As Portland, Oregon struggles to address systemic racism and the deployment of federal forces to suppress protests that fuel democracy and spur reform, Mayor Ted Wheeler has a historic opportunity to transfer control of the Portland Police Bureau to Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. Commissioner Hardesty has been a long-time champion of police accountability. Her appointment as police commissioner would demonstrate to all Portlanders, from those in the BIPOC community to the leaders of the police union that has historically resisted reform, that a new day has arrived in the Rose City. Mayor Wheeler would offer renewed evidence of his commitment to a more just Portland by making this appointment. Commissioner Hardesty has expressed her willingness to take on this challenging assignment. If Portland wants to declare that #BlackLivesMatter, appointing Portland’s first black woman City Council member as police commissioner, a leader who has fought for justice her entire life, would be a step towards realizing that vision.

We make the following demands: Public Policy: ● The removal of military equipment from our neighborhoods as tools for policing. ○ The end of the 1033 Program, whereby Congress transfers excess military equipment to local police agencies for use in counter-drug activities. ● The immediate work to create police reform initiatives as well as community oriented policing methodologies to include the following: ○ A revision of police union contracts so that police are held accountable for misconduct, to include clarity about “excessive force.” ○ A moratorium on no-knock warrants for drug-related arrests. ○ An end to “broken-windows” policing. ○ The implementation of swift and strong fines against persons who make emergency calls to police departments based upon false allegations against Black citizens. ○ State and local level public policy initiatives that ensure police review boards comprise citizens representing its diverse neighborhoods. Effective policy requires community oversight. ○ The refusal to hire/retain any officer who has a history of excessive force and misconduct. ○ An end to the practice of aggressive police persons not receiving repercussions and prosecution when they cross the justice line and end the process of internal policing, powerful police unions, powerless civil arbitration boards, and ineffective external (non-police) review boards being used to release accused police persons from justice. ○ An end to the standard of reasonableness that allows police officers to shoot to kill Black and other racial minorities on the officer’s assertion that they feared for their life. ○ Pressure on insurance companies to demand changes in police procedures and policies used by police departments that consistently lead to high incidents of police brutality against racial minorities by refusing those departments coverage. ● The immediate clarification by the FBI that Black Lives Matter is not a “black identity extremist” movement. American Academy of Religion/ Society of Biblical Literature: ● The immediate development and support of the Policing in Black and Brown Communities Initiative that will work with journalists who cover religion. Black people’s religious conceptualizations drive the way they move in the world. Through AAR/SBL support, this initiative’s aim is to place scholars of religion in conversation with mainstream journalists around the country so that the narratives around our lives convey truth and sensitivity. Association of Theological Schools: ● Include on its agenda for its upcoming Biennial Meeting a time for the Presidents of ATS schools to discuss what is both the impact and theological work needed to address the consistent killings of Black people. During our lifetimes, we have placed our credentials and often our very bodies on the line doing the work of justice-making for our communities. Now is no different. In the days to come, we will do all in our power to resist the evils of racism in the many forms it presents itself, especially in our political systems and schools of higher education. We will not allow the violence directed at Black people and US citizens protesting against police violence to be baptized in religious symbolism as if to say that is the way that our faith, any faith, that follows the way of love and justice demands we obey. Instead, we join the collective response to those who seek justice, liberation and the end of white supremacy. NO MORE. Contacts: Pamela R. Lightsey, [email protected]; Matthew Williams, [email protected] The full petition text and complete list of original signers and co-signers are hosted by Auburn (Updated June 4, 2020): https://auburnseminary.org/statementfromblackpresidentsanddeans_4june2020/ Original Signatories: Rev. Angela D. Sims, PhD, President, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School Rev. Valerie Bridgeman, PhD, Dean and VP of Academic Affairs, Methodist Theological School in Ohio Rev. Pamela R. Lightsey, PhD, VP of Academic Affairs, Meadville Lombard Theological School Marsha Foster Boyd, PhD, Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean, Luther Seminary The Rev. Vanessa Lovelace, PhD, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Lancaster Theological Seminary The Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt, President, Starr King School for the Ministry Leah Gunning Francis, PhD, VP for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, Christian Theological Seminary Rev. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, PhD, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean, Chicago Theological Seminary Rev. Yolanda Pierce, PhD, Professor & Dean, Howard University School of Divinity Rev. Kirstin C. Boswell-Ford, M.Div., Associate Dean of Student Support Services, Brown University Rev. Maisha Handy, PhD, Provost/VP for Academic Affairs, Interdenominational Theological Center Rev. Stephen G. Ray Jr., PhD, President, Chicago Theological Seminary Rev. Micah L. McCreary, PhD, President, New Brunswick Theological Seminary Matthew Wesley Williams, M.Div., Interim President, Interdenominational Theological Center Elías Ortega, PhD, President, Meadville Lombard Theological School

