I am still quite a ways from completely processing all that happened during our time in St. Louis and all that it might mean. The question I have for myself is what I will do with this new knowledge I have gained. How can I translate this experience into something that has benefit to my children? To my church and my community? To my country? I am not sure how to answer those questions yet.
Read MoreFrom August 6-12, 2015, BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz sent a delegation of 10 to St. Louis in response to a national call put forth by Ferguson Action for participation in #UnitedWeFight, a week of training, education, and direct action during the anniversary of Michael Brown’s murder in August 2014.
Read MoreI remember being in the living room of the Amen House in St. Louis on August 7 when I heard about 19-year-old Christian Taylor’s murder in Texas. We had come together to resist the systems that enabled these kind of injustices, but became re-traumatized by another report of a young Black man’s death at the hands of an agent of the state. Our wounds are raw. I find myself in a constant state of pain each time I hear of another black person killed by police or white vigilantes; it is scary to realize I am living in a country that doesn’t value black lives.
Read MoreWhen people ask about my experience in Ferguson, I tell them it was the holiest experience of my life, and it was. I felt like I was putting feet on my faith, doing what Jesus has long commanded us to do. To fight with and for the oppressed. What I have carried with me every day since are the people that I met in St. Louis and Ferguson.
Read MoreCompiled by BPFNA ~ Bautistas por la Paz Board Member Rev. Kadia Edwards, this discussion guide will help provoke conversation around the issues presented in the newly-released film Selma and how these relate to the current conversation happening on race.
Read MoreNathan Watts, a BPFNA ~ Bautistas por la Paz board member, works in Tucson, AZ, as a program organizer with BorderLinks, a nonprofit that specializes in education, immigration justice and social ethics. Nathan was in St. Louis to support Fellowship of Reconciliation representatives (Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou and Gretchen Honnold) who are organizing and training participant protestors in nonviolent civil disobedience.
Read More“I’m in no mood for Advent, “ I thought, glimpsing the purple banner emblazoned with the candle of hope. From Freetown to Ferguson, mothers are weeping over the bloody bodies of their children. From Ayotzinapa to New York City, fathers are crying out over the murder of their daughters and their sons. Children sob for their parents. Parents wail for their children. Widows and orphans are being created day by day by bloody day. How can we speak now of hope, peace, love, and joy? And yet
Read MoreThe incidents in Ferguson and New York have not only highlighted longstanding racial tensions, but have also laid bare the disparities facing black citizens throughout our country. While these cases raise questions about the prevalence of racial profiling and police misconduct, they also reach far beyond that, stressing ongoing issues of economic inequality, housing discrimination and unequal access to adequate education. And it rises from the deep fear and despair that clings to walls of inner-city tenements, and reeks from the tar paper shacks that still dot the Old South.
Read MoreA reflection on Ferguson from Reverend Kadia A. Edwards, a BPFNA member and member of the BPFNA Board of Directors, elected to represent the Youth and Young Adults.
Read MorePeace, we know, is rooted in justice. We are beyond grateful for our dear friends and colleagues who work for it. See what some of your fellow peacemakers have been up to - just within the last four days!
Read MoreIf tomorrow is anything like today, we’re in for a hard day’s night, scented with tear gas. It’s hard to blink without missing another beat of voracious and brutal hearts unleashed in the world. It’s a cable news network bonanza, with anchors as breathless as reporters on the Weather Channel during a hurricane.
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