A Matter of Spirit Winter 2022 - Dismantling Racist Systems by Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center

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Dismantling Racist Systems INCLUDES RACISM LEGISLATION & RESISTANCE TIMELINE

Marchers, signs, and tent at the March on Washington, 1963, Trikosko, Marion S., photographer Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

From the Editor

“ T H E H E A R T O F J U S T I C E I S T R U T H- T E L L I N G” —BELL HOOKS

How do we dismantle racist systems? This is perhaps the justice question of the ages and one we may never answer or solve in any of our lifetimes, but one that requires all of us to pause, reflect, and ponder. Change of any kind requires much thought, discernment, and strategy. Creating systemic change begins within. It requires an examination of conscience; with difficult questions asked of one’s self and one’s neighbors. Ask any community organizer and they will tell you that creating change is incremental and inevitably arduous, difficult, and tiresome. This issue was perhaps one of the most difficult issues of A Matter of Spirit that I have ever put together. It was indeed tiresome for the mind and spirit. While developing it, amidst the generous commitments our writers made, we received dozens of responses from primarily Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) that they were unable to write. This was not out of a lack of interest, rather out of a lack of capacity, marked by exhaustion and depletion. This ongoing challenge is inspiring IPJC to reflect on how it can more intentionally collaborate with BIPOC writers, activists, and theologians. As the editor, I believe that there is hesitancy among BIPOC writers to collaborate with us, because we are a white-dominant organization. We are learning from this, especially by working to shape articles around what authors are willing to bring and share, rather than fitting them into a pre-determined narrative or form. So despite all of this, why did we produce this issue? There is no other way to move forward than to move forward—this is our work to do. The articles in this issue are words from weary hearts seeking equity, justice, and liberation for themselves, their families, and their communities. They help us to understand the struggle for racial justice throughout history and today, as well as 2

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the important spaces and fronts where this work is necessary. Beginning with the March on Washington and its connection to the current movement for racial justice, a new generation of leaders is stepping in to move us towards racial justice. Racist forces have taken on a new face through a continued unwillingness to tell our history honestly in schools by labeling it “Critical race theory.” Our theology needs reframing and a new reading of scripture that offers clear responsibilities for accomplices. To successfully dismantle racism, we need to continue to pursue interfaith relationships and come together on mutual acts of justice. Lastly, there remains an ever-present need for the Church to come face to face with its complicity in Indian boarding schools and other acts of injustice. All these pieces thread the needle of anti-racism work. After the public murder of George Floyd that sparked a racial reckoning across the United States, articles and posts from BIPOC writers expressed the exhaustion they feel from collective grief and trauma, not only from suffering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also the ongoing racial pandemic we have in our country. White writers, creators, podcasters, and journalists said they were “listening and learning,” but suddenly the work stopped and it seemed like life went back to normal. Except it did not. Hate crimes and racism did not end overnight. In fact, the FBI reported that in 2021, hate crimes against Asian Americans increased by 70% and hate crimes against Black people increased by nearly 40%.1 The vital work of dismantling racist systems continues. We hope that this issue is unsettling, just as its inception has unsettled us. Samantha Yanity 1

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/30/fbi-says-hate-crimes-against-asian-andblack-people-rise-in-the-us.html

The March on Washington BY GENE CASH

The following text has been adapted from a talk given on February 26, 2012.

1963,

IT WAS LIKE ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS BY DICKENS. IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES. IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES. THE BEST OF TIMES: THE UNITED STATES HAD A CATHOLIC PRESIDENT.

THE WORST OF TIMES: THE CATHOLIC PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WAS KILLED. THE WORST OF TIMES: FOUR LITTLE GIRLS WERE KILLED AT CHURCH AND WHAT MADE ME GO TO THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON? I grew up in Philadelphia. My grandparents and my father are from the South. My mother was born in Cuba. In those times, growing up in Philadelphia, I did not see discrimination. However, when I went to visit my grandparents, there were only certain places where I could use the restroom. I couldn’t eat in restaurants—I had to eat on the bus. When I went downtown, there were only certain drinking fountains I could drink from. As a senior in high school I joined the organization called CORE (Congress of Racial Equality). They had planned on taking the train to Washington DC for the March on Washington. There was a great deal of planning. I went to meetings for weeks. We talked about logistics: What about water? The hot weather? Would the movement be ruined if there was any type of violence? And a big march was being planned. In the 1940s, Philip Randolph planned a big march in DC, but it never took off. There were all types of marches. In the United States around that time there were a thousand different cities that had small marches. By the end of 1963, approximately 20,000 people had been arrested. Most of those who had been arrested were middle school students. The number of high-school students arrested was higher than adults. Before the March on Washington Martin Luther King visited India in 1959. And of course, being a minister, Jesus was

Philip Randolph and other civil rights leaders on their way to Congress during the March on Washington, 1963, Trikosko, Marion S., photographer, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

his number one prophet, but he picked up a lot from Gandhi. Gandhi’s philosophy, like that of Jesus, was non-violence. When King came back to the United States in March 1959, he was disappointed because many Protestant ministers and Catholic priests were not behind him before the March. When Dr. King was put in jail he wrote letters to the priests. He wrote letters to the Protestant ministers asking for help. Dr. King got out of jail 1 in Spring 1963—that summer was the March. Dr. King’s ideas of anti-violence began to trickle down to Catholic bishops. The bishops started talking about how segregation and discrimination went against the human dignity of the person, and was not to be allowed in the Catholic Church. On the day of the March on Washington, the Archbishop of Washington D.C., the Most Rev. Patrick O’Boyle, gave the invocation before Dr. King gave his “I have a dream” speech. When we got off the train on Wednesday, August 28, 1963, the day of the March, I had never seen so many people in my life. There were thousands of people of all colors. There were also many, many speakers there, not just Dr. King. There are two speeches every American probably knows: the Gettysburg Address—“four score and seven years ago” and the “I have a dream” speech. It was hot, but when Dr. King gave his speech, you had chills as you sat there. And it was celebration! But, it should have been a celebration for everyone with action—next steps. That’s why he talked about poverty and, of course, called for equality in all schools, for equal access to facilities, for fair 1

Author is referring to King imprisoned and writing “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” A M AT T E R O F S P I R IT

wages—all the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. At the time, people did not think the March was as big as deal as it was. On the way back from the March, we were asking, “What could we do next?” People began planning what they could do next in their communities at the March on Washington. We wanted segregation to end. The next year, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed and two years later, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Those bills passed as a result of pressure that was built from the March. At the March people would ask Dr. King what they should do and he would ask people, “What do YOU want? Do you want safe schools? Good schools? To get a good job? To have a decent wage? To drink and eat where you want?” He would ask people to consider, “What are you doing now and what are the next steps you are going to take?” Celebration and action. Gene Cash served in the Army Reserves for 30 years. He serves on the community board of the Sammamish YMCA, works with Team Issachar Seattle (which serves young African American males), is a former Just Faith facilitator and is an active member of Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Sammamish, WA.

