grace in reconciliation.

Leader(s)

Ulysses “Butch” Slaughter is a social entrepreneur, author, and filmmaker behind the powerful documentary series Odyssey To Save Ulysses. A recipient of the 2013 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award in Philadelphia, his expertise in difficult family reconciliations is the subject of the transformative documentary series Reconciled which he hosts and co-created with GRB Entertainment. The program pilot aired on The Oprah Winfrey Network in November 2012.

At the fragile age of 12, Mr. Slaughter listened as his mother Clarice was shot to death by his father Ulysses Grant Slaughter, Sr. Emerging from his bedroom on June 25, 1978, he watched as his mother bled from two gunshot wounds to her head and take some of the last breaths of her life. Stepping over his mother’s fallen body that day was the first, most important act in his amazing odyssey toward forgiveness.

A high school graduate of Chicago’s Quigley Seminary South Preparatory High School, Mr. Slaughter pondered a future as a Catholic priest. Intrigued by existential theories and fate\free will concepts, he spent considerable time reflecting on the death of his mother and the role of a supreme being in the interactions of humankind.

Mr. Slaughter served as a journalist in the United States Navy and holds a Master’s Degree from Lincoln University. He has appeared three times on The Dr. Phil Show and was recently interviewed by Suzanne Roberts for her CNN Headline News series Seeking Solutions with Suzanne. Mr. Slaughter recently completed his third book, Forgive: the New Mantra and Practice for Black Men.

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