Issue 5 - The Justice Issue by Faith Follows

FAITH FOLLOWS ISSUE 5 | THE JUSTICE ISSUE

FAITH FOLLOWS

BLACK LIVES MATTER BLACK LIVES MATTER

FAITH FOLLOWS

[CONTENTS]

FAITH FOLLOWS

FAITH FOLLOWS THE JUSTICE ISSUE | ISSUE 5

Kids play on top of the Watts Recreation Center, 2018

ACT I

ENTREE`

Reclaiming Beauty

Katy Evans

Meena details the history of India

Grace, femininty and confidence go hand in hand

Boiling Point

HuMan Down

100

The undeniable truth of climate change

ACT II

FEATURES

Cracked Cake

How do we fix something broken? 70

Cover: Jim

The brutal reality of police brutality

Interview: Brian

Storyteller Brian Wertheim retells his exploits and the people in front of the lens

A prophet, a saint, a warrior 84

A Thicker Black Jesus

Toby shares how we can live outside our ‘safe’ theological box

ACT III

LAST CALL

124

152

172

Unexpected Joy

Walk In

What’s Next

136

162

Jennifer shares the reality of poverty

Refugees Are Welcome Part memoir, part hisory, Hayet shares how the current refugee crisis affects us today

Waldo recounts his life changing moment

Closing thoughts and information on the next issue

Up & Up

Rebekah’s shares this issue’s rising musical artists

FAITH FOLLOWS

[CONTRIBUTORS]

PHOTOGRAPHY Hayet Gessese, Carlos Solorzano, Jared Thomas

MARKETING Jennifer Ko

SYDNEY STYLIST Hayet Gessese

WRITING Meena Ramesh, Mariah Holden, Hayet Gessese, Katy Evans, Toby Castle, Waldo Gonzales, Jennifer Ko

MAGAZINE/DESIGN CONSULTANT Phyl Bautzer

DESIGNER Hayet Gessese

COPY EDITOR Hayet Gessese

FAITH FOLLOWS

EDITORIAL This issue is different from the rest. For starters, there’s a one-year gap between the release of this issue and the last. I became burnt out on the magazine. It sounds laughable after only doing this for just over a year but the constant pressure to deliver every three months as essentially a one-man band was a pace that I could not keep up. It took away and squeezed out time from my other endeavors, my personal time, my time with friends and family and with school. This extended time off from the magazine has given me perspective to write with depth and clarity and to focus more importantly on the stories and content rather than meeting a specific release date or deadline. That being said Faith Follows moving forward will be released on a once ‘finished’ basis with the general aim to do two to three collections as opposed to 4 quarterly magazines. The topic of justice will perhaps be a theme that will define this generation. In an ever connected, globalized world through the internet, social media and 24-hour news channels, we can access information on historically unprecedented levels. We see with our own eyes the injustices being committed throughout the world and having the opportunity to share these stories is more than just a privilege or honor. I wrote the lines above and most of this editorial back in 2019 and it’s amazing how relevant those words still are. In May 2020 the world witnessed the murder of George Floyd for nearly 9 minutes when an officer laid on his neck. When this issue was first concepted back in January 2019, almost every article was written in the Spring of 2019, a year before the murder of George Floyd and the global movement to eradicate systemic/systematic racism and police violence against black and brown people. In prophetic fashion, I believe these stories still paint a current picture of what is happening today. While the fight is not over, telling the story is just the beginning. Millions of people are suffering right now. That’s not an exaggeration, it’s a fact. This issue represents the lives of those living in oppression today. The hurting, the tired, the broken, the weary. My hope is that through these stories, conversations would take place that would stir action to join those fighting injustices in your own countries and context. It is for the people and by the people that we can create a change, an effort we cannot do on our own or alone, an effort that can only be accomplished together. So as you read, think of the people that are being represented and ask yourself “what could I do now to make a difference now?” Hayet Gessese Founder & Publisher 8

FAITH FOLLOWS

[ACT] I Meena 12 | Climate Change 22â&#x20AC;&#x2030;| Katy Evans 32 | HuMan Down 42

FAITH FOLLOWS

Reclaiming Beauty

Meena Ramesh

India is no stranger to any aspiring traveller. The cultural mysticism dripping with nature’s beauty, awakening your taste buds with flavors you never knew existed captures any heart that visits… it’s truly a beauty. But anyone who’s been to India can’t help but notice the helpless stares and tattered palms of broken lives begging in the city streets. The grungy smell of the slums, creeping into the metro cities of India leaves every tourist wondering what life must be like for the residents there. The city, lost in the bustling crowd, runs back and forth, overcrowded lanes in all directions… Have we Indians forgotten these faces? Or have we become just too familiar to notice their very existence? For most Indians who live in these cities, seeing them day and night, these helpless hands have been pushed to the category of “annoyance,” some even calling them “Katchara logh” (Meaning rubbish people in Hindi). Everyone sees the problem and it’s been rotting and crying out on the streets for decades now. Yet one would wonder, for a country that’s growing (the GDP rate is right behind UK and France), we still seem to lack so much. But how and why? How is that a country that was once deemed as one of the richest countries in the world has dropped so low as to have 22% of its population still below the poverty

line? To put that in perspective that’s about 276 Million people, more than 10 times the population of Australia, living on less than $2 every day, starving themselves and going to sleep hungry every night. Now what can a mere article do about such a huge problem, right? That’s probably one thing that made me hesitant to even write one on this topic when I was asked. The thought that a mere article can’t do much often stopped me from writing. But what I realized is that knowledge about any issue is a key to fight it, even if it’s in the shadows or just head knowledge, it all matters. I can use this article to spread awareness, pull an ear to listen and may be even shift your perspective a little. You might then realize what you can do to help your brown brothers and sisters across the globe. So here’s all my experiences with India’s poverty and the in depth reasons of why this is still going on. Colonial Hangover There’s a reason why you’ll see most Indians never wasting food at a restaurant even if they are full. Even when they might not do much to help the poor, they still know how many of their own suffer out of starvation. FAITH FOLLOWS

The luxury and privilege of leftovers was a common theme growing up in my household despite coming from a high caste rich ancient royal family in Kerala. I grew up and watched my grandparents provide for the poor and the needy with clothes and food for every festival, special occasions or even just the daily needs when it came to food. You see, the royal families before the British colonized India, they looked after their respective tribes, villages and districts and provided them with food and other amenities as needed and instituted proper taxes to use for efficient rule. My family still carries out this tradition in small ways even though there’s no royal rule or any obligation. But when the British came to India, they stumped our freedom by regulating access to our own crops, spices, gold and knowledge, etc. Slavery was introduced and sugar coated as a civil service, trade job and servant hood with minimum or no wages at all. It was doing more damage than any help that they still claim they did to India. They stripped India of her silk, gold, spices and even burnt several libraries that were storehouses of ancient knowledge. They built railway lines and brought in artillery for war and trade purposes. From an outside prospective, it looked like India was prospering. To the world, it looked like the British brought civilization, development, and industrialization

FAITH FOLLOWS

and taught Indians to be part of the big world movement of Global unification, right? Wrong! This is what they teach you and make you believe but it couldn’t be far from the truth. Now I love the British, don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against them but their rule left a huge dent in India’s economical development. Three Million were killed in a man-made famine in Bengal in 1943 when Winston Churchill was the prime minister of England simply because all the food was shipped to the UK for the British soldiers in World War II, stopping the Indians from receiving any food. “I hate Indians,” Churchill told Amery. “They are a beastly people with a beastly religion.” And at a war cabinet meeting, he said the famine was India’s fault for “breeding like rabbits”. In April 1919, thousands of unarmed protestors were killed in an open fire at the hand of British soldiers at the Jallianwala Bagh Park where all the park entrances were closed off by the soldiers, leaving no children, women or men alive. Throughout the British rule, Indians lost lives, jobs, land, schools, healthcare and even press rights, proving to be as ugly as a dictatorship as Hitler’s with millions dead every year.

FAITH FOLLOWS

The effects of this brought a huge fall in all of India’s economic growth and natural resources. Britain was a parasite over India and fed off of her whole body. This caused a “Colonial Hangover” like never before, and India eventually split into three different countries (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh), depleting her of of her resources and left to die hungry and in massive debt. This caused emotional trauma, the mind-set and sense of striving to survive, division amongst the various religions (where before there was harmony) and extremist violence out of the need for democracy and justice… the list goes on. This is a huge gap that we’re still trying to bridge. Hence the poor families that were stripped of everything still remain poor. Political Corruption Once the British left India in 1947, you would think that a new constitution formed by the fire-blooded, patriotic Indians who fought for our freedom, would be a unified and a perfect one right? Well, it did seem to be perfect at

first, but never unified. The British made sure that while they were in India, they turned Indians against each other: Hindus against Muslims, extremists against the ‘nonviolent’ (Gandhi supporters), the rich against the poor, the literate against the uneducated. As India split, a new constitution now enabled freedom everywhere. But what followed were constant trust-issues, fighting over positions, cutting corners to rise above others and years of riots. Suddenly there was this immense freedom to do whatever you pleased make your own living again with no restrictions, but with limited supply. And so everyone fought for whatever they could to get their hands on anything. The political parties that rose from this desperation started using immoral means to attain what they needed. This became a festering habit and still continues today. What happened to Gandhi’s teachings you might ask? Didn’t he buy us freedom? Isn’t he the father of the Nation? Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for civil rights yet there is still racism, racial violence and unjust killing in the United States. Not everyone agreed with these morally right leaders and injustice still exists today. FAITH FOLLOWS

Hence, India as a nation is still stunted in its growth because of the corruption among the political leaders and the business tycoons. The top 1% of the Indian population owns 73% of our economy! This concentrated capitalism is a huge contributor to the starvation that the country is experiencing. One of the good things India had was the Compassion India project, but since the current Indian government is a Hindu political party, they cut off Compassion’s work in India as it’s a Christian initiative. When this happened the government didn’t do anything to keep supporting these children and their families and they were stranded to starve again with no hope. That’s corruption bedded with injustice! A nation as corrupt as India can only be fully redeemed with God being the center of it all! With His kingdom like rule and moral values instilled in every man and woman, India can be redeemed and restored to the country it once was… So let’s pray for such a future for her! The Caste System Would you believe me if I tell you that there are still people being killed over this caste system issue? Either due to protests or even targeted attacks! Although the caste system originated from the early Hindu scriptures, it was meant to divide the society as per the various duties, but did not mean that the other castes starved or were denied of basic human rights. Under the British Colonial rule, the higher castes, which owned most of the wealth, land and resources, were given more influence and higher paid jobs by the British, while the lower caste was denied off their rights and were used as servants or slaves. This drew a huge wedge between the various castes.

FAITH FOLLOWS

Now after decades of traumatized rule, it’s effects still live on. Though caste systems have been abolished by the Indian Government and treating individuals differently based on their caste is illegal now, people still do condemn those who marry outside their caste or even stand up for the lower caste rights. There’s still a huge wedge between these sections within the Indian society. By marrying within your own castes, (mostly through arranged marriage) wealth remains within these small yet higher caste group of people, leading to a slower development among those in the lower castes. Most of the lower caste communities are born into huge debts from their ancestors that they start paying off at an early age by doing low-income jobs such as servants or housemaids, cleaners, drivers, etc. Thus those in the lower caste are denied of opportunities for education and health care because they can’t even afford to pay for their next meal. See how this can go on as an endless cycle for entire generations? This is how caste systems can cause massive financial and developmental crises among povertystricken Indians. So, what can we do to make this better for them? Spread awareness for this greater need of intervention into such societies. The more you know the more you can help! Pray together with your church for these families in India and even collect money and start a movement to help them if you can. Hoping for a brighter future for India and other such countries, for our brothers and sisters in the world. “Clutching into her flesh, under years of oppression now; She is rising up on her bare back, Justice gleaming in her eyes. War cries rumbling in her heart, “Dear India, wake up!” she said to herself; Birthing a new generation, she lives on, hoping to see her children smile one day.”