Demonstrators marching in the street holding signs during the March on Washington, 1963, Trikosko, Marion S., photographer Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

The Nonexistent “ in K-12 BY DR. JESSICA HERNANDEZ

n today’s society, we continue to center the feelings of those who hold power and privilege in the current societal racial hierarchies. We are all aware that race is a social construct, meaning we did not naturally inherit it as a species, but rather it was created to place certain people in social systems of power and privilege over others. However, due to the recent uprising in the anti-racism movement that millennials 1 and “zoomers” of color are leading—a movement built from the previous generation’s work during the Civil Rights era—there is more discussion about breaking the naivety and innocence bubble that has been created in educational systems to cater to and comfort whiteness. These naive and innocent bubbles were created to sugarcoat the true histories of how the United States was founded. They were created to hide the violent atrocities settlers committed against Black and Indigenous peoples, many of whom white individuals are descendants. The United States was founded on the genocide of Indigenous people and the enslavement of Black individuals. These founding stories are too harsh for the average white person to consume—as many of them had ancestors who proudly participated in these atrocities—all to be declared the people in power in these societal racial hierarchies. However, if we truly want to heal this nation, the true histories that for so long have been hidden behind fairy tales need to be discussed and taught in classrooms across the United States. Learning the true history of this country starts in schools; from the K-12 education system to higher education. Oftentimes, we hear that the reason why these histories should not be taught is because it teaches white children that they are “inherently bad.” In a recent discussion that took place on the talk show The View, Condoleezza Rice (former United States Secretary of State) mentioned that in order to make Black children understand their empowerment, white children do not need to be made to feel bad for being white. Empowerment of children of color is crucial; however, naivety is something they are not immune to. This is due to the racism that continues to persist in this country—something the anti-racism movement is attempting to dismantle. While white children’s feelings are protected, the feelings of children of color are not. Children of color inherited a system that teaches them they are “bad” by being mistreated for the color of their skin or facing harsher forms of discipline, even within classrooms. We have seen 1

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“Zoomers” refers to Gen Z

“Critical Race Theory” Educational Systems “H O W E V E R, I F W E T R U L Y W A N T T O H E A L T H I S N A T I O N, T H E T R U E HISTORIES THAT FOR SO LONG HAVE BEEN HIDDEN BEHIND FAIRY TALES NEED TO BE DISCUSSED AND TAUGHT IN CLASSROOMS ACROSS T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S.”

Anti-Critical Race Theory Legislation 9 States passed legislation: Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Arizona, and North Dakota— 19 States considering similar legislation: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Main, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Wisconsin & Wyoming. Source: edweek.org/leadership/map-where-critical-race-theory-is-under-attack/2021/06

research studies conclude many things that point to a different reality for children of color compared to white children. Science News for Students revealed that there are higher risks of discriminatory policing for Black boys and girls than for white kids 2 the same age. Yet, we are constantly told that white children are being taught that they are inherently bad for being white. In reality, children of color are taught that white children are at the center of our societal structure. As a former K-12 educator, I witnessed the educational inequities that exist in our country today that continue to make students of color fall behind the average white student. There is racism hidden in many systems that were created through racist policies. In the educational system, we can easily point to how schools were created to forcefully assimilate Indigenous children (e.g., boarding schools). We can point to how certain schools were created for whites only (e.g., segregation). Yet while new policies were created to undo former ones, the entire educational system was founded on maintaining these racist policies. It makes us wonder whether systems that were created to be inherently racist can truly become inclusive of all, if these systems are not rebuilt from the ground up. When I was an educator in Little Rock, Arkansas, I constantly witnessed how primarily white teachers would discuss the lack of parent involvement in their children’s education. Yet, they failed to realize that for many of these children, their grandparents were never allowed to step foot in those same schools due to segregation. There is an example in Little Rock where the history of desegregating schools with the Little Rock Nine was celebrated. And, white teachers could not make the connection 2

https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/discriminatorypolicing-takes-a-toll-on-teens-and-tweens

of how due to this history many parents might not feel welcome on school grounds. People tend to make history seem like something from the past, but for many of us people of color, these stories can be traced back to our parents’ or grandparents’ generations. For some, they can view this as part of history, for us it is embodied in our lived experiences and sometimes results in the intergenerational trauma that we experience. Can we undo racism if we try to hide the racist history of this country? Can people of color truly heal from intergenerational trauma if white people do not become aware of it from a young age? Of course not, and for many of us people of color, we have been told—at least once in our lifetime—that racism does not exist. This is because in schools, white children are taught that racism is nonexistent because the true histories of the violent tactics used against Black and indigenous peoples (including other communities of color) are often sugarcoated to comfort whiteness. Race relationships, from slavery or the segregation era are briefly mentioned in history books. Yet, the call to expand these histories and depict the true histories behind naive historical accounts is deemed as teaching “Critical race theory.” It is important to set one thing straight: Critical race theory is not taught in the K-12 educational system, but rather, in law schools. It has become a buzz word to try to expel the true histories from being told and taught. We must also remember that many of the histories of people of color are not even discussed in current history classes. White privilege is when white, European history is part of the core curriculum and BIPOC history is being taught as an elective. As we continue to push for the true histories to be told, we are seeing how shame and discomfort of white individuals— mostly from parents who do not want to sit over the dinner table and discuss these true histories with their children—are being A M AT T E R O F S P I R IT

centered over the feelings of many children of color. Children of color have conversations about the racism they are experiencing at very young ages, as they sit with their parents at dinner tables. Many parents of color have even expressed how they would do a disservice to their children if they did not teach them about racism. In a society that continues to maintain racist structures, in order to truly dismantle these systems, we need to foster an environment where children are taught the true history if we

really want a different society for the future generations. Dr. Jessica Hernandez (Maya Ch’orti’ & Binnizá) is a transnational Indigenous scholar, scientist, and community advocate based in the Pacific Northwest. She is the author of “Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science.” Follow her at @doctora_nature on Twitter and Instagram.