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

As leaders of faith and moral courage, we often call people together for worship, connection, service, and action. We now have an obligation to act to mitigate the worst impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic. This obligation includes canceling large group gatherings and encouraging community members to stop unnecessary travel and stay at home. As leaders, we're also called to help our congregations and communities stay connected. We know that while physical isolation can save lives, emotional isolation can be deadly. We call on every moral leader to lead now. Let's find new ways to deepen our faith, strengthen our fellowships, and support our communities while we're 6-feet or more apart! Sign on and share to promote #FaithfulDistance!

Ousman is a long-time resident of the Fordham Heights neighborhood of the Bronx, who came to the United States from the Gambia in 2001 when he was only 6 years old. The fourth of eight children, Ousman spent much of his teenage years caring for his five younger siblings – doing everything from changing diapers to attending parent-teacher meetings – while his parents worked full-time, low-paying jobs. ICE tore Ousman away from his community when they arrested him in an early morning home raid on July 31, 2017 on the basis of single criminal conviction. Just five days later, Ousman’s partner of three years, Lashalle, learned she was pregnant with their first child. Despite being incarcerated by ICE ever since, Ousman has been supportive and present for his family in anyway he can. This included the hours Lashalle was in labor, when Ousman repeatedly called his wife in the short increments permitted by the jail until the jail cut off phone access for the night just before his daughter was born. His daughter Sanai is now almost two years old, and Ousman has never been able to see his baby girl outside of a jail. During weekly visits, Sanai’s tiny fists hit the glass barrier when she reaches out for her father, and she starts crying and screaming when she is forced to leave her father. With Ousman in detention and without affordable childcare, Lashalle has struggled for now years to maintain full-time employment. As a result, Lashalle and Sanai lived in a homeless shelter for over a year and only recently were moved to permanent public housing in the Bronx. Lashalle is still struggling to survive every day as ICE has forced her to be a young single mother, despite the deep mutual commitment she shares with her husband. If Ousman returned home, Lashalle and Sanai would be able to thrive and be at peace. ICE is determined to treat Ousman as a disposable member of our community based on his contact with New York State’s criminal legal system and has deliberately ignored his tremendous efforts to rehabilitate as a loving husband, father, brother, and son. Since his incarceration by ICE, Ousman has worked and completed his GED. Within immigration jail, he has emerged as a leader entrusted with ensuring other incarcerated people receive food and hygiene products, among other responsibilities. He has the full support of his family, community groups, and social workers in transitioning out of immigration jail. You can also read more about Ousman’s story here: https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/9/30/20875821/black-immigrants-school-prison-deportation-pipeline HOW YOU CAN HELP You can sign onto this petition that has two goals: 1) We urge Governor Cuomo to use his discretionary power as Governor to grant a pardon that would allow Ousman to be reunited with his wife and young child. 2) We also urge ICE to release Ousman and end this deportation case once and for all, allowing the Darboe family a chance to be whole. We are also raising money to support Lashalle and Sanai as they transition out of the shelter system at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/we-keep-us-safe. OUR VALUES The Trump administration defends its aggressive immigration policies by claiming that these actions make the public safer. But the public needs Ousman home. Lashalle – who has struggled to find stable housing and childcare that will accommodate her work schedule – would be safer with Ousman home. Their daughter – who reaches out for her father but cannot touch him since the jail instituted a no-contact visitation policy, despite failed promises by the Bergen County Jail to change this policy – would be safer with him home. Ousman’s parents and siblings – who look up to him and rely on him —would be safer with Ousman home. Many New York city, state, and federal elected officials support Mr. Darboe’s pardon application and imminent release from ICE custody, including Congress Members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jose Serrano, Assembly Member Yuh-line Niou, State Senator Julia Salazar, Council Member Carlos Menchaca, Former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. If the Trump administration will not defend the safety of all members of our country, we look to each other. We ask you to join us in this petition that will help provide the safety, stability and happiness that Ousman and his family so desperately need.