British general (left) and guest are served in Bangalore, India, circa 19th century. ÂŠGetty Images

FAITH FOLLOWS

“Clutching into her flesh, under years of oppression now; She is rising up on her bare back, Justice gleaming in her eyes. War cries rumbling in her heart, “Dear India, wake up!” she said to herself; Birthing a new generation, she lives on, hoping to see her children smile one day” 20

FAITH FOLLOWS

Hayet Gessese

Boiling Point

I imagine that when people look back twenty, thirty years from now, I would hope that the moments citizens reflect on are during these times now. Not because of technological advances, sports, fashion, politics but because of this generation’s disbelief to see that the world was changing in ways no one could imagine… that many dared to ignore and believe. Data shows that Greenland has lost an estimated 286 billion tons of ice from 19932016, showing that the Earth’s climate responds to changes in greenhouse gases. In the past thirty years from 1989 to 2019, sea levels have only risen by one centimeter. While the rise of sea levels may seem quite minor given the small circumstantial change, the impact of will however be devastating. Already as of 2019 many developing countries have been affected by disasters, floods, hurricanes 22

FAITH FOLLOWS

due to the effects of global warming and climate change. Countries like Myanmar have already experienced climate change because of rising sea levels have caused its citizens to migrate due to permanent rises in the shoreline that have made certain parts of the country inhabitable. From the developing world, 715,000 people in Pakistan are at risk today. By 2030, river floods could affect 2 million more people, with climate change driving 70 percent of that increase creating a massive refugee crisis. If the ice caps continue to melt at the same rate and the temperature rises 4 degrees Celsius in the next twentythirty years, major coastal metropolitan cities and countries around the globe like New York, San Francisco, Sacramento, Bangladesh, Japan will either be completely or partially submerged

affecting and displacing nearly 216 million people of which, 63 million live in China. Extreme weather patterns all over the world are taking place due to rising global temperatures, rises in sea levels and increased CO2 pollution. Extreme rain and drought is affecting countries throughout Africa, Asia and drought in more than twenty states in the U.S. 2019 was on record the worst year for wildfires in the history of both California and Australia and on the East Coast of the United States, hurricanes have doubled over the last twenty years These are just the basic facts and broad strokes of climate change. Blatantly put, the increase of human pollution has caused significant damage to the Earth and its inhabitants. I don’t dare bother you with marginal facts or repeat the same argument that has

FAITH FOLLOWS

“Climate change is not an abstract danger, it’s an imminent threat”

been made. Undoubtedly so, the case for an argument is invalid as 99.9% of scientists agree that this change is real and happening as I write and as you read this. So there’s no need for an argument to convince skeptics that the problem is real, because it is. Climate change is not an abstract danger, it’s an imminent threat. For decades, climate scientists, organizations, former Vice President of the United States and even the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio have all advocated and fought for climate change. In 2015, the biggest sweeping pass of U.N. legislation was ratified by over 195 countries and the Paris Climate Agreement was born. In the agreement, countries agreed to reduce carbon emissions by vowing to keep global temperature increase to 1.5 Celsius with most countries agreeing to decarbonize completely by the year 2050. The reception however has been met with skepticism. But 26

FAITH FOLLOWS

the efforts of these organizers, politicians and scientists while noble, have been panned by critics and labeled as over exaggerated and scientifically incorrect by climate deniers and those who stand to lose everything from climate change legislation, major and global oil companies and fossil fuel companies alike. Unbeknownst to you (American readers), over $200 million has been spent by a single global company to dissuade public opinion on the matter, fund lobbyists to influence congress and politicians to stifle climate change legislation and most importantly to influence you, the people, to debate the validity of climate change and its existence. All have been effective in doing so, up until last year. In 2018, Greta Thunberg, a relatively unknown sixteen year old from Stockholm, Sweden staged a school strike outside of the local town hall

Students in Nuremberg, Germany protest for climate change on global climate strike day, September 20, 2019

FAITH FOLLOWS

The devestating bush fires in New South Wales, Austrailia.The worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest wild fire in history, 2019 FAITH FOLLOWS

FAITH FOLLOWS

“I couldn’t understand how that could exist, that existential threat... yet we didn’t prioritize it”

to protest stronger climate change legislation. What resulted 14 months later was a global phenomenon, prompting hundreds of thousands of students to strike school for climate change and in the process, travelled the world advocating climate change, shook hands with world leaders and became TIME Magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year. But what caused young Greta to fight for change came about in the normal setting of a classroom. The students in her class were shown a video about the effects of climate change and while many students were able to move on, Greta couldn’t. For months she fell into depression. “I couldn’t understand how that could exist, that existential threat, and yet we didn’t prioritize it,” Greta however saw the crisis at hand and could not, would not move on because of it’s

imminent threat. It’s taken a sixteen year old girl for the world to wake up and think about the severity of climate change it’s devastating consequences. I wonder what this generation will be categorized as in the next ten to twenty years? Will be valiant in our efforts to curb our own carbon footprint and change the environment or will we be apathetic to the situation and suffer the consequences while handing the next generation an insurmountable problem to fix? The only hope is that more Gretas come forth. That more voices rise to challenge the status quo and companies, executives and world leaders drastically reduce emission and their carbon footprint. Charlotte Alter best put it like this: “leaders respond to pressure, pressure is created by movements, movements are built by thousands of people changing their minds.” FAITH FOLLOWS

Darling Daughter

Katy Evans

Growing up my mum was definitely my biggest influence, I’ve always said that if I grow up to be like her I’ll be very happy. When I say she’s my biggest influence, it’s mostly due to the fact that she’s one of the primary factors for why I view the world the way I do. That’s because she is the biggest advocate for softheartedness. Whenever I was faced trials as a child my mum would always advise me, guide me, and pray with me through them in a way that maintained the softness of my heart. I think that’s why I love words so much because a few of them if passed gently in someone’s direction can have a lasting effect on the disposition of their hearts. I’ve always been a bit of a writer. I journaled a lot, wrote stories as a child, albeit I was always too shy to share them and got carried away with writing letters to my friends 32

FAITH FOLLOWS

because it was the kindest thing I knew how to do. I think when I met God, like really met Him, I had this craving to fill pages with lots of lovely words because I just didn’t know how else to express my feelings. It also helped me maintain this soft-heartedness that my mum so persistently instilled in me. Just over a year ago I went through a pretty big heartbreak, which, not to be dramatic, I thought might be the end of me. It took a lot for me to overcome it, however, throughout the process of trying to pick up the pieces I was very much determined not to allow this to harden my heart and God, in the very faithful way that He does, helped me keep my heart soft and open… and He did so with words. It was as if my mind, which had not been filled with the kindest of thoughts, was all of a sudden,

completely infected by this phrase ‘darling daughter.’ Each time I heard it my heart somehow pinpointed the emotion I was felt and I would just write, just as though God was writing a letter to me, titled ‘darling daughter.’ Now this wasn’t something that I was planning on, or even really willing to share. I kind of wanted it to be something to keep to myself, between me and God and have it be our little thing. However, He never does anything for the sake of it, and everything can be used to bring Him glory, even heartbreak. I felt this push to share the stuff I had been writing, with all honesty, maybe expecting just some of my friends to read it and that would be about it. But all of a sudden these people that I didn’t know were reading these letters and God began to move.

FAITH FOLLOWS

“The words we have are able to be tools, tools to use in order to keep our hearts soft and our spirits strong so that we are intimately aware of the One who crafted us”

It breaks my heart a little bit to know that so many of us are in such a place where our souls are crying out for value to be spoken over us in any, and whatever way possible, but thankfully God pours value over us like we’re standing in a torrential rainstorm. It’s become pretty apparent that words speak directly to people’s hearts and from experience, I can say people’s hearts are not something you mess around with. It’s also become pretty apparent that God is building up a generation of women ready for the battle. Now, if I’m totally honest, the whole Christian girl blogger thing, isn’t really my cup of tea, which is probably a little hypocritical of me to say. But the reason I say this is, is that there’s a lot of hype around this wishy-washy, picture perfect, airy-fairy Christianity which doesn’t really seem to line up with anything that we are called to be. The generation that we live in is doing everything possible to rob us

of our value. Our lives scream of striving and insecurity yet we are probably barely even surviving. However the words we have are able to be tools. Tools that we can use in order to keep our hearts soft and our spirits strong so that we are intimately aware of the One who crafted us with the intention of putting abundant value into every crevice of our being. I don’t know about you, but that gives me an awful lot of hope. Women are pretty courageous beings, extremely driven, extremely strong and when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and motivated by the cross, I truly believe we have the ability to empower and lead generational change. Now, this isn’t something I say lightly of course, but I’m confident there’s a shift coming. A real tangible shift in people, and it all starts with value. I’m also pretty confident that words have a huge part to play in this. FAITH FOLLOWS

FAITH FOLLOWS

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Women are pretty courageous beings, extremely driven, extremely strong and when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and motivated by the cross, I truly believe we have the ability to empower and lead generational changeâ&#x20AC;?

FAITH FOLLOWS

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have an opportunity to invite people into a place of true love, true peace, and true identity. We host people in a house of value and lead people into a land of intimacy with the Fatherâ&#x20AC;?

FAITH FOLLOWS

If you think of words like building blocks, it can become an incredible tool for the value we place on people. We have an opportunity to invite people into a place of true love, true peace and true identity. When we speak kind words over on another, we host people in a house of value and lead them into a land of intimacy with the Father. Each word we speak can build a house and influence the place in which we accommodate people in our minds and hearts. When we build a house for every person we meet and invite them in, they should be completely saturated with the value that Jesus places on them to empower and step 40

FAITH FOLLOWS

into all God has for them without any attachments to insecurities. You always notice the difference in the confidence that people have when they feel safe and secure around others who place value on them. Washing someone in value invites them into a place of safety whilst instilling insecurity in someone does not. All in all, let me tell you, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a shift coming in our generation. A generation that will take heart and battle the insecurities and mistruths festering in our soul. As the words of a Christ driven society begin to cry louder than anything, we will see a

people that are so secure in the knowledge that they are valued, that they acknowledge that they are a son or daughter of the Creator of heaven and earth and know that the future is radiating with change. A soft-hearted, overwhelming, overflowing with value kind of change. I have come to speak this over my life and have seen myself become more and more like these qualities every single day. And the same creator is writing millions of values over every individual. Only God knows what this looks like in reality. Until then, I am eagerly awaiting in anticipation.

FAITH FOLLOWS

H U M A DOWN

Exploring the timultous and tense period of America between communities of color and the public servants that are failing to protect them

Words by Hayet Gessese

Photography by Isaiah Rustad, Fred Moon, Ronald Cortes, Getty Images

FAITH FOLLOWS

n October 17, 2018 San Antonio Police Department Officer Steve Casanova responded to a criminal complaint made by Maria Herrera and Esteban Preciado who were delivering menudo on the city’s West Side. According to Casanova’s testimony, a man came out of the house and punched Preciado for parking on his block. These were all the facts Casanova was given before he went on to the scene to investigate the complaint. According to KENS-5 (the local news station in San Antonio) Casanova was familiar with the house because it had been previously visited by the San Antonio Police Department multiple times. At 1AM Casanova recounted that he visited the house with another officer and approached the house with his high beam light flashing through. The officer opened the screen door to reveal a lock barbed door and said “What’s up man?” to the men inside. A man got up from the couch and asked who was shining a light blinding everyone in the room. Casanova then yelled to the man who approached the door and Cassanova pulled his gun through the barbed door, fired two rounds and ran from the house. Casanova’s testimony said that he approached and went into the house and saw that a man with a gun was sitting directly in front of the door who matched the description of the assailant as well as the other kid sitting next to him. The reason he fired his gun was that he saw both men with guns under their waist when he approached the house. The testimony Casanova later gave to the San Antonio Police Department was then changed to just one man with a gun. Upon search of the house, no gun was found.