What is Critical Race Theory? Critical race theory (CRT) was devloped in the 1980s by Harvard professor Professor Derrick Bell, whose research began as a means to dissect ideas that law and the judicial systems were fair, just, and neutral. His research spurred a movement that expanded among legal scholars of color. Among these legal scholars of color was Columbia Law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw, a mentee of Bell, whose expertise is in civil rights and constitutional law, and is an expert on CRT. After the murder of George Floyd that re-energized the 2020 racial reckonings across America, the racial scholarship of acclaimed Columbia Law professors Kimberlé Crenshaw, Kendall Thomas, and Patricia Williams—was brought to the knowledge of general public, and Critical race theory became a buzzword with some media claiming it is being taught in K-12 schools. Critical race theory is still largely taught in law schools, but the ideas from it are reshaping how the United States’ education system is teaching American history. Critical race theory states that United States social institutions (e.g., the criminal justice system, education system, labor market, housing market, and healthcare system) are laced with racism embedded in laws, regulations, rules, and procedures that lead to differential outcomes according to race. It does not attribute racism to white people as individuals or as groups of people. It is a legal framework taught in law school NOT in K-12 schools. It is none-the-less being weaponized to censure discussions and erase/whitewash American History.

Examples of CRT Being Used to Ban Literature STATE

Tennessee

Texas

Pennsylvania Southern District 6

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LEGISLATION

RESISTANCE

State legislature passed law banning funds from public schools that teach that anyone is “privileged” due to their race or have lessons that make students feel “discomfort, guilt or anguish” because of their race or sex.

Citing the law, a group called “Moms for Liberty” sent a list of books they deemed inappropriate to the Tennessee Department of Education including: • Martin Luther King Jr. and the March on Washington • Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story Upon review the Tennessee Dept. of Education declined to investigate the group’s claim.

State legislature prohibits students from getting credit for participating in civic activities that include civic activism. • Katy Independent School District banned books: New Kid and its sequel Class Act and canceled a scheduled appearance by the award winning author Jerry Craft. The novels are about a Black boy matriculating in a new school with low diversity and his struggles to fit in.

After the review committee determined the appropriateness of the books, the books were reinstated and the author re-invited to speak.

In 2020 Pennsylvania’s Southern District banned James Baldwin’s I Am Not Your Negro and books about: • Rosa Parks • Martin Luther King Jr. • Malala Yousefzai

After student back lash, the school board reinstated access to these books one year later.

The Good Samaritan (Der barmherzige Sameriter) © Paula Modersohn-Becker,1907

Ethnocentrism, Racism, and

THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN BY RON PETRUSHA

ver two millennia of Christian history, the meaning of Jesus’ parables has often been toned down. This is particularly true of the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), which is usually understood to mean that we should do charitable deeds for one another. Although we certainly should be concerned with good works, that most likely is not what Jesus intended to convey. Jesus’ parables were meant to be shocking, upsetting, and disturbing. For those who listened to and considered them, they aimed to lead to a reevaluation of the character of God, of one’s understanding of one’s faith, and of one’s relationship to the surrounding world. A fruitful starting point in understanding

any of Jesus’ parables is to ask what the disturbing element in it is. There are three in the parable of the Good Samaritan:

• Jesus’ response to the scribe’s question • Casting a Samaritan as the parable’s hero • The behavior of the priest and Levite The scribe’s question, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29) is hardly an innocent one; the scribe expects Jesus to answer based on the Torah. Jesus, however, poses quite a different question, and in the process reaches a radically different conclusion than the scribe expects, and the Torah would seem to demand. The scribe’s question assumes that “neighbor” is an attribute, that some

possess this attribute while others do not. Neighbor is an exclusive rather than inclusive category, and the scribe’s question focuses on the limits of “neighbor.” For the scribe, “my neighbor” further suggests personalization, leaving open the possibility that his neighbor is not Jesus’ neighbor. Moreover, the scribe knows very well that the definition of neighbor: It is an Israelite (Leviticus 20:26-29; Deuteronomy 15:7) or an immigrant living among God’s people (Leviticus 19:33-34). Jesus’ response focuses not on neighbor as an attribute but on neighbor as a verb or an activity. While the scribe wants Jesus to define the people whom he should love as his neighbor, Jesus makes it clear that loving one’s neighbor means to be a neighbor.

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Despite Jesus’ different focus, this still poses a variation of the scribe’s question: To whom should we act as a neighbor? Jesus answers this by focusing on the leading character of his parable, the good Samaritan, as he has aptly been named throughout church history. But what is a good Samaritan? From the viewpoint of first century Jewish culture, there were no good Samaritans; good and Samaritan were a contradiction in terms. The Israelites divided humanity into three hierarchical groups based on their relationship to YHWH. First were God’s chosen people and proselytes, those who had a knowledge of YHWH. Next were the Pagans. Close contact with Pagans was seen as defiling, and Pagans were viewed as idolaters, but in their defense, they did not yet know YHWH. At the bottom of the hierarchy were Samaritans, an ethnic group formed from the intermarriage of the Israelites (the people of the Northern Kingdom), surrounding peoples, and the groups forced to migrate to Palestine during the Assyrian and Babylonian occupations. Samaritans knew YHWH but, by mixing Pagan religions with Judaism, had rejected him in favor of a syncretic religion; they were both idolaters and apostates. Samaritans were the ultimate version of “the other.” The notion that the parable merely calls on us to perform good works ignores that the question posed by Jesus does not concern the activity of being a neighbor, but rather explores the limits of being a neighbor. Because it is a Samaritan who acts as neighbor, and because he extends compassion, medical care, and material support to an unknown victim who is very likely a Jew, indicates that the concept of neighbor has no limits, that it is inclusive and not exclusive, that it does not differentiate between “us” and “them” or between “us” and “other.” In other words, this is a parable directed against ethnocentrism and, in the context of our own culture, against both ethnocentrism and racism. Still shocking, though less shocking