As the upcoming Pan-Amazonian Synod begins on October 6, 185 men are expected to vote on the final document, and 0 women are expected to vote. One non-ordained, religious brother is voting while no non-ordained, religious sisters will be voting. Women who have the same ecclesial status as non-ordained men are excluded, again. In 2018, calls for women religious to vote at the Synod on Youth came from Catholics across the globe. Women religious themselves worked hard for the vote. And the final document, which was the will of the bishops, for the first time, called the inclusion of women in decision-making structures a “duty of justice.” This year, among the 265 participants, only 33 are women. Ten of the women are religious from the International Union of Superiors General (UISG). This group of women have the identical ecclesial status as the male non-ordained religious superiors, one of whom is voting at the synod. Still, these women religious superiors are not voting at the synod. Two women religious were named as part of the pre-synodal council, orchestrating the agenda and the working document alongside 16 ordained men. All 16 ordained men on this list are voting members of the Synod. The two women religious are auditors but not voting. This injustice must end. Join us in signing this petition. We will not stop until women have the right to vote at our synods.

Mr. President, we recognize that you are a symptom of our decaying moral fabric and you have ignited a modern day wildfire. The coals of white nationalism are always smoldering in our common life, and they have fueled the violence of indigenous genocide, slavery, lynching and Jim Crow. Stop stoking the fires of violence with racist words and policies. Mr. President, you must repent in word and deed if your leadership is to bring us together, rather than tearing us apart. To Members of Congress and our elected representatives, we ask you to ensure our domestic tranquility. You can take immediate action to stop the President’s racist attacks on immigrants. You can act to ensure voting rights, pass gun reform to keep weapons of war out of our communities, end federal programs that send military equipment to our local and state police departments, pass immigration reform that allows us all to thrive and build up the country, ensure good jobs and living wages and relief from our debts, and guarantee health care and social programs that meet our needs. The lies of white nationalism have prevented action on all of these issues, and those who have enabled the President or remained silent are culpable. As you return to Washington D.C, we call on Congress to honor the August 28 anniversary of the March the Washington and the murder of Emmett Till by passing an Omnibus Bill that offers a comprehensive response to the systemic racism that connects the issues facing 140 million poor and low-wealth people in this country. To all candidates running for President in 2020, we call on you to address both the violence of racism and the policies of racism and white nationalism in the public debates. We ask you to connect these policies of systemic racism to poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy, militarism and a distorted moral narrative that accepts, justifies and perpetuates systemic violence. To our movements and organizations on the ground, do not go back to your silos; instead we must build a moral fusion movement. We have been organizing in separate streams, often along lines of race, issue area or geography, but we need much more than our own fights can win. This is not the time to become entrenched in those divisions. We need to come together across race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, issue, geography and other lines of division to make a fight for everything we need and make sure we are all in – nobody is out. To those who have embraced the lies of white nationalism and racism, we humbly recognize the power of fear. We live in a time when many people do not know if they will have work today or health care tomorrow. Many families do not know what agency is coming for them or their children. We do not know who to trust and have been left to fend for ourselves and whoever we believe to be on our side. Let us find strength in our pain, mourn our losses, and remember that we are all part of a common human family. Let us reject every attempt by politicians and corporate interests to pit us against one another. Let us confess that white nationalism is a myth that has not served most people, even those it claims to protect. Let us fight for each other and for a world where everyone can thrive. To our religious leaders and people of faith, we call on you to offer moral leadership in the public square. If you have condoned the lies of white nationalism or remained silent, you have failed to keep your sacred vows. We ask you to recall the struggles of our ancestors so we can work together to build up a more perfect union in our common life. We call on all people of faith and conscience to sign on to this letter and share it throughout your networks. Let us prevent this violence from defining who we are as a nation and people. Forward together, not one step back. Rev. Dr. William Barber, II, President, Repairers of the Breach and Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, Director, Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice and Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival Rev. Teresa Hord Owens, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union of Reform Judaism Minister Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Red Letter Christians

