Remembering Gustavo Gutiérrez, Diasporic Organizing, Aboriginal Senator Protests King Charles

Plus, Wendell Berry on war and our violence against children

• Hi everyone,

For our paid subscribers, the link to register for our monthly chat this upcoming Tuesday at 1 PM Eastern is at the bottom of this post. Thanks to those who have already signed up! We’re excited to see you all there. And if you want to join us to talk all things about the upcoming election in a gracious space that centers marginalized people, become a subscriber!

Our highlights this week include:

-        The Haitian Diaspora Organizing internationally against racist immigration policies

-        Getting the facts about immigration straight

-        An Aboriginal senator in Australia protests King Charles

-        Wendell Berry on war and violence against children

-        Sy keeps us grounded reflecting on the life of Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez

-        And a preview of tomorrow’s Shake the Dust

Sy’s Recommendations

The Haitian Diaspora Organizing Internationally to Fight Racist Immigration Policies

Recently in this newsletter we discussed the ongoing ethnic cleansing of people with Haitian ancestry in the Dominican Republic. We also wrote about the hatred directed at Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, and discussed it on Shake the Dust. These are examples of the anti-Blackness Haitians encounter wherever they move throughout the hemisphere. Recently, Gabrielle Apollon, my wife and past guest on our podcast, wrote an article about Haiti’s diaspora organizing internationally to fight These anti-Haitian policies and attitudes, wherever they come up. Last year, Gabrielle founded a hemisphere-wide network for precisely this purpose. Her work is meeting a really important need, as expressed by the local activists who are part of the network. I’m really proud of her for making this happen. So check out the piece!

-            Read Gabrielle’s article

Getting Our Facts about Immigration to the US Straight

Voters consistently name immigration as one of the issues they care most about when they think about the presidential election. At the same time, there is a ton of confusion and disinformation on the subject. This is partially because Republicans are spreading lies and stoking hatred against people coming into this country. But it’s also because Democrats haven’t found a counter-narrative that sticks, and voters’ attitudes in poling data are increasingly anti-immigrant. On Monday, ProPublica began running a series of articles designed to lay out some accurate information about the recent history and current situation regarding immigration, and tell some illuminating stories of individuals along the way. The introductory article provides a great overview of the dramatic changes during the last 15 years or so in the demographics of people crossing the US-Mexico border , their reasons for crossing, and what happens when they arrive. The many facts, figures, and stories there constitute a great resource for getting some context on the issue and combatting misinformation.

-            Read about today’s immigration

Jonathan’s Recommendations

Aboriginal Senator Protests King Charles

King Charles is one of the clearest and most direct beneficiaries of centuries of colonization. An indigenous member of Australia’s parliament, Lidia Thorpe, reminded him of that fact during his recent appearance in Sidney. After turning her back on him as the assembled legislators stood to hear “God Save the King,” she shouted about the atrocities his colonial lineage committed against her people and demanded reparations. “You are not my king!” she yelled as security removed her from the room. A recent BBC segment features interviews with starkly contrasting views from Thorpe on one hand, and from the anchor plus two correspondents on the other. The latter privilege the views of the average Australian “on the street,” emphasizing that Thorpe’s view represents a minority. They do not ask questions about the truth of Thorpe’s claims or the necessity of meeting her demands. But they do label her “behavior” as “disappointing.” The world is in desperate need of politicians who are willing and free to tell the truth, and journalists who don’t dismiss them out of hand. I hope to speak up like Thorpe when opportunities present themselves and amplify the voices of those society refuses to listen to.

-            Watch the BBC segment

Wendell Berry on War and Violence against Children

Wendell Berry is a well-known, 90-year-old, Christian writer and farmer who lives in Kentucky. In a recent essay, he has profound things to say about the weapons industry, war, corporate greed, and the killing of children. He points out the brutal reality that the US will not spare Palestinian children from bombs and missiles, so it is no wonder we do not spare our own from mass shootings. Looking back at the history of America over his long life, he reflects on nuclear weapons, the notion of the United States as a Christian Nation, and much more through the lens of our collective indifference toward violence against children. One point that stands out to me: the United States has a massive industrial and governmental apparatus for making war, but not peace. And it’s only method of making peace seems to be the provision of the most advanced weapons to its preferred side of a conflict. This dense essay is challenging in all the good ways, and well-worth your time.

-            Read Berry’s essay

Staying Grounded with Sy

I always feel motivated and grateful when I read about lives well lived in the service of God’s kingdom. Just about every major publication you can think of has published a story like that this week because we just lost a giant of the faith. The 96-year-old Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutiérrez died of pneumonia on Tuesday. Many people know him for his 1971 book A Theology of Liberation, which is considered the first major text in the school of liberation theology, and was enormously influential throughout the world. He believed God took particular notice and care of poor people, and the Church should be involved in bringing material salvation to marginalized people here and now, rather than only spiritual salvation in the afterlife. His ideas and people who followed them faced significant backlash from the Vatican because they insisted that the Church had to seriously engage with Marxist thinking because it does what all faithful Christians should: prioritize the perspectives of poor people to understand the world. But Fr. Gutiérrez did not merely talk about solidarity with the poor. He served his entire career in poor parishes and vigorously advocated for economic and political justice on their behalf. We should mourn with those who are currently mourning. And at the same time, reading about his life feels like an antidote to cynicism, a reminder that fallen people working in fallen institutions can still, by God’s grace, bear good fruit.

-            Read about the life and influence of Gustavo Gutiérrez

Shake the Dust Preview

Tomorrow, Jonathan and Sy speak with author and housing advocate Kevin Nye about the Church and homelessness. We get into the ineffective housing policies Christians often promote, the bad theology behind those policies, a run-in Kevin had with the institutional resistance to his view that governments shouldn’t criminalize homelessness, how churches can get things right in ministries to unhoused people, and a lot more. Plus, hear our thoughts on the interview, a discussion of how we are resisting the negative ways the election is trying to shape us mentally and spiritually, and our thoughts on all the discourse around Ta-Nehisi Coates’ controversial new book. This episode has a lot, and you don’t want to miss it!