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as the presence of the Samaritan, is the behavior of the priest and the Levite. As members of the temple establishment, they both possess an imputed holiness and are expected to observe the Torah, which in this context means to express love of neighbor. Instead, they cross to the other side of the road. While most interpretations merely point out they do not want to get involved (which seems patently obvious) or characterize the priest and Levite as cowardly or callous (which seems subjective), these explanations are merely superficial. Just as the Samaritan is shocking because he personifies one who acts as neighbor, the shocking behavior of the priest and Levite must stem from the parable’s viewing them as representations of priests and Levites in general.

“ J E S U S’ P A R A B L E O F T H E GOOD SAMARITAN IS NOT ONLY P A R A B L E- A S- E N A C T M E N T, BUT ALSO A PROPHETIC C A L L T O A C T I O N.” Priests and Levites often lived in Jericho and commuted between it and the temple in Jerusalem when it was time for them to serve. Although the parable speaks of the Levite going down the road, it does not necessarily indicate a direction (that is, going down the steep incline from Jerusalem to Jericho). Instead, the most probable explanation is that the priest and the Levite are both traveling from Jericho to Jerusalem to serve in the temple. When they encounter the gravely injured man in the road, they likely see a man stripped of his clothes, so that any means of identifying him has been removed. And they do not know whether he is alive or dead. Either because they are observing the Torah’s strict definition of neighbor (because they cannot tell whether the injured man is a Jew or not) or because they do not wish to become ritually unclean by touching a dead body (which would prohibit them from ministering in the temple for seven

days, according to Numbers 19:11-13), they choose to turn away. They have focused on the parts of Torah observance convenient to them while neglecting “the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith” (Matthew 23:23). In other words, either because of their ethnocentrism or because of their focus on the ritual rather than the human aspects of the law, they have completely distorted the requirements of God. Unfortunately, many groups within Christianity expresses that same neglect today. Portions of the Gospels sometimes enact events or prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures. For example, the beginning of the passion story in Matthew 27:1-10 is a prophetic enactment of Psalms 2. With its cast of diametrically opposed characters, the parable of the Good Samaritan is also an enactment, in this case of Isaiah 1:2-17. On the one hand, their action in passing to the other side of the road suggests that the priest and Levite offer sacrifices that God views as an abomination, and prayers that God refuses to hear (Isaiah 1:11-13,15). On the other hand, the Samaritan in his show of compassion and self-sacrifice expresses the call of God to “learn to do good, seek justice, correct oppression, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:17). Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan is not only parable-as-enactment, but also a prophetic call to action. Jesus expands the definition of neighbor to include all humankind, and in the process challenges both ethnocentrism and racism. And just as the Samaritan defied ethnic boundaries to come to the aid of the victim, our Lord calls us to explore our own sense of boundaries and by expanding them, to reject racism and instead to come to the aid of the oppressed.

Ron Petrusha was trained as a historian and worked as a writer of computer programming documentation. He now teaches Bible, Church history, patristics, and theology at St. John Mary Vianney Catholic Church in Kirkland, Washington.

Photo © Faruk Kaymak, Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, Esfahan, Iran, unsplash

“AND AMONG HIS SIGNS ARE THE CREATION OF THE HEAVENS A N D T H E E A R T H, A N D T H E D I V E R S I T Y O F Y O U R T O N G U E S A N D C O L O R S. S U R E L Y I N T H I S T H E R E A R E S I G N S F O R A L L M A N K I N D.”

— T H E R O M A N S, Q U R A N, 30:22

Dismantling Racism BY SERENA ABDALLAH

s the daughter of Lebanese Muslim immigrants growing up in post-September 11th Virginia, I have experienced my own share of prejudice from people who did not understand my background or faith. Though I have now grown into better understanding my identity, both within and separately from American politics, I never questioned marking “white” on government forms or standardized tests as a child, because that is what I was told to do. I did not then understand the history that led to this choice of identification, or the fact that it did not fully extend its sup1 posed protections to Middle Eastern and Muslim people. People could usually tell that my family was “something,” but they could not always pinpoint that we are Middle Eastern. Most of my classmates had never heard of Lebanon and had never heard the Arabic language. Furthermore, my family and I did not wear religious dress, we did not go to mosque, and we celebrated Christmas and Easter. We would also attend festivals honoring the Virgin Mary while visiting family in Lebanon, and I have always found comfort in incense my mother gifted me 1

I use this term generally for the sake of easily following along in this article, though the identifier of “Middle Eastern” is a colonial term that does not properly reflect the various ethnicities in West Asia.

from the shrine of a Maronite saint. I endlessly confused my white classmates and their families who did not understand the overlap between Islam and Christianity, especially in Lebanon where Muslims and Christians have lived together for centuries. Though I felt isolated by my peers and was occasionally on the receiving end of racist and Islamophobic remarks, overall my family and I were able to move through life without fear that who we are would bring us harm. I feel this is in great part due to an Arab and Middle Eastern alignment with whiteness. Not just because there are many of us who are white-passing, but because of a cognizant choice that Syrian and Lebanese immigrants made decades ago to align with whiteness, and what whiteness means for quality of life in the United States. My father was a man who embodied what I understood to be the American dream; he came to the United States with nothing and built a life for himself and his family with my mother. While my parents always emphasized the importance of our Lebanese culture and Muslim faith, my father was also tirelessly interested in and knowledgeable about American politics 2

