• We Call For An Immediate Federal Response To Address Racial Inequities In Deaths Due To COVID-19
    Like the prophet Isaiah, we say: “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.” In this moment, we serve notice to the powers and principalities that the Righteous God we serve compels us to demand: 1) the Trump administration immediately and fully, with equity and compassion, utilizes the power of the Defense Production Act of 1950 to mobilize manufacturers to produce the necessary personal protective and life-saving equipment such as facemasks, gloves, and ventilators. These materials must be equitably distributed (without excessive price gouging) and readily available in health care and social service settings that serve Black and poor communities; for low-wage essential workers on the frontlines of the pandemic; and in congregate settings such as prisons and homeless shelters. 2) the Trump administration works with state and local public health officials to set up testing sites and field hospitals in Black and poor communities hit hardest by the pandemic with a focus on communities in rural and urban settings that have experienced a massive wave of hospital closures over the last 10 years. 3) the Trump administration calls on the 14 states that have not expanded Medicaid to do so now and that all states provide immediate eligibility for Medicaid to workers who become unemployed during the pandemic. 4) Congress passes a fourth COVID-19 recovery bill that focuses on communities of color and poor and low-wealth communities and that it ensures living wages and paid sick leave for all employees, adequate childcare, rent forgiveness, a full moratorium on utility disruptions and high-quality, free, universal, health care as a human right. 5) the federal government coordinates efforts for the timely and uniform collection and release of data on race/ethnicity and other relevant demographics including poverty and geography for COVID-19 cases and deaths in order to further identify health inequities and mobilize resources to address the disproportionate impact on Black communities and other marginalized racial groups. In the tradition of the prophets of every generation and Jesus, we will continue to speak hope into this situation of death and suffering of our people who daily have to navigate assaults against their human dignity -- the right to clean water, clean air, affordable housing, access to health care and a fair and just judicial system. We cannot and will not be silenced, for no virus or physical distancing can separate us from our call to challenge nations to care for the least of these among us. Sincerely, Bishop William J. Barber II, D.Min. Pastor, Greenleaf Christian Church President, Repairers of the Breach Goldsboro, North Carolina Rev. Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes III Pastor, Friendship-West Baptist Church Dallas, Texas Rev. Eddie L. Anderson Pastor, McCarty Memorial Christian Church Los Angeles, California Rev. Traci Blackmon Senior Pastor, Christ The King United Church of Christ Florissant, Missouri Dr. Amos C. Brown Pastor, Third Baptist Church San Francisco, California Rev. Dr. Leslie D. Callahan Pastor, St. Paul’s Baptist Church Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Eddie Carthan Pastor, Good Samaritan Ecumenical Church Tchula, Mississippi Bishop Yvette Flunder Pastor, City of Refuge United Church of Christ San Francisco, California Rev. Dr. Cynthia L. Hale Senior Pastor, Ray of Hope Christian Church Decatur, Georgia Rev. Terry Melvin Associate Minister, Second Baptist Church Lackawanna, New York Rev. Lionel Murphy Pastor, Tchoupitoulas Chapel Reserve, Louisiana Rev. Dr. Gina Marcia Stewart Pastor, Christ Missionary Baptist Church Memphis, Tennessee
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  • EVERY BODY COUNTS!
    “ So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27). COVID19 is a global crisis that has shifted the focus of our nation and the CENSUS is critical data collection that will govern allocations of finances and representation over the next 10 years. Both COVID19 and the CENSUS warrant our best efforts. Given the necessary precautions of COVID19 that include social distancing and sheltering at home, the data collection period for the 2020 CENSUS should be extended beyond the current timeline to ensure an accurate count because EVERY BODY COUNTS!
