December IO, 2014
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Page 7
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We should be outraged by the Unjust Deaths
I weep with the
parents who
have lost sons
and daughters
BY THE
R ev .
M . L inda
J aramillo
L ik e th o u
sands of others
I was speech
less, but not sur
prised, by the grand jury decision
to not charge O fficer Darren
Wilson in the shooting and killing
of Michael Brown.
W atching this dreadful inci
dent unfold prompts more haz
ard than it does security in our
lives. I can only imagine the fear
felt by the young people who
experience such violence all
aro u n d them ev ery day. It
brought to mind a quote by one
of our founding fathers, Ben
jamin Franklin, who reminded us
that “Justice will not be served
until those who are unaffected
are as outraged as those who
are.”
For those of us who do not live
in M issouri, we may feel as
though Ferguson is miles away.
But if we think that we are unaf
fected, we need only wait a while
because each of us will be in one
way or the other. A similar trag
edy is but one minute away in
our own backyard.
For example, I live just five
minutes away from the Cudell
Recreation Center in Cleveland,
Ohio, where police converged
on 12-y ear-old Tamir Rice. Sur
veillance video accounts show
that shots rang out from a police
weapon within two seconds of
their arrival. In an instant, an
other young African-American
life was lost and his name added
to the hundreds who are injured
or killed every day. We are all
affected by these tragedies.
Like all parents I worry about
my kids, but I do not have to live
in extreme fear for their safety
because of the color o f their
skin. I am deeply saddened to
hear the stories of parents who
must coach their children daily
on what to do if they are con
fronted by a person with the
power to end their life, or how to
appear nonthreatening in order
to stay safe. In this unjust reality,
parents must think beyond pro
viding for their fam ily’s basic
needs like food, housing, and
health care. Instead they struggle
to provide basic safety and se
curity.
This is about life and death. I
weep with the parents of Michael
Brown, Tamir Rice, and others
who have lost their sons and
daughters in senseless acts that
could have been avoided. We
are all affected because when
one child suffers, we all suffer.
As Christians, we have just
entered into the season of Ad
vent, a time of prayerful antici
pation of the coming of the Christ
child. We observe this holy time
by lighting candles of hope, love,
joy, and peace as we remember
that we are human beings in
need of renewal. In this time of
hopeful anticipation, listen to
Jesus’ words in the Gospel of
M atthew, “Let the little children
come to me, and do not hinder
them, for the kingdom of heaven
belongs to such as these.”
Our children are creative, they
are truthful, they are joyful, they
are hopeful, and they are resil
ient. But we cannot allow them
to endure such injustices. We
must demand a change in the
systemic conditions that harm
their lives and their spirits.
W hether we are directly af
fected or not, we should be
outraged by the violent loss of
even one young life to whom
the kingdom o f heaven and
earth belong.
The Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo
is executive minister o f Justice
and Witness Ministries in the
United Church o f Christ.
Words
Standing
together for
justice
quences.
W hen the grand ju ry deci
sion in the Eric G arner C ase in
New Y ork was announced last
w eek , th o u sa n d s o f N ew
Y o rk e rs
s p o n ta n e o u s ly
by M arian
poured onto the streets o f the
W right
city chanting, "I can't breathe,
E delman
I can't breathe," the dying
D e m o c ra c y
words o f G arner, an unarm ed
cannot breathe,
black m an killed by a Staten
indeed will die, if those enjoined Island police officer using a
to protect it and uphold the laws deadly chokehold that had been
snuff it out — with no conse banned by the N ew Y ork City
police departm ent.
The evidence was clear, cap
tured on a cell phone for all to
see, except for the grand jury
which refused to indict.
The protestors spoke for all of
us around the country. No men,
women or children can breathe
in America right now when black
men and boys are routinely killed
with impunity by police officers.
All A m ericans w ant justice,
and in the w ake o f the killings
in Ferguson and C leveland and
New York, we all need to de
mand justice for all A m ericans
by continuing to stand together
in strategic nonviolent protest.
A tto r n e y G e n e ra l E ric
H older's action to open a civil
r ig h ts in v e s tig a tio n in to
G arner's case is a step in the
right direction. The call by
M ichael Brow n's parents, and
now President Obama, to equip
police officers across the coun
try with cam eras is also a step
in the right direction. R etrain
ing the police will help a lot, but
will not solve our deep sys
tem ic racial problem s that we
continue to ignore at our peril.
In every town and every city
we need sustained nonviolent
action. We need to work to
gether to fix our broken system
of justice and to make America
live up to her creed and respect
for all under the law.
Marian Wright Edelman is
president o f the Children's De
fense Fund.
Immigration Action Step in the Right Direction
Our nation needs to do better
by
K ayse J ama
For
m any
years, the imm i
grant and refu
gee m ovem ent
has worked tire
lessly to ensure our families stay
together.
P resident O bam a’s recent
executive action on im m igra
tion will provide some adm inis
tration relief from deportation
starting in early 2015 for un
docum ented im m igrants who
have been living in the U nited
States for at least five years,
have no crim inal record, and
who have a child w ho is a
portance o f the relief that the
P resident’s decision will pro
U nited States citizen.
vide for some, his actions fall
In addition, the P resid en t’s short o f w hat is needed. T em
action will expand the D eferred porary relief helps hard w ork
A ction for C hildhood A rrivals ing fam ilies to stay together
program , w hich has provided
te m p o ra ry sta tu s fo r som e
D R E A M ers.
O ur ask has alw ays been
simple: We want hum ane com
prehensive imm igration reform
that includes a pathw ay to c iti
zenship for all 11.2 m illion as
piring citizens. D espite our bro
ken im m igration system , C on
gress has chosen not to act,
leaving m illions o f fam ilies in and legally work here, but there
legal limbo.
are many others left behind,
W hile we recognize the im- and this is only a tem porary
m easure that can be revoked.
The m ajority o f u n d o cu
m ented im m igrants will not
benefit from the P resident’s
D eferred A ction criteria set,
in c lu d in g th e p a re n ts o f
...but there are many others
left behind, and this is only a
temporary measure that can
be revoked.
continue to be torn apart, and
our border will continue to be
militarized.
O ur nation needs to do bet
ter for these aspiring citizens,
and we need to hold our law
m akers accountable on what
they do, and w hat they fail to
do.
We as a com m unity believe
that we have shared fate, and
we will continue to w ork to
gether across cultural lines to
dem and com prehensive im m i
gration reform . Justice can be
deferred, but not denied.
Kayse Jama is executive di
D REA M ers. The C enter for rector o f the Center fo r Inter-
Intercultural Organizing knows cultural Organizing in north
that this means fam ilies will Portland.