Editor’s Note: Both Muslims and Catholics share a devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus A M AT T E R O F S P I R IT

and this country’s influence and position stand on the same platform as white on countless issues. He taught me to see Americans so as to not be kicked off of what is hidden and to listen for what is “WHEN GOD HIMSELF that pedestal. It is troubling that many only whispered in this country. As I have PROCLAIMED THAT OUR Arab migrants felt such immense presgotten older, I have delved into the hisDIVERSITY IS A SIGN sure upon coming to the United States tories of Middle Eastern migration to the FROM HIM ALONGSIDE that they turned their backs on Asian United States, how Western influence THE CREATION OF THE and Black Americans in this country in sowed racism amongst Middle Eastern HEAVENS AND THE an attempt to be accepted. Racism and people and other minorities, and how our E A R T H, W H O A R E W E T O prejudice continue to run rampant in mifaiths have been weaponized to divide us. R E J E C T T H A T G I F T, T O nority communities, and Arab Americans When people from Greater Syria— DETERMINE THAT WE around the country no longer identify now modern-day Syria and Lebanon— K N O W B E T T E R.” as “white” as it has become clearer and first migrated to the United States, we clearer that we do not have the same privcould not become naturalized citizens ileges as white Americans of European because we were from continental Asia. At this time, Asians descent. Muslim Arab Americans are falling victim to prejudice could not become citizens, and migration from Asia was limited and discrimination and becoming further ostracized as foreignby law. This developed into a fight to be recognized as white, ers, regardless of our shared culture and ethnicity with our Arab which included comparing ourselves to Europeans, subclassify- Christian neighbors. As the country still finds itself divided after ing ourselves as “Arabs” due to a shared linguistic identity with Trump’s America, do we continue this trickling down of preju3 Arab people under the Arabic language, and emphasizing the dice amongst minorities, or do we come together and fully reshared practice of Christianity with other white Americans, as alize that we are all of common standing? When God himself the earliest Arab migrants were mostly Christians. This was all proclaimed that our diversity is a sign from Him alongside the done to distance ourselves from racism against Asians to have a creation of the heavens and the earth, who are we to reject that chance at building a life in America. While we were eventually gift, to determine that we know better? recognized as legally white, prejudice towards us still existed, People who use God and faith as a justification for hateful which caused many migrants to abandon their backgrounds speech and behavior have lost their way, but this does not mean and change their names upon coming to the United States. that they cannot find it again. Though fear and self-preservation These migrants, as well as others who retained an Arab identi- are a natural part of being human, we have been gifted with the ty, worked fiercely to show their devotion to the United States ability to right our wrongs in the actions that we choose to take and to create businesses that would become staples to their moving forward. I cannot begin to stress the importance of recommunities. Christian and Muslim Arabs alike flocked to the alizing that aligning ourselves with the American perception of Republican party as they falsely believed it would preserve their whiteness will not protect us from racism, and failing to be allies hard-earned success, faith, and family values. to those who need us is counter to what is taught by both Islam As the civil rights movement took off, many people did not and Christianity. While the traumas caused by systemic racism want to lose what they felt to be the place they had rightfully in America, primarily to Black and Indigenous people, cannot earned in this country. This cemented stereotypes and prejudic- be erased, there are thousands of people working desperately es amongst minority groups that still exist today. Islam spread to bring us together across cultures, languages, and religions to as a message of redemption and freedom throughout many ensure that we are all equal, as we were intended to be in creBlack American communities and created tension against the ation. Systems of politics and immigration have influenced our faith. Today, many Arab and non-Black Muslims feel the need native cultures by taking advantage of fear of poverty, failure, to point out that “their” Islam is different than the Islam prac- and ostracizing as a means of dividing minorities for decades; ticed by Black Muslim Americans. Black Arabs who migrate we can surpass this not just through practice, but by embodyto the United States to this day experience racism from Arab ing basic principles taught to us by our various faiths, including American communities, as “white” Arabs have gotten comfort- loving your neighbor, being charitable, practicing patience, and able in the privilege allotted to us by being white-passing people remembering that we are only here for a moment. of color. I had been taught that we are all equal in the eyes of God, and to hear people with whom I share faith and heritage “TO GOD WE BELONG use divisive language while claiming to follow His teachings has A N D T O G O D W E R E T U R N.” been a difficult thing to address. — Q U R A N, 2:156 Many of us ignore the trials that we have been through to 3

I will use the umbrella term “Arab” to refer to people from Arabicspeaking nations throughout the remainder of this article. W I N T E R 2 0 2 2 • N O. 13 3

Serena Abdallah is a writer and illustrator with a background in cultural anthropology. She lives in Los Angeles.

I N D I A N B OA R D I N G S C H O O LS

For more information on the connection between American Christianity and Indian Boarding Schools go to: • boardingschoolhealing.org • echox.org/news-features/national-day-ofremembrance-for-u-s-indian-boardingschools/

On September 30 2021, the National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools, Alison Gudan (author) and Jessie Labrie Wagnon (artist) posted the following text and artwork on Instagram in honor of the children whose remains were recovered. Why today? When the Catholic Church has participated in so much harm to Indigenous people? (Don’t walk back that statement in your mind. Just say it, because it’s true.) Because I believe the Blessed Mother understands. She understands having her child stripped from her—at days old Simeon told her a sword would pierce her soul—and she understands caring for and loving someone, hoping to shield them a little from the ugliness of the world—even when the Crucifixion is inevitable. So, in hope, I envision this is the Ancestor who meets the children I have lost along the way. I hope this Ancestor, this powerful, beautiful, fully realized Mother of Graces, met and held the hand of every child from Residential Schools. Sandy Hook. Ahmaud Arbery. Tamir Rice. Iraqi Christians.

n May 28, 1830, the United States Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which forcibly removed Indigenous people off their ancestral lands. Less than a hundred years earlier, Thomas Jefferson, indoctrinated by the ideologies of the Enlightenment, penned the Declaration of Independence, 1 in which he wrote, “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.” This idea of the “merciless Indian Savage” would inspire the Indian Removal Act and formation of the 1868 “Peace Policy” created with the central belief: “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.” All of these ideologies laid the groundwork for establishing Indian boarding schools. Indian boarding schools were established for the erasure of Indigenous culture, identity, and spirituality through: cutting hair, changing dress, eradication of language, and Christian indoctrination. All of these “strategies” were manifestations of the “Kill the Indian, Save the Man” mentality. In the United States, 367 boarding schools operated in 29 states. In August 2021, the remains of 1,300 Indigenous children were found in Canadian Indigenous Boarding Schools, pushing the United States to respond.