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  • Take The FOR Truth and Reparations Pledge
    The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), the Truth Telling Project (TTP), Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY), Coming to the Table (CTTT), representatives from the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA), and others have come together to think about how reparations in our lifetime might be possible. It will be possible with you. Take the pledge today! * I pledge to approach reparations as a spiritual journey that speaks to my own humanity and liberation of myself with those most impacted; * I pledge to learn more about how structures and institutions built on slave labor continue to disenfranchise people in the African diaspora and devalue Black lives; * I pledge to learn more about America’s history and its foundation of chattel slavery; * I pledge to acknowledge, I benefit from this gross moral and material harm just by being white in this society; * I pledge to acknowledge and work to heal the moral and material harm of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which continues to manifest harm in Black communities; * I pledge to follow the leadership and be patient with those who are impacted by slavery and its legacy; * I pledge to learn how to participate in reparations in my local community and encourage my networks to do the same; *I pledge to act in ways that limit my complicity in violence against Black People (this may mean divesting in investments that harm Black People); * I pledge to give and support (healing, material goods, assistance) without expectation on how these should be used; * I pledge to give and support in ways that may not always make me feel good, but help me develop as a person and put others first; * I pledge to take this message to my family, friends and community, calling those in with love rather than through guilt; * I enter into this pledge to be a part of the healing necessary to transform this nation’s and my relationship with descendants of the transatlantic slave trade.
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  • Sign to Support Moral Witness Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
    We know God hears the cries of God’s people who are suffering increasingly under the vengeful leadership and harmful policies of our current administration. Policies that ignore the cries of poor and sick people, children, immigrants and refugees, women, and, even yet, the cries of the lands torn open and polluted. We, as a nation, have lost our way. In such moments, God’s call to action is made known through the voice of the prophets: “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression.” (Isaiah 58:1) As President Trump and his administration let the nation suffer, we must lead with a unified proactive and creative response that is not confined by “Right” or “Left”, Democrat or Republican, but is rooted in the clear moral Center of right and wrong. It is time to warn the nation and call this administration to repent of their sins. Friends, it is time for us to go together to the palace gates with a clarion call: --Stop the weaponization of judicial appointments! Attend to the 14th Amendment, the bedrock of equal protection under the law. Uphold the constitution. --Stop mandating a census question designed to ensure millions are uncounted! Attend to the 140 million poor and low wealth. --Stop the abuse of executive power to pollute our communities with pipelines and privatizing public resources! Attend to our water and air. --Stop the assault on the Affordable Care Act and on health care for women and children in poverty! Attend to the health of your people. --Stop the brutal treatment of the stranger at the southern border! Stop warehousing children in detention camps! End child detention. Attend to compassionate and humane immigration policies that affirm the divinity within all human beings. Instead of covenantal leadership for justice, compassion, healing and the empowerment of all, these sinful acts of the current administration pursue subjugation: subjugation of racial, religious, ethnic, and gender minorities; of women; of children; of the suffocating middle class, workers, family farmers, the poor, and people who fall sick; of immigrants and refugees; of the free press; of the Constitution; even of Earth, our common home. This hate-filled subjugation violates the Covenant. It must not stand. Just after Ramadan, Shavuot and Pentecost, hundreds of faith leaders will journey to DC. Of those hundreds, some may hear the call upon their spirits to engage in nonviolent moral action. Some may be called there as witnesses. But all are needed to bear witness together in this moment. The Scriptures do not call us to ideological purity tests or to precisely worded positions on each aspect of sensitive topics. Instead, Jeremiah calls to us at the heart of our deepest religious convictions and the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution: love, justice and equal protection under the law. We cannot be divided. We cannot be complacent. We must act so that people are called to a moral awakening. In the wake of the new post- Mueller report reality, we must deliver a moral report. June 12th becomes a bridge between the sacred festivals of the Abrahamic communities. The Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Interbreathing that gives life to ALL traditions, all communities, all life-forms, is speaking through us. We must journey toward freedom and awaken this country once more. It is time. June 12th. Signees: Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II Moral Monday Architect President and Senior Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival Rev. Traci D. Blackmon Associate General Minister United Church of Christ Rabbi Mordechai Liebling Director of Social Justice Organizing Program, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid Ameer/President The Muslim Alliance in North America Mother Dr. Ruby Sales Director and Founder of Spirithouse Project Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis Director, Kairos Center Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival Rabbi Dr. Arthur Ocean Waskow Director, The Shalom Center Minister Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove Director, School for Conversion Bishop W. Darin Moore, AME Zion Presiding Bishop Mid-Atlantic Episcopal District Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer General Minister and President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association Pastor Michael McBride National Director, FIA’s LIVE FREE Campaign Lead Pastor, The Way Church Rev. William H. Lamar IV Pastor, Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church Washington, DC Rev. Dr. Jacqueline J. Lewis Senior Minister, Middle Collegiate Church New York, NY Aisha Hauser, MSW Director of Lifelong Learning, East Shore Unitarian Church Bellevue, WA Rev. Dr. Christopher L. Zacharias Pastor, John Wesley AME Zion Church Washington, DC Rabbi Elyse Wechterman Executive Director of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association Sahar Alsahlani Executive Council Member, Religions for Peace, USA The Rev. Jimmie R. Hawkins Director of the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness Rabbi Justus Baird Dean, Auburn Seminary * By signing this petition, you agree to receive emails and updates from Repairers of the Breach.