FAITH FOLLOWS

Black Lives Matter protest in Baltimore, Maryland, 2015

FAITH FOLLOWS

Charles Roundtree’s adoptive mother Bernice Roundtree comforts her daughter J’Kah at athe news conference for Charles’ death, 2018 s 46

FAITH FOLLOWS

“There’s a growing fear among the African-American community that every ride in your car may be your last, every walk down a street may be your last”

As a result of the officer’s actions, 18-year-old Charles Roundtree who was one of the three men sitting on the couch was shot in the chest and died of a gun shot wound. The other round went through the buttocks of Davante Snowden and into the neighbor’s house. Davante was treated with minor injuries after being charged with gun possession. The gun that police found came negative upon testing it for Davante’s fingerprints after it was later revealed that the gun was found on the same block, down the street from the house. Video evidence from the officer’s body cam was released on May 23rd, 2019 and the video showed Casanova within nine seconds raising his flashlight into the house, yelled at Snowden as Casanova approached the door and aimlessly fired his gun through the barbed door. 18-year-old Charles Roundtree had recently become a new father before his untimely death. I mention this story in detail because stories like this happen every day in America. Unarmed men and men of color, particularly black men are being shot and killed consistently. It’s become such a reoccurring event in our news cycles in America that the initial shock to events like this has become numbed. Every shooting becomes just another shooting. Much like the shock of civilian deaths during the 2001 Iraq war, after time, the shock wears off, the reporting of hundreds of innocent lives lost becomes standardized and to our detriment, life-goes-on. But life

hardly returned to normal for the thousands of families that were affected by the Iraq war and the families whose young innocent black men who had been killed. Numerous people, some who I have known have ignorantly claimed that we shouldn’t be parading around the movement ‘Black Lives Matter’ because all lives matter. In reality this statement is true, all lives do matter, but sadly not all lives are valued the same. Not all lives are being gunned down in the streets, in their homes, in their communities, in front of their wives and children as in the case of Philando Castille who was murdered during a police traffic stop while his fiancé and child were in the car. There’s a growing fear among the African-American community that every ride in your car may be your last, every walk down a street may be your last and the sight of men and woman in police uniforms either instills fear or hatred of a system that is wrongfully murdering innocent lives. I use these verbs deliberately because media and other outlets would like you to see these as shootings; accidents that were no more than coincidences as was the case when police officer Amber Guyger shot and killed Botham Jean when she wrongly entered his apartment and killed him, thinking a robber had been in her apartment. A strange phenomenon is occurring where innocent black lives are being traded for bullets and caskets in the United States. FAITH FOLLOWS

FAITH FOLLOWS

Brandt Jean, brother of Bothan Jean hugs former officer Amber Guyger, the woman responsbible for fatally shooting his brother, 2019

FAITH FOLLOWS

And this is not a race issue, a black issue, a police issue, or even a justice issue for that matter. This is a human issue. Gone are the days where these murders only affect a certain race or community. Human lives are being threatened daily, and we must rise and stand with our fellow brothers and sisters to defend their rights to civil liberty, peace and the basic promises outlined in our constitution. The value of the American people is its united front against the attack of democracy and our civil liberties. During times of war and casualties, our grief and mourning turned into strength and unity. When our nation was under attack and the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2011, a nation, a people, rallied in support of our fallen brothers and sisters regardless of race, sex, age or ethnicity. And today we face a similar attack on our people. The devaluing of a race and its subjection to brutality, murder and wrongful prosecution. We must stand with our fellow citizens, our fellow brothers and sisters in this time of distress. May we take on the burdens of all our people. As a United States, as a united people, let us stand hand in hand and take on the plight of not just the African American, but the MexicanAmerican, the Arab-American, the Native-American, the Asian-American, all Americans. United we stand, united we fall. 50

FAITH FOLLOWS

[ACT] II Mariah 54 | Jim 70 | Toby 82 | Micah 96 | Brian 110

FAITH FOLLOWS

CRAC A Conversation on Race in America

FAITH FOLLOWS

CKED CAKE Written by Mariah Holden Photography by Toa Heftiba & Hayet Gessese

FAITH FOLLOWS

If I were to tell you bake me a cake. Crack an egg into the batter, whip it around, pour the batter into a greased pan, place it in the oven, let it rise, take it out, let it cool, then frost it, and throw some sprinkles on it. You would say, “sounds easy enough.” Now here comes the challenge... If I were to say to you, now I want you to take the egg out of the cake, put it back in its shell, back in carton, back in the fridge...well you would look at me with the same disturbed expression you’re making right now. “That’s impossible,” you would say. W.E.B. DuBois once said, “A system cannot fail, those it was never meant to protect.” You see when it comes to conversations about race...and yes I said the “r” word, we tend to be idealistic, optimistic. We see the Oprah Winfery’s and Obama’s of the world and we think surely black people don’t have it that bad, surely we’re a lot further along than when slavery was a thing? Allow me to bring you back to my introduction. ‘The Cake.’ This illustration, used to describe race in America, was first shared with me during one of my lectures in a class titled “Black Lives Matter.” I graduated from New York University, where I studied how people of color are 56

FAITH FOLLOWS

represented in the media and how it affects the way they are policed, governed and treated in society. I also completed a minor in Social Entrepreneurship - but that’s another story for another time. Shaun King, a popular activist and social justice proponent, opened our lecture on race and the 2016 political campaign with a story about cake. How simplistic, yet incredibly profound. You see, in order to effectively have a conversation about race in America you have to understand the basic ingredients of American society. Under our constitution, “all men are created equal.” If that’s truly the case then one has to justify why a certain people group is not considered human. Michelle Alexander in her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness says, “before democracy, chattel slavery in America was born.” At its inception, America categorized black people as animals, property, a utility, not a person with breath and fully realized citizenship and rights. As a black woman, it’s both hilarious and painful when people are shocked about the level of racial injustice and disrespect that circulates on our media outlets today. People say things like “Really!? In 2019, COME ON.” Ha ha ha. Of course in 2019. According to History.com, slavery in America began in 1619 when a Dutch ship brought 20 African slaves to the British colony in Jamestown, Virginia. Under President

“A system cannot fail, those it was never meant to protect”

FAITH FOLLOWS

Lincoln, slaves were legally emancipated in 1863, although the news of emancipation didn’t reach certain states until two years after the fact (not to mention the lack of political and military enforcement to ensure the liberty of slaves in southern states). From 1619 to 1863 we have the time span of roughly 244 years. From 1863 to 2019 we have 156 years. Black people in America have spent more time in slavery, than out of slavery. Perhaps now you can see why I find people’s shock-horror over contemporary issues of injustice both hilarious and painful. When most people discover I studied at NYU, it draws a sense of intrigue. When I share what it is I studied, even more intrigue. The job I carry is one all people with dark pigment and an American accent carry: the responsibility and burdensome task of proving the beauty, depth, intelligence, creativity, brilliance and humanity of black people. When we see issues of police brutality, mass incarceration, district red-lining, food deserts, broken foster care systems, hazardous drinking water supplies, failed education systems, infant mortality, prostitution, gang violence, etc. what we’re really seeing is an issue of value. Marc Lamont Hill wrote a book titled “Nobody.” He said the inspiration for the title came when he was talking to a local resident and neighbor of Mike Brown. If you don’t remember, Michael Brown was an 18 year old black teen, shot by officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson Missouri. Brown’s body laid in the middle of the street for four hours.

“The job I carry is one all people with dark pigment and an American accent carry: the responsibility and burdensome task of proving the beauty, depth, intelligence, creativity, brilliance and humanity of black people”

FAITH FOLLOWS

An embarrassingly short white cloth covered only part of the teen’s body as he lied in a pool of his own blood. When Lamont traveled to Ferguson to report the story, the neighbor said they just left him there “like he didn’t belong to nobody.” Nobody. The truth is, black people, since America was founded have been trying to prove their humanity. The system of democracy and justice was never designed for black people to participate in. We are treated as disposable. Our neighborhoods prove that, our foster care systems prove that, our prisons prove that. Alexander writes in her book The New Jim Crow that we currently have more black people in prison today, than we had in slavery in 1850. The real question is: now what do we do? It’s important to be armed with information, but if there’s no avenue for action we as Christians are no better than the incessant and divisive noise we have coming through our social media accounts and television screens. Since I’ve taken the time to make you privy to the bare bones of the race conversation from the perspective of an NYU grad, here’s what I now want you to do with it. Listen. Not rocket science after all, is it? Our job now is to participate in a restorative justice; a justice in which black people are heard and are believed. This point is even for black people within the liberation fight. How acquainted are we with statistics on black men’s incarceration or readily recognise the phrase “unarmed black man”? Do we know the names of the black women beaten or even raped by police? Do we know Rekia Boyd, Shantel Davis, Shelley Frey, Kayla Moore, Kyam Livingston, or Miriam Carey? Do we care to know? The #SayHerName campaign launched back in December 2014 to raise awareness about girls and women killed by police officers, from ages as young as 7 to as old as 93.

FAITH FOLLOWS

Malcom X said in a speech once, “the most disrespected person in America is the black woman, the most unprotected person in America is the black woman.” W.E.B. DuBois said, “But what of black women?... I most sincerely doubt if any other race of women could have brought its fineness up through so devilish a fire.” Why do I bring this up? Maybe it’s because I’m still mad that Melania Trump ripped off Michelle Obama’s speech, and I refuse to forget because if the roles were reversed, no one else could forget. Maybe I’m a little upset that Taylor Swift had the ‘caucasity’ to rip off Beyonce’s Homecoming performance. Or perhaps it has something to do with the racial disparities in the medical field, making black moms and babies more vulnerable to death than white families. Or perhaps it’s black girls as young as nine being trafficked into prostitution or even kidnapped from their homes to be sex workers in our inner cities. And yet no one looks for them or reports on their deaths... Perhaps I bring this all up because I am a black woman. Black women from every class are affected - even our former first lady. I speak to black men within the liberation struggle and people who hold any level of privilege. 66

FAITH FOLLOWS

“In our efforts to get free we should perhaps scrap the cake entirely and start over with a new mix, then we must prioritize the person who is most degraded and forgotten”

I do not wish to see black people replicate the very systems of oppression we are seeking to undo, through the blind eye we turn to domestic violence and human trafficking. We must advocate for the least of these. In the American conscience we have determined the spectrum of “fittest” as follows: whites, yellows, reds, browns and blacks. No, we don’t forget our Native American indigenous brothers and sisters, who suffered the largest genocide in all human history. We don’t forget our Latinos, or Asian brothers and sisters. But in our efforts to get free, we should perhaps scrap the cake entirely and start over with a new mix, then we must prioritize the person who is most degraded and forgotten. The person who is female, black, and disabled. The person who deviates most from what we’ve determined to be “normal” and “acceptable.” She must receive our full attention. Because if she gets free, we all get free.