Blessed and Mourning Mother, As you reached to hold the Infant Jesus at birth, please reach for my child now. Watch over them as you watched over your Holy Son. Walk beside them, too, as they carry their cross. If they must be crucified by this world, let it be for the glory of heaven, and I pray you stand beside them as you stood at the foot of Our Lord’s Cross. Receive them into your arms once more when their time for suffering has passed, holding them close as you held our Crucified King.

—A L I S O N

GUDAN

Alison Gudan is a Powhatan Catholic mother of four. 1

‘He’ refers to King George A M AT T E R O F S P I R IT

Racism Legislation & Resistance Timeline 1452 & 1455 Papal decrees

Legislation and L e g i s L at i o n a n dPolicies PoLicies

Authorize Portugal to reduce non-Christians to perpetual slavery, sanctioned & promoted conquest, colonization, & exploitation of nonChristian territories

1493 – “doctrine of discovery”

Papal bull proclaims land not inhabited by Christians available to be “discovered” & exploited by Christian rulers. Effectively gives New World to Spain

1850 – Fugitive slave act

1787 – Us constitution Ratified

1876–1965 – Jim crow Laws –

Strengthens 1793 Act – helping or not arresting runaway slaves subject to fine/ imprisonment

Male slave counts as 3/5s of a man in determining representation in House of Representatives

1867– Reconstruction act of 1867

In reaction to black code, temporary military rule forced southern states to ratify 14th & 15th Amendments

1850 – Foreign Miners’ tax

1793 – Fugitive slave act

$20/month tax on all foreign-born miners in California. By 1852, $3/mo tax exclusively on Chinese miners

Legalized states ability to return escaped slaves to owner, criminalized escaping & grew slave catching industry, which often didn’t distinguish between slaves & free blacks

1868 – treaty of Fort Laramie

Treaty reserving the Black Hills in Dakotas for Native Americans unilaterally changed when gold discovered

1857 – dred scott v. sandford

1868 – 14th amendment

SCOTUS declares slave & free Africans noncitizens. Denies rights & liberties enjoyed by whites

1807 – congress Bans importation of slaves in1808 Illegal slave smuggling continues for ~52 years

Citizenship granted men regardless of race

1870 – 15th amendment

Prohibits race-based denial of voting rights

1862 – Homestead act

1823 - Johnson v. M’intosh

Allots 160 acres of Native land to any US citizen for $1.25. Excludes blacks, Native Americans, & non-European immigrants

SCOTUS rules Doctrine of Discovery rights given to European sovereigns transferred to US

1864 – Ratification of 13th amendment

1830 – indian Removal act

Relocates all Native Americans living east of Mississippi River to west of River

Abolishes slavery in the United States

1865–1866 – Black codes

1831–1969 – Residential school system

Forces assimilation of Native American children—reeducate in white culture, economy & values. Schools run largely by missionaries

1839 – Pope gregory XVi

State or local laws in southern states to control labor & behavior of free blacks—denies right to vote, testify against whites, serve on juries, bar from some occupations & acquiring land. Convict leasing system begins

1882 – chinese exclusion act

Condemns slavery & slave trade & encouraged development of Indigenous Clergy

Suspends Chinese immigration & bars Chinese from citizenship

1887 – dawes general allotment act

Forbids communally held tribal land, meant to disrupt tribal culture & force assimilation MeXicanaMeRican WaR

1450

cotton gin inVented

1800

1825

ciViL WaR

ReconstRUction eRa

1850

1875

HUndReds oF sLaVe ReBeLLions UndeRgRoUnd RaiLRoad

1712 – 25 slaves armed with guns & clubs set fire to houses in NYC

R e s i s ta n c e Resistance

1720 – Enslaved Africans of Charleston, SC rise up against masters & attack

1863 – emancipation Proclamation abolishes slavery in confederate states but not in non-rebelling slave states such as DE, MD, KY & MO

whites in homes & on streets

1863 – 200,000 free black men enlist & serve in Bureau of colored troops

1775 – Quakers found world’s first antislavery society, Pennsylvania society for Promoting the abolition of slavery (PAS). Benjamin Franklin & Thomas

1865 – Ku Klux Klan formed in Pulaski, TN; reaction to end of slavery

Paine become members

1790s–1810 – Tecumseh & his brother unite all Indian Tribes in effort against

westward expansion of settlers

1811 – Louisiana territory slave insurrection ~125 enslaved men march from sugar plantations toward New Orleans (largest slave revolt in US history) 1824 – American Colonization Society acquires land in Africa (Liberia) to transport freeborn & emancipated blacks to Africa

1850s–1860s – Using Underground Railroad, Harriet tubman helps slaves escape north

1850 – Free blacks form vigilance committees in north to alert black communities & watch for slave hunters

1859 – John Brown raids Harper’s Ferry to free & arm slaves. He is executed

under white officers

1865 – Many northern states reject referendum to grant black men franchise.

Former confederate states enact “Black Laws” severely limiting rights & liberties

1867–1877 – 22 blacks elected to congress during Reconstruction era. No black senators from1881–1967

1876 – Battle of Little Bighorn - Lakota & Cheyenne Indians resist another broken treaty. (Custers Last Stand) 1890 – Wounded Knee Massacre – Botched attempt to disarm Lakota Indians results in slaughter of ~300 (~50% women & children)

1892 – ida Wells-Barnett campaigns against lynching & for women’s suffrage 1895 – Hopi Resistance – 19 Hopi leaders imprisoned for resisting residential schools & moving to government assigned farming plots

1909 – Bi-racial activists establish national association for advancement of colored People (NAACP)

1970s–2010s – Mass Incarceration

War on Drugs & tough on crime policies—mandatory minimums, harsher sentences for crack v. cocaine & Three-Strikes Law—along with court fees/bonds imprison people of color at rates 3–6 times more than whites, despite similar offending rates

1940s–1960s – Indian Termination Policy

Formalizes Native American US citizenship but ends sovereignty of tribes, trusteeship of reservations & excludes Native Americans from state laws with negative effects on education, healthcare & tribal economy

