We, South Coast leaders of faith and leaders for social equality, come together to affirm the heart of our different traditions – we all are made equally in the image of the divine, all life is sacred, and every human being is our neighbor, worthy of love.
Despite this common truth, we as a nation consciously or unconsciously deny that our society is structured in ways that gives privilege to people who are born white and disfavors those who are not.
The pain, anger, and heartbreak manifesting today in the United States of America started 400 years ago when human beings were first stolen from Africa and enslaved for forced labor. Fellow human beings, deprived of all rights, were considered property that could be treated brutally, raped, and disposed of at will by predominantly white owners.
White dominance continued after the Civil War as the North, imposing its own restrictions on newly emancipated people, was complicit with the failure of reconstruction in the South. The whole nation promulgated laws and practices that disenfranchised all African Americans.
Both northern and southern states deliberately created exclusive zoning and red lining, forcibly displacing African American lawful owners. Budgets for education, healthcare, housing, and social services in predominantly black neighborhoods were severely and deliberately curtailed. Suppression of the black vote, especially egregious in the Jim Crow South, was also practiced in the North.
Police forces, derived from posses to chase runaway slaves, were created largely to keep white neighborhoods “safe” from incursion by non-whites. The use of force in enforcement is considered an acceptable norm. The selective application of laws by the criminal justice system promotes mass incarceration of the black community.
We also acknowledge that the violence against people of color harkens to the license white settlers took in the mass slaughter and dislocation of indigenous people while appropriating their lands. The disregard for basic human rights is part of our birthright as a nation.
Many of us do not even acknowledge or understand that we have subliminally accepted the structure of a society that gives privilege to those who are born white. We ignorantly proclaim innocence or reject responsibility – “I am not a racist,” “I am color blind,” “I have black friends,” and “All Lives Matter,” all the while benefiting from easy credit, easy hiring and promotions for work, forgiveness for minor infractions; all that are not afforded to people of color.
Structural injustices need to be dismantled piece by piece. Given the immense challenge of our past and our present, we affirm another core belief of our faith traditions – we are called to work for justice. We see hope in this moment, believing this time to be another turning point in true racial justice. Though the arc is long it bends towards justice.
We express our solidarity with and gratitude to activists and protestors in the South Coast and across our nation. We know that silence is complicity, and we are deeply grateful for your voice and witness.
Some of us have worked many years and some are just awakening, but now awake we vow to not go back to sleep. We are committed to work together for racial and social justice. Our specific commitments vary depending on our racial and institutional positions, yet we know that it requires listening and truth-telling, humility and urgency, sincerity and resolve.
We commit to honest, open, and challenging conversation, while we continue doing our homework, educating ourselves about the many ways that white favoritism and structural racism are woven into the history and fabric of our nation and our lives.
We will work with our faith communities and social networks to explicitly engage in public education and dialogue around the issues of white privilege, anti-blackness, and structural racism. Our work for social justice is inseparably tied to our faith traditions. Speaking in one voice against hatred and ignorance, our interfaith and inter-organizational cooperation is strong.
We call on others in our community, especially those in positions of leadership and law enforcement, to intentionally and critically review how we, as institutions and individuals, continue to perpetuate racism and white privilege in our laws and our practices.
Beyond examining our hearts and our relationships, our laws must also be revisited. We commit to being informed about, involved in, and acting on public policy and legislation that will address systemic issues.
As the headlines shift focus, we vow together to continue our focus on this sacred internal and external work. We call on all in our communities to look inward, confess those things that we have done, or have not done. We pledge to come to the table and collaborate together in the long, hard work of anti-racism and social justice.
Faithfully,
Reverend Darryl D. Malden, Pastor
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Fall River
The Rev. Christopher R. Morck
Grace Episcopal Church, New Bedford
Rev David Lupo, sscc, Pastor
St. Mary’s Church, Fairhaven
Reverend MaryAnn Purtill, Ordained Minister
The United Church of Christ,
Southern New England Conference
The Rev. Melissa Howell, Curate
Grace Episcopal Church, New Bedford
The Rev. Dr. Virginia H. Child
United Church of Christ Pastor
Sister Marianna Sylvester, RSM, parishioner
Our Lady of the Assumption Church, New Bedford
Rabbi Raphael Kanter
Tifereth Israel Congregation, New Bedford
Rev. Jordinn Nelson Long, Lead minister
Unitarian Universalist Society of Fairhaven
Deborah Zane, Pastoral Associate
Catholic Collaborative of Central Fall River
Karen Andersen, Minister
First Unitarian in New Bedford
Rev. Jim Hornsby, Rector Emeritus
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Fall River
The Rev Jack H Haney
Grace Episcopal Church, New Bedford
Reverend Paul H. Wheeler
Trinity Lutheran Church, Fairhaven
The Reverend Alan R. Hesse
Christ Church Swansea, MA
Rev. David A. Lima, Executive Minister
Inter-Church Council of Greater New Bedford
The Rev. Emily J. Kellar
United Church of Christ
Fr. Philip C. Jacobs, OGS (Retired)
New Bedford Human Relations Commission
United Interfaith Action of Southeastern MA
The Rev. Susan H. Lee, Ph.D., Rector, and the Vestry
St Luke’s Episcopal Church, Fall River
The Rev. M Lise Hildebrandt, Interim Priest, and the Vestry
Church of the Holy Spirit, Fall River
Very Rev. Thomas Washburn
CATHOLIC COMMUNITY OF CENTRAL FALL RIVER
Rector: Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption
Pastor: Good Shepherd Parish and Saint Stanislaus Parish
Martin Bentz, Outreach Coordinator
Islamic Society of Southeastern Massachusetts
Cantor Nathaniel Schudrich
Tifereth Israel Congregation, New Bedford
Susan Czernicka and Pamel Terrien, Co-Clerks
Peace and Social Justice Committee
Westport Monthly Meeting
Rev. Donald S. Mier, retired
The NAACP, New Bedford Branch
Rev. David P. Reid ss.cc. Parochial Administrator
Our Lady of the Assumption, New Bedford
Rev. Bette McClure, Ordained Minister
United Church of Christ
Rev. Paul Langston-Daley
Unitarian Universalist Society of Fairhaven
YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts
Rev. Dr. Amy Lignitz Harken
Minister, DOC/UCC
Cantor Shoshana Brown
Temple Beth El, Fall River
Rabbi Mark Elber
Temple Beth El, Fall River
Maria A. Rosario, Executive Director
NorthStar Learning Center
Deena Kinsky, Clerk
Mattapoisett Friends Meeting
The Reverend Charles Cloy, Pastor
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, New Bedford
Rev. Steven Rodrigues, Senior Pastor
His Mercy Church, New Bedford
