It’s hard to describe what life has been like in our neighborhood during these past two months. I’d like to try though… the ground level perspective of someone who lives here.
I haven’t seen or experienced this level of stress and turmoil in the community since the George Floyd protests. If you can imagine… being woken up frequently from your slumber by what begins as warning whistles shrilling through the air, which is soon accompanied by car horns and angry shouts, an escalating cacophony of indignation, anger and protest. Then you know ICE has come to your neighborhood. It soon becomes an overwhelming torrent of noise as you look out through your window and see cars backed up in the street and crowds… no, mobs of people milling into the street intersection. And to increase your bewilderment you see patrols of uniformed and armed men patrolling the street in front of your house… weapons cocked and ready (last time I saw a scene like this I was in the slums of a developing country). A trio of SUV’s with tinted windows pull up in front of our house and more ICE agents pile out. People whip out their cell phones, recording everything. Outraged residents are shouting protests, some of them hurling invectives, often approaching ICE vehicles and taunting them. This is all provoked by ICE vehicles being posted in the street, outside neighborhood institutions like schools, libraries or churches, waiting for targeted victims to enter or exit. Either that or they are following cars down public streets, and executing dangerous maneuvers on public roads in order to trap someone. For four weeks this was a regular occurrence. And it was in the midst of situations like these that two American citizens were shot and killed, others wounded or brutalized, and many detained.
How does this “ICE Surge” affect our ministry? Lisa and I agreed on what our response should be. To continue to reach out to and minister among the poor and oppressed, and to help our neighbors and those within our sphere of influence in material ways. To not be overcome by the evil of fear and injustice, but to instead overcome evil with good (Romans 12.21).
That means continuing to stay in touch with our families and the youth we have relationships with. We continue to pastor, mentor, comfort, counsel, and pray with our people. For me it was important to do these things, but you wouldn’t see me outside in the protesting crowds. As a Black man I can appreciate the righteous indignation that people feel, but at the same time wonder, “Where were you when…?” You see, black people, particularly in our urban communities, have been subject to unjust laws, overzealous and brutal law enforcement, and unfair treatment for hundreds of years. This treatment, this kind of stress, is not new to us. This is just regular life for us. And so for most of our parishioners all of this is just more of the same. I connect with people, make sure they are safe, make sure they have what they need, provide counsel… but I stay in the background. Because someone like me knows from experience that it takes little provocation for an armed law official to shoot someone like me.
Many of our neighbors are those who have become afraid to go outside. Families are constrained from regular, necessary activities like going to and from work, grocery shopping, taking their kids to school, or picking them up. We’ve seen that little children have become fair game and used as pawns to entrap people. This is not a debate of right and wrong, this is a description of what is literally happening.
So Lisa, the minister of the alley… She has been a constant presence in our community for those who are suffering and oppressed by these goings on. She visits people, runs errands for necessary needs, provides transportation and ushers the Lord’s presence among those who feel abandoned and forsaken. She bakes treats and brings food to our neighbors, she cultivates new relationships and she makes people feel connected. She participates in the neighborhood watch network and has participated in community protests and vigils. She has been an outstanding presence for the Lord in all this.
This movement…, this righteous indignation towards the unjust use of power…, these protests…, have been a wonder to behold. Minnesota has caught the nation’s eyes and heart once again by its courageous response to unfettered authority. Its success is remarkable, but we must remember that the groundwork for this success was laid by the organizers and participants of the George Floyd protests five years ago. Just as that movement was following in the footsteps of the civil rights movement. As we move forward I am filled with hope that we are finally learning as a society that what affects one of us, affects all of us. To quote Dr. King:
“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
– from Letter from Birmingham Jail
May the Lord guide us as we realize we are all in this together.
Christ's Children Ministries 