Cadre of laws & institutions enforces segregation; justified by Plessy v. Ferguson SCOTUS – separate but equal segregation doctrine enables state & local municipalities to enact Jim Crow Laws

1965 – Voting Rights Act

1943 – Magnuson Act

1902 – Extension of Chinese Exclusion Act

By reenacting Geary Act of 1892 without an end date, Chinese immigration is effectively made permanently illegal

Outlaws poll taxes, literacy tests, & other mechanisms of minority disenfranchisement Section 5 (Preclearance) requires states & districts with history of discrimination to get clearance from DOJ before changing election rules

Repeals Chinese Exclusion Act & allows for Chinese immigration but maintains restrictions against property & ownership rights for Chinese until 1965

1944 – Korematsu v. US

SCOTUS declares internment of JapaneseAmericans constitutional

1917 – Immigration Act of 1917 (AKA Asian Barred Zone Act) Bars all immigrants from Asia

1929–1939 – Mexican Repatriation

During the depression, one million people of Mexican descent (60% US citizens) were forced or pressured to leave US

1952 – Immigration & Nationality Act

Abolishes the Asiatic Barred Zone Act & relaxes 1948 – Universal suffrage immigration restrictions For Native Americans

1954 – Brown v. Board of Education

SCOTUS declares that segregation in education inherently unequal, opening door to school integration

In response to Gov. Orville Faubus barring 9 Black students from integrating Central High School in Little Rock, President sends troops to escort students to school

1900

DEPRESSION

2020 – Confederate symbols 168 removed from public spaces, 704 statues remaining

2021 – Voter Restriction Laws

• 19 states—already with restrictive voting process—enact 33 laws restricting mail & early voting, increasing likelihood of faulty voter purging & impose harsher voter ID requirements. • 25 states—already with less restrictive voting access—enact 63 laws expanding voting access.

MASS INCARCERATION

WW II

1925

upholds Trump Travel Ban from 5 Muslim majority countries, N. Korea & Venezuela

Provides equal access to housing regardless 2020 – Census of race, religion, or country of origin COVID, shortened innumeration period 1989 – Apology for Japanese- & web-base self-reporting cause American Interment significant undercount of BIPOCs; US government issues a formal ensures they will be underfunded for apology, as well as $20,000 to each the next decade survivor ~60,000

1957 – Eisenhower Orders Federal Troops to Arkansas

WORLD WAR I

2018 – SCOTUS

1968 – Civil Rights Act

1944 – Federal Housing Authority Redlining Policies

Banks & realtors, map out neighborhoods according to skin color

SCOTUS declares Preclearance requirement in Voting Rights Act unconstitutional, clearing the way for minority voting restriction laws—voter photo ID requirement, early voting cutbacks, restricted registration & extreme gerrymandering

SCOTUS puts an end to anti-miscegenation laws in the Commonwealth

Low cost mortgage, low interest loan to start business, free tuition, stipend while in school & 1 yr unemployment compensation—all essentially unavailable to 1 million Black GIs

Declares Native Americans citizens despite protests from them

2013 – Shelby County v. Holder

1967 – Loving v. Virginia

1944 – GI Bill

1924 – Indian Citizenship Act

Excludes domestic & agricultural workers— 25% hispanic & 75% black

Outlaws discrimination based on race, religion, sex, or national origin, unequal application of voting rights

Executive Order 9066 enacted forces relocation & internment of over 127,000 Japanese-Americans in camps during WWII. ~62% American citizens

1896 – Plessy v. Ferguson

1935 – Social Security Act

1964 – Civil Rights Act

1942 – Japanese-American Interment

1950

1975

2000

THE GREAT MIGRATION — BLACKS MOVE NORTH

1910 – National Urban League helps African Americans moving north find

1992 – Denny’s restaurants in US subject of class action suit for treatment of

1915 – “The Birth of a Nation” – Silent movie credited for spreading Klan

2005 – Hurricane Katrina – Thousands outraged by US Government neglect of 9th ward – mostly African Americans

1920s – Tulsa Race Massacre – Fueled by false rumors, whites destroy black business community, “Black Wall Street,” killing ~300 & rendering 8,000 homeless in 18 hours

2013 – Black Lives Matter – Grassroots social justice movement advocates for

jobs, housing & adjust to urban life ideology and resurgence of KKK

1944 – Redlining – Realtors incite fear of people of color moving into white areas. After whites sell & relocate, realtors sell houses at inflated value to black customers. Still occurring, e.g., Long Island 2019

1954 – Operation “Wetback” – Removal of 1.1 million undocumented immigrants through systemic sweep of Mexican-American neighborhoods, random stops & ID checks. Reaction to Bracero Program 1960s–1970s – Cesar Chavez’ civil disobedience won farmworkers (mostly Mexican) the right to unionize

1963 – MLK Jr. Jailed & Writes “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” – Calls for civil disobedience in face of unjust laws. Leads the March on Washington 1965 – Voting Rights Act enacted. In 4 months, 1 million black voters (1/3 of

population) registered

people of color

end of violence & systemic racism towards black people

2017 – Thousands protest Trump Travel Ban for citizens from 7 muslim majority countries 2020 – George Floyd murdered by white police for a counterfeited $20; Sparks thousands of BLM protest marches in 1,360 counties 2020 – President Biden wins election with the highest voter turnout in more than a century

2021 – January 6th a mob of Trump supporters attempt a coup by interrupting the electoral vote count. Four killed and more including 138 police injured. To date 727 Insurrectionists arrested & charged

2021 – George Floyd’s and Ahmaud Arbery’s murderers are convicted in contrast to >98% of black killings where no officer is held accountable