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  • Fight Against Environmental and Social Injustice
    We all have a fundamental right to clean water, air, a healthy environment, and a livable climate. These rights also require the public resources needed to monitor, penalize, and reverse the polluting impacts of fossil fuel industries. We are committed to ending environmental injustice, including climate injustice, and the policies that stem from it. Fight against environmental and social injustice. Sign our petition now to fight against all instances of environmental injustice across our nation. We’ve seen the far-reaching and devastating impact of ecological injustice on low-income communities and communities of color everywhere from a proposed pipeline that could devastate a historically Black community in Virginia to a county in Alabama with untreated wastewater that may have affected the health of thousands. Last week, Reverend William J. Barber II and former Vice President Al Gore embarked on a tour of the South to hear from and stand with communities in Virginia and Alabama that are being impacted by ecological injustice wrought by political and corporate greed. Throughout the tour, they heard stories from impacted people that make it clear: These acts of injustice are beyond scandal – they are sin. As a nation, we must recognize how poverty, racism, and ecological concerns are interconnected, and that we cannot address one without addressing the others. We must stand up against these immoral policies creating systems in which corporate greed allows for the destruction of poor communities. Sign our petition to support our fight against environmental and social injustice. *By signing this petition, you are agreeing to receive emails from both Repairers of the Breach and The Climate Reality Project.
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  • Remove the Deadline on the Equal Rights Amendment
    The Equal Rights Amendment is a U.S. Constitutional amendment that will empower women, reaffirm the rights of men, and allow for the U.S. Supreme Court Justices to provide protections for those persons in the LBGT Community as all people should be treated equally under the law. IMPORTANT UPDATE It is time now to call upon our US Senators and urge those who were previously opposed to the ERA or had once been and changed their position to strategically pivot and co-sponsor and vote “Yea!” on S.J. Res. 1. It is time now to Pass the Equal Rights Amendment! Much progress has been made these past few months; the US Senate Chamber is poised to ‘Remove the Deadline on the Equal Rights Amendment'. Having reached the requisite number of ratified states on January 27, 2020; and the US House having adopted H.J. Res. 17, this past March 2021, with bi-partisan support; and with advocates and activists now focusing on the US Senate, S.J. Res. 1 is gaining momentum and support. One should note that the resolution is designated as S.J. Res. 1 in the 117th Congress, a clear indication of its importance. Some lawsuits in motion are of relevance, particularly the VA Attorney General suit which a Notice of Appeal has been filed. Do keep in mind that come January 27, 2022, the Courts will be bogged down with a flurry of even more lawsuits. The best approach moving forward as Linda Coberly of Winston and Strawn, LLC., stated “It would be best to have a ‘belt and suspenders’ approach: that it would be best to have both litigation and legislation, and to get Congress to act. Because if Congress acts, then you can defend that action under what’s called the political question doctrine and say that that is an issue for Congress and the courts shouldn’t get involved in it at all.”