FAITH FOLLOWS

J I M

Jim Hoag passionately preached the gospel of Christ until his death. He fought for justice on all fronts, opposed social norms, stood up for the marginalized and met with hundreds of young people in churches and in homes all in the efforts to challenge the status and not accept injustice as a normality. This was his fight. His legacy continues Written by Hayet Gessese Photography by Brian Wertheim

FAITH FOLLOWS

April 26, 2016. Brooke Ligertwood preached a message on the concept of a good father during the Sunday PM services at Hillsong LA. At the end of the 6PM service, Brooke asked Jim Hoag, a respected elder in our church to come on platform and pray for those who never had a father or never had the representation of a father in their lives. Jim being a father figure and loved man in our church prayed a bold prayer, a prayer that those who felt like they never had fathers. That night in that very special moment, for a brief period of time, Jim reminded us who our true father is and always was. It was the last time Jim was ever on platform during a service at Hillsong Church. That night there was a special presence in the room. Holy Spirit, for sure. It was an embrace and never let go moment. It was the first introduction that many had to Jim, a Caucasian, grey haired elderly man who spoke with conviction, passion, gentleness and used words that sparked a fire in your soul. Nearly four years later, that night, like many other nights has undoubtedly never been forgotten. Throughout the generations, key figures in American history have risen in times of war, slavery, segregation, and stood up and fought for the marginalized, the downtrodden and defenseless of society. Men and women like Rosa Parks, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Debois, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, Martin Luther King Jr., Harvey Milk, artists like Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Tupac Shakur. These were the voices of once in a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;generation type leadersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; who ushered in a new era of equality and 72

FAITH FOLLOWS

It was the first introduction that many had to Jim, a Caucasian, grey haired elderly man who spoke with conviction, passion, gentleness and used words that sparked a fire in your soul. FAITH FOLLOWS

“Jim was an evangelist, a poet, an activist, peacemaker, a Jesus loving prophet and martyr”

fought and died for the civil liberties that our constitution evokes, stating that all men are created equal in the eyes of God. These people labored until those who opposed them stopped them or until they succeeded. In today’s modern world activism and advocating for social justice while more common, is an uphill battle for those fighting for civil rights like gay rights, justice for undocumented immigrants, justice for police brutality against people of color and the unlawful discrimination against people of color, Muslims, Latinos and blacks. Today activists in this generation like congresswoman Alexandria Osacio Cortez, Shaun White, filmmakers like Ava Duverney and artists like Kendrick Lamar are fighting much or less the same battles like their predecessors fought against in a 21st Century take on the same issues like racism and discrimination. With every generation of prominent leaders, there are the unsung heroes of that time, people who history never tells us about or hasn’t written nearly enough of. Leaders like Baynard Rustin, Martin Luther King Jr.’s right hand man, was nearly written out of history because he was a gay black man in the 1960s during an area when homosexuality was widely panned. Then there are the unsung heroes this generation, people who historians will never initially recognize but those within a certain movement would know. In this fight against injustice, police brutality and equal rights for minorities and challenging authority, there hasn’t been any person to parallel to what Jim Hoag has fought for. His passion was inspiring, as was his zeal to see the church be on the forefront of issues that affected the very people 74

FAITH FOLLOWS

he surrounded himself by and the church members that he did life with as well as all the homeless he encountered during his life and during the time attended church at Hillsong LA in Downtown Los Angeles and Hillsong NYC. Jim was an evangelist, a poet, an activist, peacemaker, a Jesus loving prophet and martyr. When history writes itself and wraps this portion of time, we wont see names like Jim Hoag in textbooks taught in schools but the movement will be lauded to be included with men like Jim who fought for every man and woman who represented what Jesus proclaimed as the least of these. Early Days Jim was born in Newark, New Jersey. In his teenage and early adult life, he got into drinking and drugs during his high school days and later in his 3 year stint in the army during the Vietnam War (which never had to go). He later found himself in a rehab center in Miami and eventually became a junior counselor within the program. It was through a friend at the rehab center that he met his wife Bobbi. Within a year In 1973, they were married. During a work trip in Central Florida, Jim wanted to see his wife Bobbi and after drinking, drove home and was involved in a car accident that involved a broken vertebra. It was that moment in the hospital that Jim wanted more for his life and on that day in a random city, in random

FAITH FOLLOWS

hospital all alone, Jim gave his life to Christ. He had no idea that a forty-year faith journey lay ahead of him and that he would ignite leaders around him, pastor a church for many years and develop a tenacity, a grit to see the church be the voice to carry the mission of the gospel. The Fireman In 2014 when Jim moved to Los Angeles, he was already an active member in the Hillsong community during his time with his family at Hillsong NYC. Jim lit a fire wherever he went, encouraging and championing any person he came across with a fresh word of encouragement that felt authentic and genuine. It’s no surprise that despite a liver cancer diagnosis in June 2015 and with no real options of treatment, Jim kept going along, meeting with people, hosting studies, weekly justice talks with other church members like nothing was wrong because the faith he shared with Bobbi was stronger than any diagnosis. There was a certain fire that Jim had and it couldn’t be contained and held. Everyone around him sparked, creating fires within and inciting young guns to pick up their tools and become a voice for justice. His frustration with the church being silent on social issues in the mid 2010s became evident and what grew out of that frustration was a fire, a fire that never seemed to burn out. One only needs to look at the posts of his Instagram account to see the genius, the breadth and prophetic edge Jim carried. He wanted to see justice, justice for all people… and he wanted it now. The Pulpit There’s a Starbucks in Downtown Los Angeles on the intersection of South Grand Avenue and 11th Street. In usual Starbucks fashion there’s outdoor tables with the Starbucks branded green umbrellas. It was on that corner Starbucks that Jim took the pulpit to preach every Sunday. There on the table would be his iPad, covered by an Occupy All Streets sticker. He was infamous for his selfies and almost any conversation would end in an iPad selfie. The pulpit was a table and the sermon was a dialogue, a conversation with those he sat across from at at the table, speaking about the injustices happening in America and globally. Sometimes the conversations took place outside, weather permitted and a lot of the conversations took place inside the store but every Sunday, like a local pastor leading his congregation, Jim came ready and prepared to talk about about the heart of the church, what we should doing

FAITH FOLLOWS

“There was a sense of urgency to his message, his tone, his demeanor... Every word that came out of Jim’s mouth was a solicitation to be a different maker. To be a change maker, to act on the current issue”

FAITH FOLLOWS

as Christians to be on the forefront of these issues and how we as a people and the church needed to address issues by name, not just in passing; every single issue and every single person that was affected or being murdered. And the time was now. There was a sense of urgency to his message, his tone, his demeanor and his steel cut glaze. Every word that came out of Jim’s mouth was a solicitation to be a different maker. To be a change maker, to act on the current issue. He encouraged and petitioned us to use our platforms, to use our voices to make a change. The times were never more desperate and the change needed to happen now. Speaking about Jim, one would be remiss not to mention the other part of his double edged prophetic sword that he used to speak God’s words. If conversations were one side of his sword, the other would be his Instagram account. It’s easy to downplay the effects social media can have on a society but to a particular people group, Jim’s Instagram posts, pictures and captions ignited a need for change in the church and as a people, to live life the way Jesus intended us to see life and to live intentionally, in community, caring for the least of these as Jesus commanded. With his thoughtful words, commentary on society, endless selfies with friends and the homeless of Downtown LA, he beckoned those who dared to read through a post to see how Jesus would view our society and church. He challenged us to see those we tend to overlook, the homeless, the undocumented immigrant and to see life the way Jesus would, the way Jesus intended us through a gospel focused lens. And that, is what Jim lived for. To bring those in community and just talk about Jesus. Jim’s favorite verse in the bible was Luke 4:18, the story when Jesus reads a passage from the book of Isaiah in the synagogue: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” There hasn’t been a man like Jim who has outlived this verse in his pursuit for the lost, the poor and in his quest to do so, He became the very man he emulated every day for forty years until his very last breath.

FAITH FOLLOWS

In Loving Memory Of

Jim Hoag 1954-2017

FAITH FOLLOWS

A Thicker A Thicker (Black) (Black) Jesus Jesus Addressing the way we need to see the most influential man in history Written by Toby Castle Photography by Hayet Gessese

FAITH FOLLOWS

It was April, 2015. Los Angeles was buzzing with energy but still predictable: terrible traffic, poor air pollution, and pockets of good coffee. I had just returned from Baltimore, Maryland where I had completed five days of research observing, engaging, and attempting to understand the Freddy Gray Uprising. This was not the first uprising I had witnessed in response to police brutality against people of color. I had been studying the cultural functions (and malfunctions) of systemic racism and trust deficit in Oakland, California and Ferguson, Missouri for almost nine months. The violent death of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenage boy of color, killed in a northern suburb of St Louis in August 2014 by white law enforcement was my catalyst. It changed how I saw myself in God’s world. It helped me see the need for a thicker, ‘Black Jesus’ in our local church communities. I guess, one could say, it shaped my calling. As I walked to get my morning coffee I was thankful for the community God had planted me in. Living in LA, I found myself in a melting pot of brilliance: Sharp minds; articulate orators; innovative artists; and aspiring theologians. If ever I was going to be formed in a context of cultural insight and by a community of excellent people, it was in this moment. Yet, upon reflection, I found I was becoming frustrated by a nagging blind spot. My friends and fellow students were mostly, if not all, theorists. We came to seminary to analyze; wrestle; conceptualize and resolve. We could discuss and debate for hours. When we had dinner, the content of our conversations were mostly about public theology. But still, we did not practice. If we were practicing, it was within the four-walls of the church. This was safe, affirming, predictable – but also insufficient. It was public, but it wasn’t. 86

FAITH FOLLOWS

Depiction of Jesus. Oil on canvas by Ally Sweeney Fine Art 88

FAITH FOLLOWS

My research, experiences, and growing understanding of the complexity of racial intersectionality led me to realize that when the people of God, on mission with God, make public, social commitments to care with and for those oppressed by injustice and poverty, their faith must exist on the streets. It is here they become covenantal instruments of God. Essentially, they begin to embody a thicker understanding and praxis of what it means to be on mission with God. Their faith, in this moment, becomes public as it is drawn into their everyday. I wrestled with this issue and began to realize that a public faith is a holistic expression of the Gospel. Anything less is underdeveloped. When something goes public its mantle is tested. It’s open to scrutiny. It cannot function as a reductionist expression of truth, but must handle and answer sufficiently the complexities of life. Subsequently, I came to see that as a follower of Jesus, we must reimagine our faith not as personal and private, but personal and public. Jesus is Black

humanity. Jesus was less human and more God; less the subject of my conviction, more the object of ego. Whether it was oversight or ignorance, my personal disassociation of Jesus’ cultural reality in first century Palestine detached me from seeing and understanding the manner in which cultural systems impact certain communities – especially, in this case, people of color. I recognized I need to understand the cultural context Jesus was born into. Jesus was a Jew, Jesus was a poor Jew, Jesus was a member of a minority group in the midst of a larger, dominant group living under occupation and Jesus was born to an un-wed teenage mother. And so, to understand Jesus as black is to not receive and perceive him as black as defined by his ethnicity. To understand Jesus as black is to receive and perceive the nature of his being, his existence, his reality. This is not, therefore, a position bound by his race, although he was a Palestinian Jew. This is a position that contends for an ontological and theological affirmation of Jesus’ blackness, rather than an anthropological affirmation of his existence.

