It was with sadness and growing anger that many in our community at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York took in today’s news out of Missouri. While we cannot claim to know all that led to the decision, we are deeply concerned about all it implies about our nation and the violence that lives with us.
The state-sanctioned violence perpetrated against young men of color in this country is abominable. It is cruel and sadistic, and undergirding it is the scourge of white racism with the myriad privileges and fears attached to whiteness.
The brutality of racism and the harms it inflicts on black and brown bodies directly contradict every tenant of our Christian faith — indeed, the tenets of all the world’s major religions. Until it is addressed directly and with sustained commitment by all of us, we will repeatedly fail to be the country we dream of being.
We must not turn back from facing this harsh truth.
As John F. Kennedy cautioned years ago, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” We are committed to peaceful change, and we confess that our democracy is so profoundly broken that nothing short of a people’s movement for deep, systemic change can fix it.
We are hopeful that out of our anger will continue to spring forth activism rooted in a faith bigger than any one community. We remain firm in our belief in a God that gives life and seeks goodness in all things. Using the fierce, biblical model of love and nonviolence claimed by our forebearers, we stand evermore committed to working together for real change.
That change must start today, growing out of our profound sadness, disappointment, and anger at what has occurred — not only in Ferguson but also in far too many of our communities — and flowering in the righteous will to overcome the challenges we face to build the nation we believe in.
See Tension Mount in Ferguson as Protests Begin Anew
Dasha Jones, 19, is arrested for unlawful assembly during a protest ahead of the grand jury decision in the case against Darren Wilson, who shot unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, outside the Ferguson Police Department in Ferguson, Mo. on the evening of Nov. 20, 2014.Barrett EmkePolice detain a demonstrator after he and others blocked a street near a police station in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 23, 2014Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty ImagesA member of the National Guard stands along a parked military vehicle in the back of a shopping center in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Adrees Latif—ReutersGina Gowdy, of Ferguson, Mo., shouts while marching with protestors along a stretch of road where violent protests occurred following the August shooting of unarmed black teenager by a white police officer, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo.David Goldman—APPolice watch as a protester with an upside-down American flag marches along West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo., Nov. 22, 2014Whitney Curtis—The New York Times/ReduxPolice in riot gear observe protesters on the street near the Ferguson Police Station in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 23, 2014Shen Ting—Xinhua Press/CorbisDemonstrators block a busy intersection while marching through the streets to protest the shooting of Michael Brown, in St. Louis on Nov. 23, 2014David Goldman—APA protester, demanding the criminal indictment of Darren Wilson, shouts slogans while stopping traffic in St. Louis, on Nov. 23, 2014Adrees Latif—ReutersDemonstrators shout slogans during a march in St. Louis, on Nov. 23, 2014Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty ImagesA man wearing a mask joins others around a makeshift memorial where 18-year-old Michael Brown who was shot dead by a police officer, in Ferguson, Mo., Nov. 22, 2014Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty ImagesMatt Pearce, a reporter with the Los Angeles Times, holds his head after getting clocked with a rock thrown into the crowd during a protest in the streets in St. Louis on Nov. 23, 2014.David Goldman—APProtesters march through neighborhoods in St. Louis on Nov. 23, 2014Alexey Furman—Demotix/CorbisDemonstrators pray around a memorial at the spot where Michael Brown was shot to death on in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 22, 2014Scott Olson—Getty ImagesPolice guard the Ferguson police station as demonstrators protest the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 20, 2014Scott Olson—Getty ImagesA demonstrator protesting the shooting death of Michael Brown blows cigar smoke in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 22, 2014Justin Sullivan—Getty Images
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