As justice-seekers inspired by our faith, we honor the dignity of every person. As Pope Francis said: “These are not mere social or migrant issues… Migrants are first of all human persons.” We affirm the sacred human right of all people to seek asylum. We urge Congress to: --Reduce Funding for Deportation, Detention, and Border Militarization; Support Funding for Refugee Resettlement and Asylum When determining federal appropriations for FY 2020, we urge Congress to reduce funds for CPB and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations. Refuse to provide any additional funding for a border wall; instead allocate resources to support refugee resettlement and access to asylum --Keep Families Together and Invest in Alternatives to Detention We call for an end to family detention this year, by December 2019, and urge Congress to increase funding for less costly, more efficient, community-based alternatives to detention. --Exert Robust Oversight over Detention and Uses of Federal Funding We urge Congress to require additional inspections of ICE facilities, ensure ICE publishes public weekly reports, and create a detention ombudsperson to strengthen oversight. Congress should also prohibit federal funds from being used to: enforce Muslim or refugee bans, deport or detain DACA, TPS, or DED holders, and carry out immigration enforcement operations at “sensitive” locations including schools, churches, and hospitals. We call on President Trump, and all who play a part in these cruel acts, to stop terrorizing our immigrant neighbors and stop tearing families apart. We call on our elected officials in Congress to withhold funding from CBP and ICE that enables them to raid communities, separate families, and detain children and families. We call on immigration enforcement officers and agents to turn away from cruelty and choose compassion.

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.

The Equality Act, a bill jointly introduced in the US House of Representatives (HR 5) and US Senate (S. 788), would amend the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The US House of Representatives voted in favor of passing the Equality Act on May 17, 2019. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future. If passed, it would provide consistent nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQI people in all aspects of their lives, including employment, housing, education, and more. These protections would occur at the federal level, ending the patchwork of protections that vary from state to state. It’s time for full and equal protections for all! The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops strongly opposes the Equality Act, using questionable arguments that are counter to our understanding of the Catholic faith. DignityUSA and our members represent the significant majority of Catholics who believe in equal protections for all vulnerable groups in society. In January 2019, the Pew Research Center found that 69% of Catholic Republicans and 84% of Catholic Democrats believe homosexuality should be accepted by society. DignityUSA has 50 years of experience advocating for LGBTQI acceptance in the church and society – and we’re not stopping now. Are you with us? Add your name and join us in telling Congress to pass the Equality Act today! LGBTQI people live in every part of our country, as members of virtually every family and deserve the full protections of our nation’s laws. This means equal access to public services, including health care, housing, education, and employment regardless of gender or orientation. It is time to remove the many structural barriers faced by the LGBTQI community for too long. It is past time to pass the Equality Act. Sign the petition and raise your voice in support of the Equality Act. Stand with the majority of US Catholics in who believe in respect and justice for all! Learn more at www.DignityUSA.org

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.