Learning all this, I came to see that my perception and reception of Jesus was too thin and sanitized to respond sufficiently to the injustices I had witnessed. It was in this moment I needed to encounter a Jesus that more appropriately equipped me for the social and spiritual needs in my local context. I needed a thicker, ‘Black Jesus’ to help me navigate the complexities I was encountering. James Cone, in The Cross and the Lynching Tree writes, “God is Black in so far as he stands on the side of the oppressed.” I had whitewashed Jesus. I had disassociated his theological and ontological realities that were fundamental to his

While I can never articulate the Black experience, it became imperative that I sought to understand how various social structures, colonial language (both in the United States as well as in Australia), cultural biases, and communal practices sub-consciously marginalized people of color. These moments in Ferguson, Oakland and Baltimore magnified in me my own biases that contributed to the subjugation of the black experience. Despite not being part of the central narrative, I learned very quickly that my cultural background and subconscious biases merely perpetuated a theology that saw Jesus first and foremost FAITH FOLLOWS

as God, secondly as white, and thirdly contending for my individual prosperity. This had to change. Willie Jennings, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale Divinity School argues that all people, despite their ethnicity, can participate in whiteness. Whiteness is not a biological reality one is born into, but a collective power structure in the polis that one chooses to participate in and affirm. Jennings states “Whiteness as a way of being in the world has been parasitically joined to a Christianity that is also a way of being in the world. It is the fusion of these two realities that gave tragic shape to a Christian faith at the dawn of what we call colonial modernity.” It is this fusion of whiteness and a thin understanding of Jesus that has catalyzed many of the struggles we see in our world today. Struggles against nationalism, racism, sexism, and the degradation of our planet. What stops people from participating in concrete, public practices of faith and justice that brings about a thicker more robust expression of faith? Especially in contexts where the people of God are called to contend for others in situations that are seen as complex and capricious. In response, I propose three hurdles that the local church faces currently that inhibit its ability to participate in a thicker expression of a black Jesus: (i) In regards to race, white fragility; (ii) In regards to theology, reductionism; (iii) In regards to community, hyper individualism. White Fragility Robin DiAngelo, author of ‘White Fragility’, defines racism as encompassing economic, political, social, and

FAITH FOLLOWS

cultural structures, actions, and beliefs that systematize and perpetuate an unequal distribution of privileges, resources and power between white people and people of color. She goes on to say that this unequal distribution benefits whites and disadvantages people of color overall and as a group. Racism is not fluid; it does not flow back and forth, one day benefiting whites and another day (or even era) benefiting people of color. The direction of power between whites and people of color is historic, traditional, normalized and deeply embedded in the fabric of Western society. White people, DiAngelo asserts, live in a context that is deeply separate and unequal by race where white people are the beneficiaries of that separation and inequality. They are, especially in the church, insulated from racial stress while at the same time feel entitled to and deserving of their advantage. The original purpose of racism, especially in the United States, was to justify slavery and its associated financial benefits. Although racism functions in a different way in our current day and age, the hangover of racism and its fringe benefits still exists – especially when one focuses on the feelings of white moderates. It is this group of people and their associated tables of power that influence implicitly what is perceived to be normal. ‘White Fragility’ is a state in which a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include an outward display of emotion such as anger, fear, guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium.

FAITH FOLLOWS

Racial stress results from an interruption to what is racially familiar. These interruptions take on a variety of forms and come from a range of sources. These include: Receiving feedback that one’s behavior had a racist impact; suggesting that group membership is significant, an acknowledgment that access is unequal between racial groups, being presented with a person of color in a position of leadership; being presented with information about other racial groups through, for example, movies in which people of color drive the action but are not in stereotypical roles, or multicultural education and suggesting that a white person’s viewpoint comes from a racialized frame of reference. It is here I recognized I embody the descriptors of what is known as white privilege - one who identifies as being white, male, middle-to-upper class, educated, heteronormative and able bodied. I also see that by writing this I am positioning the ‘voice’ of this article around a white narrative. Simply, there is no way around this. I know, and hope to express an understanding that, I am not a white knight. But I do believe it is imperative for members of the white community to be articulate and engage with humility, while also recognizing the need to build emotional stamina when people of color challenge the historical status quo. For whites to say they are color blind, to attest that they don’t see race, or become fragile during these conversations is to personify momentary

amnesia and forget that the power of God resides in all of us. This narrative must be inverted so that we can be equipped to sit, listen and reside in our neighbor’s pain, communicate as a means of seeking understanding – not seeking to be understood and to participate in the process of peacemaking, justice and reconciliation. This is the practice of shalom, the balm that heals a broken world. Reductionism Reducing an expression of Christianity to the 5-P’s of Transformation, the 4-C’s of Loving Your Neighbor, or the 7-T’s of Becoming More Like Christ is a dead giveaway that you’re failing to communicate the gospel with integrity. Some may argue this approach to preaching and teaching are tools of “good communication.” If so, I argue they have missed the nuances found in the Gospel message and thinned the Church’s understanding of Jesus to a 5-point plan of prosperity, reducing the gravity of Jesus’ influence on earth to a 140-characters, a sound that oversimplifies reality – such as “Show your best, hide the rest,” or a TED Talk that fails to ground itself in anything other than anecdotal evidence. The church, firstly, requires a thicker understanding of Jesus that is grounded in an historically embodied, black, and culturally sensitive FAITH FOLLOWS

understanding of Christ. For God to be black is not a description of ethnicity alone, but a concrete sociological revelation that Jesus existed on the margins of society. We fail to read the Bible well when we place an imperial lens on a subversive text. Secondly, the teachers of our faith communities have a responsibility to offer a holistic understanding of Jesus’ sovereignty over all areas of life and creation – there is no separation between private and public spheres, Jesus should be seen as shaping all aspects of life. Thirdly, the church is required to offer a strong call for repentance from our captive ideologies such as nationalism, racism, and greed that see the practice of justice as an optional add-on to the call of God. And lastly, we need to reconcile with ourselves that Jesus did not have blonde hair and blues eyes, but was a poor Jew, born to an unwed teenage mother, as a member of a minority group, living under occupation of the Roman Empire. The key to the development of this form of discipleship stems from our willingness to look closely at Jesus’ teachings, including the Sermon on the Mount, that practice a revelation of a thicker, historical Jesus in the public square. Hyper-Individualism Individualism is the toxic potion splintering humanity. Humankind, in a move of desperation, sought self-preservation and self-expression as a means of measuring success, even if such success came about at the detriment of one’s neighbor. Jesus’ actions and teachings showed a different reality. Paul, highlighted the nature of Jesus in Philippians 2 and described a savior who considered others more valuable than himself. So he emptied himself, poured himself out and laid his life down for others. We as followers of Jesus are called to the do the same. Christina Cleveland, in Disunity in Christ, writes “Rather than using his power to distance himself from us, Jesus uses it to approach us.

FAITH FOLLOWS

â&#x20AC;&#x153;For God to be black is not a description of ethnicity alone, but a concrete sociological revelation that Jesus existed on the margins of society. We fail to read the Bible well when we place an imperial lens on a subversive textâ&#x20AC;?

FAITH FOLLOWS

He follows his own commandment to love your neighbor as yourself – often to his detriment... by pursuing us with great tenacity in spite of our differences. He jumps a lot of hurdles to reach us.” When one exegetes a church service or community, despite the continual attempts of building inclusive relationships that focus and function on the wellbeing of the “other,” there exists an individualistic reality that dictates the language, actions, and worship of a given local community… at the detriment of living out a Christ like life. This speaks into people’s social imaginary and creates a perception that the only reason God sent Jesus into the world was to save me from my sins. This is simply not the case. Over and again we read, in the gospels and Paul’s letters, a re-imagination of community that conceives a counter-cultural movement of collective transformation and liberation. The church’s standard was the kingdom of God, not any particular political ideology or program. This appeal highlights what Dietrich Bonhoeffer described as ‘empathetic incarnational action’ (stellvertretendes Handeln), where the church spoke and served on behalf of the suffering and marginalized. Where to From Here? I’ve come to learn that theological principles alone are too obscure for a community of believers, who say they follow Jesus, to wage peace and justice in the public square. At the intersection of race, faith, and violence, theological practices call the people of God to be creative and nonviolent, embodying the love of Christ in the daily and mundane. What this has come to mean is that we must begin to see and discern the various historic and embedded practices within our faith communities that marginalize people of color. When exegeting a culture or community

there are some simple critical and curious questions we can begin to ask ourselves. Such questions include: “Who is on stage and what role do they play in leading and serving a community?” This includes questions that seek to identify certain biases about race, but also age, gender, qualifications, and language. What authors are you asked to read when studying? Is there the freedom to question practices, language or tradition within your faith community? To what extent does the faith community you’re a part of represent sociologically the local community in and around your building? Do pastors encourage critical dialogue, or do they have the final word in most topics? The absence of a such these critical practices reveals a bias that is endemic within the Protestant community where the profession of our faith, originating from the Great Commission, reduces the mission of God’s people to a verbal confession that dilutes the message of God. This deficiency, I describe as Protestant passivity, has seen the church become rather tame, regarding its public influence. The leaders of the church must examine their practices as a means of reclaiming their prophetic position and presence in the public square. As Jesus has become thicker, more robust and less fragile in my day-to-day life, I have come to see that our journey in God is just as, if not more, important than our destination through him. God is a God of justice. He is also a God of peace. For us as the people of God to engage in creative and ambitious just peacemaking practices we must reclaim a thicker, ‘Black Jesus’ grounded in the historical context of the first century. In doing so, it will prepare us to engage robustly in the public square. As such, we will stop reducing Jesus to a fancy catchphrase and begin to equip the people of God to embody a thicker Jesus in all areas of life.

“We must reclaim a thicker, ‘Black Jesus’ grounded in the historical context of the first century”

FAITH FOLLOWS

100

FAITH FOLLOWS

B R I A N

Written by Hayet Gessese Photography by Brian Wertheim FAITH FOLLOWS

101

102

FAITH FOLLOWS

rian and I have had the privilege of meeting each other back in 2014 at Hillsong Los Angeles and have bonded over music, our fascination of Arabic and justice perhaps being the cornerstone of our friendship besides our shared faith. Throughout the years Brian has collaborated with longtime friend Nick Hoag at his design company The Future Forward shooting photography for print and websites. Brian has travelled throughout the Middle East where the people and the authentic stories he is able to tell paint the harsh realities of life outside western culture. Brian’s passion for justice has led him to many neighborhoods and areas people avoid in Los Angeles. Brian’s current venture into film translates the same stories he tells through the camera, just at a 24 frames per second. His last short MR SOMEBODY was shortlisted at the Tribeca Film Festival and was set to premiere this year prior to Covid-19. You’re passionate about justice, social issues and humanity. How did a kid from Vermont get entangled in justice? The older I get the more I feel in touch with my identity as a “kid from New England.” I tried to run away from it for a while; being from a small town in the States has a certain stigma attached to it, especially in the cities, even if Vermont is now made famous thanks to Bernie. The other day, I found myself saying, “I am not a real Angelino.” I was born in the San Fernando Valley and I am technically as much of an Angelino as you can be, but having grown up away from LA, I can’t escape the connection I have to the place where I spent my formative years. FAITH FOLLOWS

103

I think in New England people have a certain brazenness that folks out West don’t understand. We question everything, we tell people when they’re wrong, and we try our best to understand and fix things that are not as they should be. To me LA is just one massive accident, I don’t understand anything about this place, despite having spent half of my life here at this point. My work is really an extension of my curiosity, my desire to understand what can solve particular social problems, and my interest in showing people what those problems actually are. As idyllic as it might seem, there is more to Vermont than ‘White Christmas.’ It has the second smallest population in the country but a massive drug problem. I think I’m interested in the problems that are plaguing Los Angeles because I understand the fact that I could have been one of those guys under the freeway overpass shooting up, had it not been for the fact that I had circumstances that worked in my favor and parents who taught me differently. Justice is a very complicated word in this context. In my work, I find myself increasingly haunted by the idea that life isn’t fair. And it seems that there is little we can do to make it fair without infringing on people’s liberty. Perhaps that is a very American idea, but this is how I feel. You’ve been to the Middle East quite a few times for a multiple of different reasons. Can you tell us what you have seen and how it has changed you? I’ve been visiting the Middle East since 2012. I was there twice that year and since then it’s been as much as three times a year. There’s still a lot I haven’t seen; one of the

main lessons I’ve learned traveling repeatedly to the same destinations is that you don’t know much on your first visit. It can be tempting to show off the laundry list of countries one has been to, but ultimately, it might not equate to an understanding of said countries. I am traveling with a quest for deeper understanding in mind, not just surfacelevel tourism. I still feel like I’m just scratching the surface when I visit Egypt–despite being married to an Egyptian and visiting over 10 times. My formative travel experiences were all spent in the Middle East. I’d never left North America until 2012 when I visited Israel and the West Bank. Something that immediately changed me on that trip was the fact that tourism to the region is more focused on ancient ruins than the modern inhabitants of these lands. I think now more than ever, perhaps since travel blogging has become a career, we have to fight the urge to reduce entire regions of the world into ‘Disneyland’s.’ By all means, go and see the famous sites and buildings, but you can learn a lot by being mindful of the real humans who are growing up in the shadow of these sites as well. You met your wife Sarra in Egypt. How has your marriage shaped your life and your worldview? Marrying across cultures is not for everyone, but the impact it has had on me is profound. For a Westerner, I can’t think of anything more enriching and eye-opening than marrying outside of your culture. I think we make marriage far more complicated than it needs to be in the West.

