Hi all,
This was a week where tragedies piled up. The twin scourges of racism and gun violence visited a grocery store in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, Korean-American businesses in Dallas, and a Taiwanese-American church in Southern California. Words are few and feel insufficient, but we mourn and pray and invite you to do the same. We hope some of these resources below will help you to continue to seek understanding, justice, and shalom. And may the God of all comfort be with us.
Jonathan’s recommendations:
The most just, loving and kind response to the Buffalo massacre, especially for those outside the Black community, is corporate, specific grief. To mourn with us over the reality that white supremacy and racial hatred destroyed the lives of at least 13 families. To sit with the tears and testimonies of the Whitfields in this video and grieve the loss of a pillar of their Black family because of white supremacy and racial violence. If we cannot corporately grieve the racist destruction of a Black body formed in the womb by God — just like a white body formed in the image of God – then repentance, reconciliation, and repair will never be possible on this side of heaven. Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy. Have mercy on we who are murdered doing daily tasks and live in fear of being gunned down by those who refuse to see us as human. May you mourn with us today, tomorrow and always.
Greed is the core driver of price inflation for everyday products in the United States. Supply chain shortages, pent-up demand, and labor costs play a part and receive more attention, but hundreds of corporate earnings calls reveal a different reality. Lindsay Owens, the Executive Director of Groundwork Collaborative joined Slate’s What Next podcast to explain how corporations are taking advantage of inflation to rake in record profits. And there is no sign they are going to stop, slow down, or reverse course. Capitalists are capitalizing on the opportunity to price gouge for daily necessities, as decades of consolidation and deregulation skew wealth and resources towards a smaller and smaller group of people and companies. The love of money is the root of all evil and temptation to accumulate more for ourselves is ever-present. Followers of Jesus, especially those in positions of privilege, power, and influence must resist bowing at the feet of mammon.
Suzie’s recommendations:
Last week, Israeli Defense Forces killed veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. According to eye witnesses, Israeli forces gunned her down while she reported on an Israeli incursion into a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank. Israeli forces are refusing to investigate her death, while Al Jazeera and Palestinian officials call it a targeted assassination. Abu Akleh wore her press helmet and flak jacket at the time, and her killing, if deliberate, constitutes a war crime. Moreover, following her tragic death, Israeli forces attacked her funeral procession in yet another horrific and unprovoked act of violence. Abu Akleh was a national treasure and symbol of resistance for Palestinians under Israeli occupation. This heartfelt op-ed by her former colleague honors the memory of a beautiful soul both on and off camera, while this Washington Post article profiles Abu Akleh alongside four other journalists slain while reporting from the Occupied Territories.
The world shuddered in horror last year as investigators brought forth evidence of over 1,100 mass graves associated with Canada’s indigenous boarding schools. In response, the US Department of Interior conducted its own investigation into the legacy of indigenous boarding schools in America. Its initial report was released last week and the findings, summarized in this article by Native journalist Vincent Schilling, are gut-wrenching. The report uncovers a network of 408 schools across 37 states, accompanied by at least 53 burial sites. Some of the schools were still in operation as late as 1969. Moreover, the report outlines a systematic agenda of forced assimilation and cultural genocide, not to mention accounts of abuse. Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland already announced several initiatives geared towards healing and trauma-informed care for victims, but the United States has a long way to go in repenting of these horrific evils and upholding and protecting indigenous rights.
Sy’s recommendations:
I have two important articles contextualizing the massacre in Buffalo and the thinking of the shooter, which he detailed in his 180-page manifesto. First, a Princeton African American studies professor situates the shooter in the broader conservative strategy to deny the relevance of America’s racist past and present, and to portray Black people as privileged, undeserving takers. Second is this article on the antisemitic rants in the manifesto, which might seem like unhinged rambling without historical context. But white fears of replacement have always included the belief that Jewish people are operating secretly in the background, orchestrating the whole thing. As this article argues, we cannot dismiss the shooter as someone dealing with mental illness, even if he was. His violence is the natural consequence of the hatred into which so many online forums and Fox News primetime pundits are discipling people.
A couple thousand miles from Buffalo, but operating from the same worldview as the shooter, a “Christian” militia confronts and questions migrants near the border between Texas and Mexico. The group’s leader, a Bible college graduate and former missionary, explains in this profile that his “Christ-centered” work is to prevent human trafficking of immigrants into the country which he believes Democrats carry out to replace the power of good, conservative voters. The militia members carry guns and wear tactical gear, but often do not identify themselves to migrants as private citizens. Moreover, the militia’s online fundraising is increasing, and government officials near the border have actually started to work with the group. The idea that people carry out this dangerous and racist work in the name of Jesus should disgust but not shock us. Jesus told us he came to testify to the truth, and we must follow him by doing the same in the face of lies like these.
Thank you all for reading, and we will see you next week.
The KTF team