Communities like ours around the country—and around the world—are gathering in solidarity to denounce acts of violence and hate. An urgency for peace and reason is bubbling up like a geyser ready to burst in a powerful show of force for change. The Interfaith Council of Sonoma County (ICSC) invites you to take part in a campaign titled “Sonoma County—United in Kindness.” The painfully tragic events in Christchurch, New Zealand, the Pittsburgh synagogue shootings and other horrific incidents underscore how compelled we are to take a stand. It is time. Let’s stop the fast-moving fire of hatred with a stream of tangible and sustainable acts in our workplaces and communities. First action: ICSC with your help will gather thousands of signatures on the declaration, Sonoma County—United in Kindness (see below). We’ve done this before with the 2016 campaign rejecting Islamophobia. Please sign the declaration yourself and share it with others on social media. Encourage friends, neighbors and strangers to envision Sonoma County—United in Kindness. Unify our community in a desire to build good will, harmony and kindness. Together, not alone, we can change our world and positively impact our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and how we treat each other every day. Next action: Take sensible actions for a sustained campaign to ensure a Sonoma County—United in Kindness. We will call on county and city officials, school district administrators, faith congregations, business leaders, police agencies, courts, radio and TV stations and other news media to embrace our vision and to come up with a sustainable plan of action. Dozens of local groups are already making progress toward positive change. To succeed, this important campaign needs each one of us. Can you see downtown lamppost banners with “Sonoma County—United in Kindness”? How would a county united in kindness feel to you? As our campaign moves forward, be part of the groundswell. Offer your ideas and work on projects that empower your vision. Keep up with our meetings and activities by reading email updates and announcements. Step forward now to create a safer, more humane and joyful community for ourselves and our children, a Sonoma County united in kindness. Sign the declaration! Pass it on! (Read the declaration text, below.) In hope and faith, Mohammad K. Jabbari Founding member, Interfaith Council of Sonoma County Chair, Sonoma County—United in Kindness Campaign [email protected] _________________________________ A Declaration of Unity by Sonoma County Residents SONOMA COUNTY—UNITED IN KINDNESS We the undersigned believe that freedom from hateful speech, bullying, discrimination, and violence is a human right. We believe all of us benefit from living in a diverse community. Everyone, especially children and youth, requires a place to grow and learn in peace and safety, guided in kindness and caring. We are proud that our half-million Sonoma County neighbors come from so many of humankind’s backgrounds, beliefs, and traditions in pursuit of joyful and healthful living. To sustain these strengths, we affirm trust in a social fabric that does not permit harm to individuals and groups based on distinctions of ability, age, appearance, ethnicity, gender identity, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic position. We call on all Sonoma County residents to find ways to create this pluralistic social fabric. We call on our leaders in education, government, business, health, and faith to build, through education and initiatives in their areas of influence, a county that honors human rights. In recognition of these desires for unity, we jointly declare Sonoma County—United in Kindness. Sponsored by:the Interfaith Council of Sonoma County Endorsed by: Alternatives to Violence Project — North Bay Council • Appleseed Friends Meeting (Quakers) — Sebastopol • B’nai Israel Jewish Center — Petaluma • Board of Supervisors of Sonoma County • Center for Spiritual Living — Santa Rosa • City of Cloverdale, California • City of Cotati, California • City of Petaluma, California • City of Rohnert Park, California • City of Sebastopol, California • Comité VIDA • Commission on Human Rights of Sonoma County • Community Church of Sebastopol, United Church of Christ • Congregation Ner Shalom — Cotati, CA • Congregation Shomrei Torah — Santa Rosa • Elim Lutheran Church — Petaluma, CA • Emmaus Community in Sonoma County • First United Methodist Church of Santa Rosa • Homeless Action! • Indivisible Petaluma • Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative • Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California • Journey Center — Santa Rosa • Joyful Noise! Gospel Singers • LezResist! • Metropolitan Community Church of the Redwood Empire • Movimiento Cultural de la Union Indigena — Sonoma and Napa Counties • North Bay LGBTQI+ Families • North Bay Organizing Project — Santa Rosa • North Bay Organizing Project, Petaluma division • Of One Soul Project • Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County • The Peace Crane Project • Petaluma Community Relations Council • Presbyterian Church of the Roses — Santa Rosa • Racial Justice Allies of Sonoma County • Redwood Forest Friends Meeting (Quakers) — Santa Rosa • Sonoma County Family YMCA • Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens League • St. Patrick's Episcopal Church — Kenwood • St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church — Sebastopol • Sonoma State University Academic Senate • Team for Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity (TIDE) • Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Rosa • United Church of Christ - Petaluma • Unity Church of Santa Rosa • YWCA Sonoma County