Missing Indigenous Women, Mandatory Reporters, Remembering Matthew Shepard
KTF Weekly Newsletter
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And now, on to this week's highlights!
Sy’s recommendations:
One effect of racism is lowering expectations when it comes to the ingenuity and success of BIPOC communities, which in turn decreases the willingness of people to invest in those communities. So stories from history that undermine and reshape those expectations are important. One such story I recently heard for the first time is that of the Freedom House ambulance service in Pittsburgh. In an attempt to both boost employment and provide much-needed quality healthcare to a Black neighborhood in the city, a Black doctor and businessman got together to invent and fund the concept of what we now call a paramedic. They turned the old-fashioned, cop-driven ambulance van into the first of the professional, mobile emergency services vehicles that we know today. And all the first EMTs were young Black men. Read or listen to this NPR segment to learn about their incredible work, the racist backlash, and the eventual spread of Freedom House’s “emergency street medicine” across the world.
Last week, NBC News and ProPublica published the first of a year-long series of articles examining the laundry list of injustices in the child welfare system. This one is a deep dive into the mandatory reporting regime. They look at Pennsylvania’s massive increase in calls to the child abuse report hotline following reforms the legislature passed in response to the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The reporters unsurprisingly found no evidence that the surge in calls created any additional safety for children. Instead, it drastically increased the number of unsubstantiated reports and systematically traumatized Black parents with needless investigations. I think the article does a fairly good job of communicating the harm caused by child welfare involvement in poor and BIPOC families’ lives that I witnessed when I worked as a defense attorney for parents. For more, you can check out our Shake the Dust episode on the system, and the many other resources we link to in that episode’s show notes.
Suzie’s recommendations:
On October 7, 1998 Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson abducted 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, brutally beating him and leaving him for dead. Matthew succumbed to his injuries on October 12. Matthew was gay. A quiet theater kid studying political science and foreign relations at the University of Wyoming, he was a champion of the underdog and a tireless advocate for kindness. His tragic murder inspired the founding of the Matthew Shepard Foundation in 1998 and the expansion of America’s hate crime laws to include victims targeted for their sexual orientation. It is incongruous that those who claim to worship a God of love can stand for hate, but homophobia has long plagued the church. God is present with the persecuted and a companion to those who suffer. He mourns with those who mourn, without exception. This article and compilation of resources to commemorate the anniversary of Shepard’s death can help us do the same.
The complete disregard for those who are incarcerated lays bare the racist and retributive undertones of our society. Americans care very little about evils like rape and murder when they occur behind bars. This article highlights the unacceptable death of 16 image bearers in New York City Jails this year alone, the majority of whom were still awaiting trial. Many of the victims were mentally ill or chronically poor. Some died from medical neglect. If this tragic and preventable loss of life does not cause us to weep and lament, then we have not known the Savior we profess to follow. If it does not motivate us to vote for and demand reform, then we have not seen Him.
Jonathan’s recommendations:
Three members of the Los Angeles City Council, including the former president, were caught on tape espousing bigoted views toward a variety of marginalized groups. This episode of Vox’s Today, Explained podcast distills the background and potential fallout of the roughly 80-minute conversation and the many offended groups who continue to protest. It is incumbent upon we who are striving to leave colonized faith to hold those in power accountable while also reflecting on our own biases, prejudices, and language. Followers of Jesus should speak and live according to his teachings whether or not we are on tape. And when wrong does come to light, we should move quickly to ensure that we prioritize and uphold the interests of those most vulnerable to disenfranchisement and abuse.
Seraphine Warren walked 2400 miles from Arizona to Washington D.C. She is Diné, or what outsiders call Navajo. And her aunt is one of countless missing or murdered indigenous women in Canada, Latin America, and the United States. Britny Cordera writes about Warren's journey for Native News Online, saying “Walks of prayer, justice and remembrance are not just creating political movement — these treks are also an act of reclaiming miles from forced removal.” Throughout the piece, there are themes of grief, connectedness, power, and loss bound up together. Warren walks for her aunt, herself, and every person lost to the historical terror and present horrors that haunt those who share her lineage. Jesus was willing to put on flesh and become like us, and I long for the day when his followers will put on shoes and walk like Warren to become intimate with the struggle for freedom and justice.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
The KTF team