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  • Cover Healthcare Costs for Coal Ash Affected Communities
    WHY: People in the broader public, who do not partake in the private profit of Duke Energy--and its pressure to weaken NC DEQ regulations--should not have to pay with their health and even, sometimes, their lives. WHAT: Clean and affordable, in-home drinking water is a must. Breathable, healthy air is a must. Homes and homeplaces that did (and should) have monetary value in everyday working families must be protected for the vital (and sometimes sole) investments that they are. Having one's health is also a must--life free from the cancers and lung, heart, brain, skin, and reproductive disorders to which exposure to coal ash toxins are linked. WHEN: Pay for healthcare coverage costs in a tiered model, triaging first to most-expensive healthcare (brain tumor, rare neurological conditions, strokes and temporary or permanent paralysis, birth defects). Begin in 2020, and continue paying in 2 year increments for healthcare costs incurred by coal ash communities' residents through 2036 when coal ash is fully excavated from ponds; and in steady rates for 30 years following. Duke Energy and NC DEQ must cover all related costs where residents' homes and businesses test positive for heavy metals, radon, and other coal ash associated dangers. This must occur regardless of other health conditions--since these are usually worsened by exposure to industrial toxins, and should not be abused as a loophole to get out of accountability. Toxic exposures take many different forms in health symptoms--the effects depend on the resident's initial health proclivities and what mix of coal ash metals and carcinogens and radioactive materials they were exposed to, at what times of their life (e.g., childhood, in utero, while pregnant, during adolescent puberty, while a resident, an employee, or a schoolchild). Use the precautionary principle--taking action before it is too late to prevent the massive loss of human potential to morbidity, mortality, and other irreplaceable resources where the true costs of coal ash are reflected and magnified. BENEFITS: Health is the foundation of everything in one's life--from caring for one's family to keeping a job, from remaining physically mobile and mentally sound, to staying out of debt as incurred from medical care costs. Healthcare coverage costs are rarely factored in to the upfront costs of US coal production and coal ash waste storage, but they are burdensome, unjust, and must be addressed. Health harms of coal production and coal ash waste storage are dispersed throughout targeted local communities that bear the brunt of coal production harms. Coal-affected communities with steam stations and waste sites in NC are--as they are nationally in what are called "sacrifice zones"--disproportionately lower- and middle-income, split across county/town lines. Within those income and zoning categories, coal and coal waste affected communities often egregiously over-represent people of color in relation to the existing demographics of each region, and among a mix of Black, Brown, and White residents' distribution in affected neighborhoods. Full coal ash excavation must take place in NC, moving coal ash waste in unlined and seeping ponds and pits instead to lined, un-leaking and well-maintained, above-ground and onsite landfills. The cost and the timeline are not an issue that should delay or minimize plans for full excavation once and for all in NC--which must catch up to SC and VA where excavation is occurring to measurable benefit to local health, water, air, and economies. What matters are the prosperity and vibrancy of local rural communities, the stability of housing, and direct support for human health in NC "environmental justice communities of concern". IN SUM: Cover healthcare costs of coal ash affected NC communities now--and budget healthcare coverage into the projected "cleanup costs" Duke Energy and NC DEQ are considering. Account for the real costs of coal and lax safety laws to human lives in NC workplaces, rural economies, close-knit communities, and everyday families. Thank you, bless you! It will feel so good to do the right thing! FURTHER INFORMATION: 1. US Commission on Civil Rights on Healthcare Costs for Coal Ash Affected Communities: FULL TRANSCRIPT: (see highlights) https://bit.ly/2DKEqLe FURTHER INFO: http://itisinyou.org/ejhealth 2. Cancer Clusters--Impossible to Prove but We Still Must Act: NEWSWEEK - www.newsweek.com/2016/07/29/geographic-cancer-clusters-industrial-polluters-481423.html ON SCIENCE: www.facingsouth.org/2016/05/nc-produces-flawed-study-to-dismiss-cancer-cluster.html 3. Camp Lejeune Act--A Model for Covering Health Costs from Toxic Water, "Janey Esminger Act 2012": PROTECTING MARINES: www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article24734458.html AND www.newsobserver.com/news/business/health-care/article10114484.html NEED FOR BIPARTISAN ACCOUNTABILITY: www.rollcall.com/news/Obama-Administration-Moves-to-Deny-Justice-for-Camp-Lejeune-Veterans-234417-1.html
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  • Actions, Not Words--Stand for What Is Morally Right
    We live in a nation where 250,000 people die every year from man-made conditions of poverty and suffering, where millions are denied access to affordable healthcare and a number of states are pushing systemic and surgical racism through voter suppression laws. And while the poor suffer across our nation, we see people—in our churches, statehouses and on Capitol Hill—hijack Dr. King and others leaders’ legacies, the Constitution and our moral and religious values to push an immoral agenda that suppresses our voters, restricts our healthcare, keeps the minimum wage down and calls for the funding of border wall. It is essential that our moral fusion movement of people of every race, color, creed, religion, class and sexuality challenges leaders in every state house across the country who preach hollow words then continue to oppress our poor and suffering.