“My work is really an extension of my curiosity, my desire to understand what can solve particular social problems, and my interest in showing people what those problems actually are”

104

FAITH FOLLOWS

105

Do you see hope for the Middle East in places like Syria, Iraq, Egypt and other heavily oppressed nations? I have never been to Syria and Iraq, though I’d like to visit both one day sooner than later. I have met a number of people from both places–here in the States and on two trips I made to visit refugees in Lebanon and Jordan. Syria and Iraq are countries full of ordinary people like you and I; there is most certainly hope for both places. I think a lot of people in the rest of the world are asking the same questions about us: Do you see hope for the United States–where school shootings and police killings happen seemingly every week? Where we have forgotten our history? Where we have neglected our great cities and left our people without shelter on their streets? Admittedly, people remain very conservative in the Arab world, and they are undoubtedly wondering why we have abolished God here in the West as well. The US is responsible for a long list of–I hesitate to say ‘crimes’ because war is crime–but, wartime atrocities, particularly in Iraq during the First and Second Gulf Wars. It is very difficult to diagnose all of the reasons for the geopolitical happenings that one might see in their lifetime, but without laying too much criticism onto my own government, I will say that I am encouraged to see so many 106

FAITH FOLLOWS

“I think a lot of people in the rest of the world are asking the same questions about us: ‘Do you see hope for the United States?’”

FAITH FOLLOWS

107

108

FAITH FOLLOWS

Americans on the ground in Iraq doing the hard work of mitigating the suffering of a people whose fate is now closely linked to our own. We seem to live in a strangely undemocratic epoch here in the States, and I can’t say I see real change coming to Washington any time soon, but we can always insert ourselves into messy situations as civilians and get our hands dirty where no politician would dare step foot. Egypt is a very different case. The Middle East is not really one homogenous place made up of people who speak only Arabic. There are a lot of various people groups and ethnicities that make up the region, and while Arabic is the most widely spoken language, not everyone likes to identify as “Arab.” The geography of Egypt explains a lot of it; Egypt is the bridge between mainland Africa and mainland Asia. It is really a mixed bag. The Levant has suffered a lot in the past several decades. Egypt, while relatively impoverished and overpopulated, is doing just fine. The Egyptians are incredibly resilient people and they have survived two political revolutions with minimal violence. Egypt has a huge Christian population, and to my knowledge, there has never been outright war between Egyptian Muslims and the Coptic Christians. Egyptians pride themselves in this fact. Considering that Lebanon’s

own recent 15-year civil war was fought between Muslims and Christians, I think this is a fact worth noting. How did photography come about? I guess I’ve been adjacent to photography for a while. My great grandfather was a photographer, back in the early days of the medium, and I inherited one of his cameras from my uncle about 4 years ago. The year before that I got really serious about trying to shoot only on film, and my great grandfather’s camera quickly become one of my favorite tools. It was built in the early 1940s and still works perfectly. Both of my parents were also into photography at different points in life. My dad brought a 35mm camera with him to the Vietnam War and made some pretty amazing pictures. My mom has always taken pictures and quit when digital photography came about. I think I took my first street photographs on some disposable cameras that I brought to New York City when I was in eighth grade on a class trip. In high school I was pretty serious about film making, but I didn’t get into film school, so I ended up studying music at Berklee in Boston. I got more serious about photography when I started traveling overseas around 8 years ago. I took my mom’s 35mm camera with me to Israel and was hooked. FAITH FOLLOWS

109

Storytellers often have Sherpas, mentors/figures who serve a purpose to elevate the individual through inspiration. Who have been those people in your life? Without a question my creative mentor is the composer I worked under for years here in LA, David Kitay. We remain in contact frequently and he still sees all of my work. I find that creative wisdom is mostly universal across different mediums. I haven’t been as fortunate in photography to find a mentor to study under in person, but I admire many of the great photographers of history. I am particularly influenced by the work of Mary Ellen Mark, W. Eugene Smith, Bruce Gilden, and Eugene Richards. Being a photographer turned filmmaker, how has the craft of filmmaking framed the way you see social issues? Well, now you know that I didn’t get into film school, so I’m a hack through-and-through. When I was in college it really felt like we were studying music, not film, even though I was getting a degree in Film Scoring. When I came out to LA and started working for composers, I realized that composers talked about each other as “filmmakers.” And all this time I had thought I was a musician! Ultimately what drove me away from the music industry was a desire to work on projects that are my own, or are around topics that I care about. 110

FAITH FOLLOWS

111

112

FAITH FOLLOWS

“I’m not drawn to the people who are at the top. I’m not interested in that. I want to give a voice to the people who aren’t getting talked about”

What are you currently working on now? I’m cooking up a new documentary short that I’m going to shoot entirely on 16mm film. It’s about one of the subjects I’ve been working with on stills. My last short, ‘MR. SOMEBODY,’ was made in Watts, and it will be playing at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. Why are you so drawn to the urban community of Los Angeles and particularly Watts? I’m not drawn to the people who are at the top. I’m not interested in that. I want to give a voice to the people who aren’t getting talked about–or maybe their stories are getting misappropriated by politicians and there’s an angle that the public hasn’t heard. I always hope that there’s a deeper understanding that can be attained through my work in certain areas because I am not a journalist on assignment, I am just a person. I want to ask questions about the margins of our society and what can be done to right the wrongs that have befallen some people in America.

Your work gives a voice to a large portion of disadvantaged people, illegal immigrants, war veterans who have fallen through the cracks, especially the homeless crisis in Downtown Los Angeles. Your latest projects The Other America and Paid in Full tackle the heart of these issues. Can you explain how you first got involved with these communities and how these projects came about? The camera is an excellent tool for overcoming social anxiety. At some point I realized I was afraid to approach people for a picture–almost every photographer who has every worked on the streets has experienced this. In LA we are surrounded by the homeless and it was a combination of discomfort, curiosity, and incredulity that lead me to start approaching the unhoused in an attempt to tell their stories. It seems everywhere I find myself in LA these days, I have an opportunity to add to that body of work–a sad fact of life here that I believe can be attributed to more than economic disparity–it is also bad governance.

FAITH FOLLOWS

113

“I was out on the streets making pictures in the usual manner and I met Tristan and found out he was an Iraq war vet. He followed up with me”

114

FAITH FOLLOWS

115

In my project “I Paid In Full,” I was out on the streets making pictures in the usual manner and I met Tristan and found out he was an Iraq war vet. He followed up with me after I photographed him when he was homeless in Macarthur Park, and I documented his transition to a new apartment in downtown LA. It has turned into a friendship and what is now a long-term project about him. There’s an inherent theme within your work of being an outsider and telling the stories of people within certain communities outside yours. How do you take on that responsibility? I try my best not to claim that I am speaking for entire groups of people. Everything I shared about the Middle East is simply my opinion, or the opinions of people who I have encountered. Similarly, my pictures are my opinion, because I chose when and where to make them, and because they are an extension of my own viewpoint. As a storyteller I am riding a lot on curiosity–I’ve found that I really enjoy where it takes me. Everyone has a story, so I don’t think I have less of a right to talk about people who are different than me, just because they’ve suffered differently than I’ve suffered. If anything, it can sometimes take an outsider to do a story justice; often we cannot see our own problems or make sense of our own circumstances enough to articulate them in such a way that is useful. There is a mechanic in Van Nuys who works on my car. He is a sincere and honest Persian man and he has become a friend to me. Like many Persians in LA he immigrated 116

FAITH FOLLOWS

117

118

FAITH FOLLOWS

here probably around 1979 during the Islamic Revolution. Whenever I get my oil changed I make an effort to walk around the neighborhood where his shop is and shoot a little bit. The other day when I was there, I noticed an older man carrying his groceries–making his way across the massive boulevard with his bags and a Metro bus map in breast pocket. Here’s this guy carrying his groceries all alone through the harsh LA cityscape, a place really not meant for walking; he probably immigrated from the Middle East or Central America and he’s looking for his bus, or maybe walking home all alone, probably missing his country, his people, his language, but making the compromise to stay in America because it is marginally better and he is more prosperous here, but there is a cultural emptiness that leaves a gaping hole in his heart. So I’ve started to see America as an outsider too because I have entered into my wife’s journey as an immigrant. As photographers and storytellers we are often outsiders, but like many others before me, I am drawn to my subjects because I see something of myself in them. For someone who is not doing film and photography for the accolades, attention nor as a career pursuit, how has that changed the way your approach your work? In the “industry” most people are trying to make their lives bigger. When I make pictures I’m working on 40, 50, even 80-year-old cameras. They work just fine and don’t need to be updated. Whatever I can do to become smaller is what I am after. I get rid of possessions as often as I can. When I think about what I really need to work and be happy, it’s barely anything, and I feel like I’m always trying to take steps toward a purely minimalist life. At the moment my life is way more complicated than I would like it to be, but it’s sort of a mental and spiritual discipline to make sure the stuff you have doesn’t “have you.”

FAITH FOLLOWS

119

120

FAITH FOLLOWS

I imagine it’s hard to be entangled in these impossible situations around the world, especially in your hometown of Los Angeles and not have a broken heart towards people. Do you see God’s redemptive plan in humanity after witnessing the people you have encountered? I think history is moving in the direction of progress, and situations can seem impossible, but there is usually a way forward. If it is God who set things into motion then it appears He is at work. The problem of evil is a great theological quandary that I am unqualified to answer, but I think in life, bad things happen to good people. It’s the Job archetype; it doesn’t really offer an answer but it acknowledges the way that things are. Over the weekend, a young man from a place that I frequent in Watts was shot to death during some sort of disagreement. If you know the way things go in the hood, you’d know that this is a disappointingly common occurrence. At his funeral on Saturday night there had to have been close to 200 people from the community in attendance. I offered my condolences to a friend of his who I know, and he told me, “God don’t make no mistakes.” I don’t know what he meant by that, but I think it’s a deceptively simple evaluation of a really complicated question. Why is there suffering in the world? I don’t know, but I can trust that there’s more to life than I can see, and that we can find meaning in the pain. FAITH FOLLOWS

121

122

FAITH FOLLOWS

[ACT] III Unexcpected Joy 126 | Refugees Are Welcome 132 â&#x20AC;&#x2030;| Waldo 148 | Up & Up 158

FAITH FOLLOWS

123

UNEXPECTED JOY

Jennifer Ko

Lack, malnourishment, disease, need, Africa, Asia… the list goes on. These are words that get associated with poverty time and time again. However they barely begin to scratch the surface of what poverty truly is. Poverty is a complex, multifaceted global issue, so while this article still will not be able to explain it in its entirety, my hope is that it begins to shift your perspective so we can unite in the fight for justice. The most common perception of poverty is that it is solely an economic issue related to a lack of monetary and material possessions. The World Bank defines economic poverty in terms of consumption, or income, finding that almost half of the world lives on less than US$5.50 per day, with about ten percent still living on less than US$1.90 per day. From an economic lens, poverty includes three different levels: extreme, moderate, and relative: 1.Extreme poverty exists in developing countries with consequences of chronic hunger, no access to health care, and lack of the basic necessities to survive. 2.Moderate poverty describes circumstances in which the very basic needs to live are met. 3.Relative poverty occurs when one’s standard of living is lower than the general standard of the geographic region, leaving him/her unable to participate in the ordinary activities of society. 124

FAITH FOLLOWS

Additionally, modern media has used certain images and stories to reinforce a materialized misconception that financial and supply aid is the way to alleviate poverty. These images and perceptions result in a dehumanization of the poor and undermine their dignity through the illusions of desperate dependency. This brings me to charity versus justice… Growing up, my dad took my brother and I to a neighborhood soup kitchen to drop off cans and turkeys during the holidays. We would not actually serve the homeless, we just dropped off the food. At the time, I thought I was doing a lot to help people who were in need. Do not get me wrong, providing for others’ needs is important and impactful. The problem occurs when we believe that these actions are more than charity, and qualify as justice. Social justice has become a trending term. Currently, there are over 700,000 posts hashtagged #socialjustice on Instagram with tweets popping up by the minute. Everywhere I go, I hear conversations about people’s interest in social justice or when the next justice march that is happening on the weekend. But, what is justice? Justice is the act of righting a wrong. It is acknowledging that something or someone is broken and must be restored because every person has the right to life. Justice is about empowering each person to his or her fullest potential rather than taking matters into our own hands to “save” the hurting and oppressed.

