Phoebe Kilby began her peace and justice journey in 2003 when she started classes at CJP. After graduating in 2004, she was not sure what she should do with this new and exciting knowledge. But it struck her that as an American, she could be most effective working in the US. In 2006, she became the fundraiser for CJP, which allowed her to support the program, faculty and students and all their work around the world. But it also gave her the opportunity to find her calling – to work for racial justice, healing and reconciliation between European Americans and African Americans in the US. She began her work in racial reconciliation in 2007, when she first contacted Betty Kilby Baldwin on Martin Luther King Day. Phoebe had discovered in late 2006 that her ancestors were enslavers; Betty is descended from the people that Phoebe’s family once enslaved. Since that time Phoebe has become a leader in the Coming to the Table organization, founded at CJP, which seeks to fulfill Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream “that the sons of former slave owners and sons of former slaves will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” Phoebe with others in Coming to the Table has led workshops and dialogues on racial reconciliation across the United States. She left employment with EMU/CJP in January 2015 and now lives in Asheville, NC, where she continues this work.
In 2021, Phoebe co-authored and published a book with Betty Kilby Baldwin: “Cousins: Connected Through Slavery,” Lancaster, PA: Walnut Street Books, 2021.
Betty and Phoebe are featured in a Netflix documentary that was released on Christmas Day 2021: “Stories of a Generation with Pope Francis,” Episode 2.