Reflection Process Readers are invited to use the following reflection “Unfortunately, during the course of 2,000 years of Christian history, this symbol of salvation has been detached from any reference to the ongoing suffering and oppression of human beings—those whom Ignacio Ellacuría, the Salvadoran martyr, called “the crucified peoples of history.” The cross has been transformed into a harmless, non-offensive ornament that Christians wear around their necks. Rather than reminding us of the “cost of discipleship,” it has become a form of “cheap grace,” an easy way to salvation that doesn’t force us to confront the power of Christ’s message and mission. Until we can see the cross and the lynching tree together, until we can identify Christ with a “recrucified” Black body hanging from a lynching tree, there can be no genuine understanding of Christian identity in America, and no deliverance from the brutal legacy of slavery and white supremacy.” — J A M E S H. C O N E, The Cross and the Lynching Tree

Who are the crucified peoples of today? How does their suffering and Christ’s suffering call us to transformation? We invite you to reflect on this issue of A Matter of Spirit. What phrases, ideas, or images stood out to you? Did any of them make you uncomfortable? Why? Sit with anything that might make you uncomfortable or uneasy. We have a tendency to ignore any feelings of discomfort, but without discomfort there is no growth. As persons of faith, we have been called to comfort those who mourn or as journalist Peter Dunne once said, “to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”

nnHave I not been welcoming to the stranger? Do I trust people’s

experience, allowing it to transform and shape me? How can I accompany those who have been pushed out onto the margins of society? How can I care or advocate for those seeking to build a new life and a new community in my country?

nnHave I honored and recognized the Indigenous peoples who

occupied the land that I work, worship, and live on? Have I held the Church accountable for its complicity in mistreatment of Indigenous peoples?

nnWhat part of my history do I need to examine, interrogate, and be honest about?

nnIf I have power and privilege, have I actively elevated voices in

our world and in our Church who are Black, Indigenous and other peoples and communities of color?

W I N T E R 2 0 2 2 • N O. 13 3

Justice Rising Podcast Thank you for helping to make the first season of Justice Rising a success! We will be launching season two in 2022. Themes we will explore are: restorative justice, sacred art and justice, and environmental justice.

SEASON ONE GUEST INTERVIEWS

Education Equity with Marcos Gonzales Finding Our Purpose with Dr. Patrick Reyes The Spirituality of Organizing with Michael Alcantara Charity vs Justice with Crystal Cardon Love on the Border with Tracey Horan, SP Mercy from the Cells with Jennifer Kelly

Listen at ipjc.org/justice-rising-podcast

Youth Action Team We welcomed Erin and Mallika, two high school students, as IPJC’s first Youth Action Team Interns. Together we are journeying through a formation process to grow as leaders and community organizers. Thus far, the students have created community norms, and honed their skills at storytelling for organizing. As we transition into winter, we will focus on identity, power, and tools for organizing. Stay tuned for updates on their community organizing project in late spring! Mallika & Erin developing community norms!

WINTER 2022

Justice for Women

Plan to join us! Racial Justice with Fr. Dan Horan, OFM February 12, 8:30am–1pm

We had Circles this fall with residents from Burien, SeaTac, Des Moines, Renton, and Tukwila that took action on the following issues: Gun Violence Prevention: In response to gun violence in the community a Spanish-speaking workshop will be offered where two Latino police officers will discuss pathways for safety and violence prevention. Access to health services for the undocumented community: The Circle in Tukwila is partnering with HealthPoint Clinic to offer a community event that provides Latina women with information to enroll in Breast, Cervical, and Colon Health programs that provide free cancer screening to qualifying applicants in Washington State, regardless of immigration status.

St. Bridget Parish, Seattle Options: In-person or zoom. Registration: www.ipjc.org/racial-justice/ Sponsored by IPJC and North Seattle Parishes

Saturday, January 29, 3-5pm Join us as we stand in solidarity with Holy Families seeking asylum. We will pray, reflect, hear stories, and take action to end Title 42. Gathering at the steps of St. James Cathedral, we will walk to the Federal Plaza in downtown Seattle and hold a vigil at the federal government’s doorstep, impelling them to restore access to asylum.

Save the Date! Sunday February 6, 2022 7– 8:30pm

Protester at die-In

Solidarity with the Philippines IPJC’s growing work on defending Human Rights in the Philippines has amped up over the past few months. We cosponsored a vigil, participated in a die-in at Representative Adam Smith’s office, and co-sponsored a webinar, “Isang Bagsak: Prayer and Action.”

Donations IN HONOR OF

Inaugural community clean-up day group!

Environmental Justice: The SeaTac/ Burien Circle organized Por Una Comunidad Limpia ¡Únete!, a cleaning campaign that will take place the first Sunday of every month and was successfully launched on December 5th.

A Film, Conversation and Call To Action on Restorative Justice Register on our website. You will receive a private link to view the film, “Since I Been Down,” at your convenience between January 30 and February 6; and a link for a Zoom conversation on February 6 to discuss the film and identify ways to take action to transform our justice system.

Kristin W. Byrnes Judy Byron, OP Janice Holkup, OP Maggie & Katie Kilbourne-Brook Charlotte & Earl Sutherland Sisters of Providence, Seattle Local Community Tacoma Dominicans 2020 & 2021 Jubilees IN MEMORY OF

Marjorie Kowalski Cole Ted Walberg Mary Bridget Ward, SNJM A M AT T E R O F S P I R IT

Intercommunity

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Peace & Justice Center

SPONSORING COMMUNITIES

Adrian Dominican Sisters Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace Jesuits West Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, US-Ontario Province Sisters of Providence, Mother Joseph Province Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia Tacoma Dominicans

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AFFILIATE COMMUNITIES

“ Ours is not the struggle of one day, one week, or one year. Ours is not the struggle of one judicial

Gretchen Gundrum Vince Herberholt Kelly Hickman Tricia Hoyt Nick Mele Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos Will Rutt

appointment or presidential term.

Editor: Samantha Yanity Copy Editor: Gretchen Gundrum, Erica Eberhart Design: Sheila Edwards

each one of us in every generation

A Matter of Spirit is a quarterly publication of the Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Federal Tax ID# 94-3083964. All donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. To make a matching corporate gift, a gift of stocks, bonds, or other securities please call (206) 223-1138. Printed on FSC ® certified paper made from 30% postconsumer waste. Cover: Marchers, signs, and tent at the March on Washington, 1963, Trikosko, Marion S., photographer, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

ipjc@ipjc.org • ipjc.org

Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and

must do our part.” —JOHN LEWIS