FAITH FOLLOWS

125

126

FAITH FOLLOWS

“Modern media has used certain images and stories to reinforce a materialized misconception that financial and supply aid is the way to alleviate poverty. These images and perceptions result in a dehumanization of the poor and undermine their dignity through the illusions of desperate dependency”

In 2014, I spontaneously bought a plane ticket, packed a bag and took off to Kenya. I had heard about Belwop, a children’s home, at my church and after ending a long relationship and finding myself in between jobs I thought “it’s now or never.” Africa had always been on my heart like that passionate feeling deep down inside but you are not sure why it is there or what to do about it. I had no idea what to expect stepping on the plane alone. I was just hoping that my contact in Kenya was a real person. As I rode in the van through Nairobi on the way to Belwop, I saw big buildings, fruit stands, people laughing and running off to work and the hustle and bustle of a normal city. Misconception #1: Africa is a poor country with only dirt roads, elephants and giraffes walking around, and children lying on the streets malnourished. Two and a half hours later, the van pulled up to a brick building with the words “Belwop Home.” As soon as I opened the door, twenty plus kids ran up to me giggling and screaming, welcoming me to their home. They could not wait to show me their bed, what they learned in school, and most importantly the cow that gives them milk. I will never forget the night I took out the stickers and candy I had brought them, thinking this would make their day. As I looked around the room, I noticed “P” [name hidden for legal reasons], one of the boys who was about eight at the time, playing with the plastic bag I had brought everything in. He had blown it up like a balloon and was laughing

with absolute pure joy. Misconception #2: Children in Africa are sad, helpless, and in need of toys and other material possessions beyond the necessities. Throughout my trip, I was able to spend time with Veronica, the woman who started Belwop in 2005. Belwop started from her vision to provide homes and a future for children who found themselves on the streets. I heard stories of each child and how they had ended up at Belwop. That same “P” had witnessed horrific murder in his family. His father had killed his mother and was murder by the mob shortly after, leaving him and his sister with no family. And yet, the pure and infectious joy that he had did not show any signs of what he had experienced. Misconception #3: We in the Western world are happier and have it all figured out, so we must bring what we have and “save” those in other countries or communities. Since this trip in 2014, I have been lucky enough to visit two more times and hope to go once a year. I have learned that our perception of poverty is damaging and leads to misinterpretation of what needs to be done. I will never forget the words Veronica said to me: “People think Africa is this poor dangerous place, and they are afraid to come. If people saw the beauty, strength and life here, they would not be so afraid.” FAITH FOLLOWS

127

128

FAITH FOLLOWS

129

130

FAITH FOLLOWS

131

My goal in all of this is to encourage you to ask questions, listen to people, and do not be afraid to journey to unknown places before making assumptions as you join the fight for justice. Seek to walk alongside people and see them as equals, not as the helpless. You will be surprised at how much a kid like “P” can teach you. I have only scratched the surface of poverty and justice, and the conversation is far from over. So, to be continued…

132

FAITH FOLLOWS

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Justice is the act of righting a wrong. It is acknowledging that something or someone is broken and must be restored because every person has the right to lifeâ&#x20AC;?

FAITH FOLLOWS

133

134

FAITH FOLLOWS

135

REFUGEES A R E WELCOME We must embrace the foreigner for we too were once foreigners in a country not long ago

Written by Hayet Gessese Photography by Rahwa Gessese, Getty Images & Various Artists

136

FAITH FOLLOWS

137

n 1984 political tensions were at its height in civil war torn Ethiopia. The military regime known as Derg staged a coup in 1974 and managed to topple the centuries old monarchy when they disposed of Emperor Haile Selassie, the longest standing monarch of Ethiopia. Derg promised a communist government where the wealth would be distributed evenly through nationalization and land distribution. Soon after all urban and rural land was seized from the Ethiopian Church, the imperial family, and almost all the wealth from the nobility and elite. Agricultural products were no longer offered on the free market and instead were controlled and redistributed by the government. Communism took form and controlled every aspect of a free market. The wealth that was promised to be redistributed by the government never materialized and was kept by the Derg military. To silence and suppress their political opponents, the Derg regime instituted communist red terror. Those who protested against the government, politicians, educated citizens and university students were seized, jailed, or shot on the spot by military soldiers. In 1984 Ethiopia experienced its most severe famine, the government controlled farms seized to produce any crops and the diaspora of its citizens began. Those who were able to escape fled, and those who tried to escape were captured and killed by Derg soldiers. Thousands of displaced Ethiopians walked hundreds of miles travelling from village to village to avoid the Derg military and fled to surroundingw countries like Egypt and Sudan in order to seek political refugee asylum in other developed nations.

138

FAITH FOLLOWS

Former Ethiopian dictactor and Derg leader Mengistu Hailemariam standing in solidarity with Cubaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fidel and Raul Castro

FAITH FOLLOWS

139

140

FAITH FOLLOWS

My family in transit, awaiting refugee asylum passage to the United States, circa 1985-1987

FAITH FOLLOWS

141

Refugees were labeled unsafe, dangerous and as threats not only to Americans, but in other westernized nations in Europe

142

FAITH FOLLOWS

US President Donald Trump in 2017 holding an excecutive order banning refugee entry from 11 muslim majority countries

My parents were one of those refugees and after a three and a half year journey travelling from Ethiopia and settling in Sudan, they were granted political refugee asylum and were allowed to resettle in the United States in 1988. In 2017, nearly thirty years later in the United States under then newly elected president Donald Trump, the United States government implemented a travel ban detailing citizens or residents from eleven Muslim majority countries were prohibited from entering the United States. Refugees seeking asylum from any of those countries were effectively banned from applying for refugee asylum and with the sweeping executive action, millions of people fleeing persecution in their war torn countries were denied opportunities like my parents had. In Syria, the world’s largest refugee crisis occurred and is still happening as of today. Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, 6.7 Syrians fled and another 6.2 million Syrians are displaced and trapped within Syria. In 2017 Turkey took over 3.4 million refugees, Lebanon took 1 million refugees (a quarter the size of it’s population). In Europe, Germany took over 530,000 refugees and Sweden has taken over 110,000. The smallest amount of refugees taken in 2017 was the United States with an all time low of 33,000. Over 6 million refugees fled war torn Syria to seek opportunity

and advancement in other nations and the United States represented less than 1% of world relief to help alleviate this humanitarian crisis. What’s more startling is the condemnation refugees have received from political leaders in France, UK, Sweden, Italy, including the president of the United States. Refugees were labeled unsafe, dangerous and as threats not only to Americans, but in other westernized nations in Europe. In 2019 the noun refugee is becoming commonplace taboo amongst Europeans who see some refugees as criminals, rapists and opportunists. Small strings of crimes committed by refugees has tainted the once sympathetic views Europeans had whilst in the United States and in other democracies, the threat of refugees and their perception by alternative right-wing parties as undercover terrorists and radicalized Islamists doesn’t shed an accurate light to the plight of a refugee. In 2015 when most European nations decided to open their borders to the refugees, the response was welcoming and in Germany the term welcome culture or ‘Willkommenskultur’ was used. But today’s response looks quite difference. Ask a Swede or German citizen how they feel about refugees and you might get a mixed response. FAITH FOLLOWS

143

Libyan refugees await rescue on Italian waters

â&#x20AC;&#x153;In 2019 the noun refugee has become commonplace taboo amongst Europeans who see some refugees as criminals, rapists and opportunistsâ&#x20AC;? 144

FAITH FOLLOWS

The rampant rise of crime and gun shootings in Stockholm and other major cities in Europe is being attributed to gang violence but public opinion attributes the rise of crime to the lack of successful integration for refugees. Of the 15,244 people involved in the gang scene in Sweden, 67% were born in Sweden. Swedish researchers say that the rampant gang culture has nothing to do with immigration as newcomers havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t had enough time to integrate into gang culture. Refugees come from all parts of the world, not just the Middle East. In Libya where civil war and modern day slavery has occurred, millions have fled the coastal country and have sailed across the Mediterranean in hopes of finding hope and freedom in countries like Greece and Italy. Those fleeing by boat do so at the jeopardy of their own lives as Italy has passed a new law to fine any boat up to â&#x201A;Ź50,000 for rescuing any refugee boats that comes across Italian waters. In Central America today there is a current refugee and migrant immigrant crisis of Central Americans from Venezuela, El Salvador and Honduras fleeing to the Mexican border in hopes of being able to enter the United States. The asylum seekers are fleeing their respective countries due to political persecution, unstable governments and seeking economic opportunities. The atrocities taking place today in the detention centers of border towns along the United States southern border to Mexico is quite appalling. Mothers and fathers are being separated from their children.

FAITH FOLLOWS

145

Children are being unlawfully detained in inhumane conditions where the centers are ‘overcrowded and unsanitary and some do not have access to soap, toothpaste, clean water or places to wash their hands or shower.’ ‘A May report from the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general found 900 people crammed into a space designed to accommodate 125 at most… They are subjected to “extreme cold temperatures” with “lights on 24 hours a day,” a pediatrician who has treated migrant children told CNN. There have been outbreaks of flu, lice, chicken pox and scabies.’ There are more than 100,000 people in these facilities with about 50,000 held in ICE Facilities (Immigrations Customs Enforcement), about 20,000 in CBP Centers (Customs Border Protection) and more than 12,000 children are being held in the custody of HHS (Health and Human Services). There is correct due process in which all refugees and asylum seekers must obey but that doesn’t come to point in which inhumane practices and negligence is used as a deterrent. We all want a place to belong in this world and freedom like it always does, comes at a cost. My family left everything they had in Ethiopia, leaving behind both their parents, siblings and the life they were familiar with and over the course of a year faced famine, lack of resources and the struggle of raising a newborn baby. They travelled over

146

FAITH FOLLOWS

700 miles to Khartoum, Sudan in the hopes to seek refugee asylum in the United States where my uncle was awaiting to sponsor them in Dallas, Texas. Our family has been in the United States for over thirty years now and the contributions our family has made to the local community in helping other Ethiopians, their local church and friends have been countless over the years. Being American is a privilege coming from another other nation. My parents and family are living the American dream. My father earned his second degree in 1997 and after him, there have been over 15 college graduates within my family, the highest being a Doctorate in Dentistry. There’s a misconception of refugees being criminals, dependent on government and social programs and not contributing to the country they have found refuge in. Let this stereotype and view of refugees be put to rest not only by the example of my family but the millions of hard working refugees around the world who work hard and strive with much effort to provide not only food and shelter for their families, but an better opportunity, one that could only have been provided if a door to asylum is open to them. Further on integration before I close. Germany has been the prime leader in helping refugees integrate into society. Last year alone Germany spent a record 23 billion euros on refugee resettlement.