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  • Pledge of Resistance to I.C.E.
    Because I.C.E. is tearing apart immigrant families and communities, treating people as invaders and aliens, not treating every human being as having inherent dignity and value, created in the Divine Image. No human being is "illegal", no human being should be treated as such. As long as they continue to do so, we pledge our noncooperation and resistance to I.C.E.!
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  • Do Justice and Love Mercy with the Georgia Justice Clergy 100
    Therefore we stand together as the Georgia Justice Clergy 100 against all forms of anti-justice theology, ministry, and public policy in our state and beyond. To this end, we are coming together to form a network of clergy dedicated to creating justice and freedom for the people of Georgia. As a network, we will use progressive faith leadership, direct action organizing, advocacy, and political education to proclaim the justice of God in our time. We hope all like-minded clergy will join us! Rev. Dr. Raphael G. Warnock, Senior Minister, Ebenezer Baptist Church Rev. Billy Michael Honor, Faith Organizer, Loose the Chains (New Georgia Project) Rev. Dr. Dominique A. Robinson, Itinerant Minister, AME Zion Church Rabbi Joshua Lesser, Congregation Bet Haverim
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  • Georgia Clergy to Secretary Kemp: Confirm Our Votes and Recuse Yourself
    As people of faith and leaders of congregations, we can recount story after story of God acting in human history, often to counteract abuses by governing powers and always to reinforce the sacred voices of the poor, disabled, and disenfranchised. Today we are compelled by our faith and these holy stories to stand in righteous opposition to the systematic disenfranchisement of African-American voters, who represent no less than 70% of the 53,000 voter registrations you are currently holding hostage. These actions are the latest in a documented pattern of attempts by elected officials to suppress the voting power of people of color and economically poor communities. By suppressing these votes, you abuse the power that the voters of Georgia entrusted to you when you were elected and sworn in as secretary of state. Despite the Supreme Court’s recent weakening of the Voting Rights Act, the ability to vote is not only a constitutionally-protected right for citizens of this nation, it is also a sacred act, one that is essential to building and sustaining a righteous and just nation for all people. Any action that erects barriers to the ability of citizens of this nation to participate in our democratic processes is an injustice that offends the people of God. The ideals of democracy require that elections be fair and the process just, not riddled with obstacles reminiscent of the racist and sexist poll taxes and literacy tests of yesteryear. The supposed legality of your actions that does not make them fair or just. Scripture says: “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people” (Isaiah 10).
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  • It is just to investigate allegations against Brett Kavanaugh before final vote
    Without a proper investigation, the Senate Judiciary Commiteeman and the full Senate can not possibly render a just and informed opinion on the standing of Kavanaugh as a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. Evidence could include witnesses accounts, medical records, and other sources that we can not possibly know of at this time. The Supreme Court renders decisions that impact every aspect of the day to day lives of all Americans. It is unfair to rush an appointment through without deference to collecting the facts that will allow a reasoned vote for or against a person being considered for such a position of power for decades to come. The American people deserve to know that any SCOTUS justice has the highest legal and moral integrity in serving the country in such an impactful way.
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