FAITH FOLLOWS

147

Cheraz Chaudry (19) hopes a career in electrical engineering will help him stay in Germany. (Alexander Koerner/Getty Images)

148

FAITH FOLLOWS

Of that 23 billion, 7.9 billion euros went into keeping migrants outside of the European Union and helping improve conditions in their home countries and another 7.9 billion was spent on housing and integration. The spending is paying off. With Germany at an all time 30 year low unemployment rate at 5%. The trade industry took a hit as young Germans enjoyed the luxury of choice, opting to pass this traditional path to middle class life to pursue university degrees. Last year, one-third of German companies said they had training spots that went unfilled as vacancies hit a 20-year high, and these apprenticeships are being filled by refugees seeking a not only a better economic opportunity, but a secure opportunity to live freely and contribute to society. Germany needs these immigrants to fill jobs that few young people are willing to train for. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If Germans want to maintain their economic well-being, we need about half a million immigrants every yearâ&#x20AC;? said Wolfgang Kaschuba, former director of the Berlin Institute for Empirical Integration and Migration Research. The idea that refugees are the problem to society is a highly refuted and false claim made by all too many people, whether good intentioned or not. Refugees are certainly not the problem, WE ARE. Those who oppose the integration of migrants and refugees citing refutable claims is not only inhumane, it denies the right of other humans seeking to live a better life. Nationalist sentiment, in keeping a country the way it is, devoid of immigrants which has been popularized in recent times by then presidential candidate and current president Donald Trump, is a destructive trope FAITH FOLLOWS

149

150

FAITH FOLLOWS

and attitude that has spread throughout world politics. Famously the ‘Bre-Exit’ vote was not so much about the cost of membership the UK had to pay to stay in the EU but more about other EU countries moving to the UK and England and ‘stealing’ jobs from other whites. This idea of nationalism and far right politics, anti-immigration has taken root in politics across the European continent in countries like France, Sweden and even Italy. My hope and prayer is that we as a collective body of people, humans begin to see others, including refugees as humans too. Specifically in a country like the United States where many nations have migrated to America to seek opportunity, my hope is that like our ancestors who stepped onto the shores of Ellis Island in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the British who came in the 1600s who left everything they had, were afforded opportunities to a new life as well as the Chinese in the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s. Like the European ancestors who were granted refuge, we too must grant the civil liberties to those who want to start a new life here in the United States and in other countries. History is upon us and it would behoove this generation to acutely look at our position and assess which side we want to be on. FAITH FOLLOWS

151

152

FAITH FOLLOWS

WALK Waldo recounts how he cultivated the activist within himself

IN Written by Waldo Gonzalez Photography by Carlos Solorzano

FAITH FOLLOWS

153

154

FAITH FOLLOWS

shouldn’t be here. Empirically speaking, as a man of color, the life path that was systematically destined for me was to be either in incarceration, the military, or die an early death. This is how I usually begin to talk about my story, but as a proud son of Mexican immigrant parents, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that because of their sacrifice and unconditional support, I have been able to achieve what many have termed the ‘American Dream’–or at the very least my ‘Chicanx/Latinx’ version of it. Both of my parents immigrated to the U.S. in the late 70s to seek opportunity and to escape a Mexican economy in shambles after the devaluation of the national currency. They both met in Whittier, California (a suburb of Los Angeles County) and well, the rest is history. I am the youngest of three brothers and proudly flaunt my status as the baby of the family, although, receiving hand me downs was not fun at all. Yet being the youngest did teach me about patience and also molded my heart to both receive abundant love and give abundant love. In school I was not the stellar student but I also knew I wanted more for myself. By the grace of God and with the support of an amazing counselor, I applied and gained admittance to college. I flourished in college, and found a home in the academic community and progressive activism at Cal State Long Beach. But something very important happened during my senior year of high school that completely transformed my life which ultimately set me on this path to fight for social justice in our immigrant communities. In 2006, students staged mass walk-outs across the United States in response to draconian Senate Bill 1070. FAITH FOLLOWS

155

This piece of legislation called for the mass deportation of hard-working immigrants that lacked documentation. Even worse, this bill went as far as to target families and friends who knowingly housed and supported undocumented immigrants. To put this into perspective, this meant that potentially church groups that provided sanctuary to undocumented families as a humanitarian act, would have been subject to arrest and prosecution under this new proposed legislation. I would say love drove me to partake in this act of righteous rebellion. Initially, I was not planning on participating in these walkouts. Around this time, I had just started dating the person who is now my fiancé and partner of 15 years – I was a teen in love. She decided to be courageous and stand up for her values, I on the other hand, decided not to go mainly out of fear. But God had different plans. I have always seen how God taught me about His character and where His heart lays in crucial moments in my life… and this was definitely one of them. There I was sitting in class thinking about the one I care about so much having just walked out, marching in the streets with other students to who knows where. It was too much for me and I decided to join the crowd of activist youth to make sure my partner was safe. It just so happened that my mom had given me some kind of medical note to leave early from school that day. So even though I had “walked in” that day and the school was under a fortress of protection for obvious reasons, I managed to walk out with no questions asked. I eventually caught up with the mass of students and we walked the 14 miles to Los Angeles City Hall.

156

FAITH FOLLOWS

157

158

FAITH FOLLOWS

It was as clear and sunny a day during the 2006 walk-outs, but as the day wore on, with absolute no cloud in the sky, we suddenly felt a gentle mist fall upon us. It was then that I felt that God was behind this demonstration, His will to provide some reprieve from the heat and thirst in order to make a statement about justice and peace. Flash forward to today, I now have the privilege to work for a non-profit organization in Los Angeles that serves primarily low-income immigrant youth, parents and community members. I began working here shortly after graduating from UCLA with my Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Degree in Education. The organization focuses on empowering unrepresented and immigrant communities to be agents of change. We do this by developing strategic campaigns to win improvements to the quality of public schools so that students from low-income neighborhoods have a more equitable opportunity to attain a higher education. I have the honor of pouring into the lives of young people and parents whose life experiences mirror mine. Our goal is to develop their leadership to speak out, educate themselves about their histories, and to ultimately transform their communities to be hubs of opportunity. No doubt, the current political situation in the U.S. has many of our members worried but not enough to keep them from organizing and thinking strategically about how to fight for change. The reality is that the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economies are interconnected. Inequality is rampant and for generations, people have sought refuge from war, violence, and poverty. We have a duty to provide refuge and support for people in need. Unfortunately, with every wave of immigrants and refugees to the U.S., there is the inevitable fear-based push back from people and politicians who fan the flames of this fear to halt and/or violate the civil rights of marginalized people.

FAITH FOLLOWS

159

I say that the answer to this has to be love. Organizing is an act of love. Love, however, doesn’t mean that there is no place for righteous anger. In fact, we teach our members that a part of moving towards action is being stirred to speak out. When immigrant children at the U.S./ Mexico border are being separated from their parents, it’s definitely okay to be upset. We acknowledge our feelings of frustration, but emphasize that we as a people have agency to strategize and act. As a community organizer, we have to see struggles as opportunities and work to build holistic movements that encompass the various dimensions of our humanity. As the son of immigrant parents, I know first-hand the feeling of being ‘othered’ and negatively stereotyped in society. Yet I challenge myself to not internalize the trope of powerlessness that is sometimes placed on people of similar background. At an individual level, I always encourage seeking mental health support and certainly prayer and therapy have done great things for my own overall wellbeing. I believe that in order to make change, we have to address both our internal and external challenges to be effective. The biggest message I have to young people who are interested in making a difference in the world is to get involved and be passionate. Whenever people build up the lives of others, and offer-up a pure heart of service in the name of social justice, there absolutely is life and joy. We need open minded, creative and justice-minded people of all backgrounds to not just ‘call-out’ the problems and ‘walk-out’ in protest, but more than ever, we need our faithfilled warrior community to ‘call-in’ all people to support change and ‘walk-in’ to our reality as leaders and changemakers.

“We acknowledge our feelings of frustration, but emphasize that we as a people have agency to strategize and act.”

160

FAITH FOLLOWS

161

UP & Rebekah Haddock gives us the low down on upcoming artists

Photography by Namroud Gorguis & Various Artists

162

FAITH FOLLOWS

163

164

FAITH FOLLOWS

Soulful songwriter turned psychedelic, existential, angelic fog, Villagers, toured the UK this year with Mumford and Sons, is the perfect band for a rainy-day-in, or coffee-shopday-out. Once supporting acts for Tracy Chapman and Neil Young, the Irish indie folk band led by front man Conor O’Brian, resembles the art and discovery that is the human experience, reflected in their ever-changing, ethereal dark lyrics. But what I love about Conor’s writing is that it never leaves you feeling dark and empty. Instead, he tight rope walks between peace and the disrupted, he always leans towards a peace-filled resilient resolve. While not on the “up and up” for some, (as they’ve already previously had years of accolade in the UK and occasionally the U.S.) the Villagers were on the up and up for me, bringing solace to someone who too, wrestles with the meaning of life, the spiritual and the mundane.

FAITH FOLLOWS

165

David Fagbenro, performing and releasing music under the alias David Famous, is a writer, producer and rapper that uses his music as storied, spoken-word like tid-bits, aiming to challenge and inspire others for a cause greater than his own. Releasing music since 2016, his songs capture his coming of age, reflections on societal pressures and belief systems, all while embracing his quirky, humorous personality. If you’re on a quick joy ride through town, pop on his LP “Be There In Ten” for 10 contemplative, minute long songs to enjoy on the journey.

166

FAITH FOLLOWS

167

168

FAITH FOLLOWS

The super ‘vibey,’ self-proclaimed pop, all things electronic and R&B fusion, St. Humain, released his debut single, ‘Make A Move’ in 2017 and most recently released his self produced EP, ‘Emotional Sauna’ in January 2019. Its a tale of hope, revelation, truth, failure, and romance. St. Humain is already breaking through radio streams across Australia and hopes to soon be on tour.

FAITH FOLLOWS

169

If you’re looking for happy-go-lucky, occasionally ‘soul-yet-reggae-inspired-beach-easy-listening,’ then Jeremy Loops is your guy. A storyteller reigning from bar act scene in Cape Town, South Africa, to having been the opening act for Twenty One Pilots in 2015, Jeremy’s goal is to focus on the magic only found in live performance while still pouring out his love and soul into his lyrics.

170

FAITH FOLLOWS

171

WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S What to expect in the coming weeks and months

NEXT?

Photography by Louis-Brass & Bernard Hermant

172

FAITH FOLLOWS

173

Please pray for... Victims of Covid-19 globally Victims of police brutality in the United States Racial Reconcialiation in the United States & globally Physical publication for next issue

We’re looking forward to bringing the ‘People’ issue as our next release for the magazine. People always have, and always will be the focus of what this magazine is about. Our commitment to everyday people has inspired us to do something different yet still retain the same sense of what makes Faith Follows what it is. We will continue to feature people from all walks of life with unique perspectives, stories of justice, hopes and dreams to inspire, encourage and remind you that there

174

FAITH FOLLOWS

is still beauty and love in this world despite the turmoil that surrounds it. We hope you’ve enjoyed the digital issues of Faith Follows. While we continue to look for vendors and publishers to physically distribute this magazine we need help from YOU to do so. If you a reader from Australia or North America with connections or leads to publishers, please email us at faithfollows@gmail.com

KEEP IN TOUCH Thank you for reading this magazine and being a part of the journey. If you would like us to send you a postcard or want to get in touch about publishing, send us a message. Thank you! 101B/34-38 McEvoy St, Waterloo, NSW 2017 Australia INSTAGRAM

FAITH FOLLOWS

175

Issue 5 - The Justice Issue

Articles inside

Refugees Are Welcome Here

Waldo

Unexpected Joy

Brian

Darling Daughter

JIM

HuMAN Down

CRACKED CAKE: A Conversation on Race in America

A Thicker (Black) Jesus

Boiling Point

Reclaiming Beauty