On April 26, 1865, my great-great-grandfather was camped a mere five miles from where I now live in Durham, NC. He was from the upstate of South Carolina, as am I, yet there he was and here I am. The historians among us know what happened that day in 1865. Confederate General Johnston surrendered to United States General Sherman, ostensibly ending The War. Yet vestiges of that war continued on and on and on. It was played out again in Durham this past Monday night when a crowd toppled a…
Post-Charlottesville: What Trump Said, and When
When President Trump stepped to a White House lectern on Monday and rebuked the instigators of the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va., that had erupted two days before, he was essentially doing what he’s said to do often on the golf course – taking a mulligan. This time, he got off a pretty good shot. But wouldn’t you know it: He shanked his next one out of bounds. So much for the brief redemption. Trump’s first drive, as it were, had landed way over yonder in the poison ivy. That…
Response to the Violence in Charlottesville
Before I came to call the great state of North Carolina home, I was a proud Virginian for the first twenty-six years of my life. I grew up in a small, rural town 90 miles south of Charlottesville and spent some of my most formative years just on the other side of the mountain at James Madison University in Harrisonburg. What happened in Charlottesville this weekend is deeply disturbing. I have walked the streets of Charlottesville with friends and family many times and this weekend white supremacists clenched torches and…
Anti-LGBTQ Policies Impact Us All
Wednesday’s federal-policy-by-tweet announcement that children of God who are transgender could no longer serve in the military may have distracted attention from another action by the federal government. The Department of Justice, also on Wednesday, filed a legal brief in an ongoing court case in which the DOJ argued that Civil Rights protections do not extend to job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Sit with that a moment. There is plenty to be outraged about for all who are LGBTQ. Both actions should also be read as a…
The Plank in Your Eye
As followers of the Prince of Peace, Christians are not always particularly peaceful people, which is what makes North Carolina’s return to the national stage as a foothold for intolerance both unsurprising and deeply troubling. The ease with which a Christian group would condemn another religion denies our own legacy as well as the work we still need to do. For any Christian who needs help seeing past the plank in their own eye, some of our faithful friends have put together an excellent starting place. In addition, a piece…
Shock Waves from High Court ‘Nuke’
Our national politics are in an ugly place, driven by an accelerating cycle of suspicion, accusation, blame, recrimination and retaliation. The circumstances by which Neil Gorsuch takes office as a justice of the Supreme Court sadly fit the mold – to the U.S. Senate’s discredit and the court’s peril. President Trump, with his reckless disregard for long-established norms of presidential conduct, bears his own share of responsibility for the mess. Senate Democrats could rightly question why Trump’s choice for the court deserved the customary deference – what with investigations under…
2017 Legislative Seminar Check-In Instructions
Thank you to those who have registered for the 2017 Legislative Seminar. We are looking forward to having you join us this Monday, March 27, at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church (4801 Six Forks Road, Raleigh). In an effort to get everyone checked-in as efficiently as possible, we have a few suggestions: Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. with a light breakfast provided by Partners in Health and Wholeness. Opening worship will begin at 9:15 a.m. Directions: From I-440 heading north on Six Forks Road turn left onto Northbrook Drive just…
2017 Legislative Seminar: Advocate in NC as well as DC
The political situation at the national level has occupied the time and attention of many faithful progressives. Each day has brought with it more reasons to be concerned for our most vulnerable sisters and brothers as well as for our democratic system of government. Right now, there isn’t much reason to believe things will improve. We must also be mindful of activity underway in the North Carolina General Assembly, where legislation is in the works that would significantly weaken our state’s safety net and would make it harder to right…
Let Loving One Another Become Our Norm
Yesterday morning, the Sandra P. Lerner Jewish Community Day School in Durham received a bomb threat. This was the most recent in recurring waves of bomb threats against Jewish centers over the past two months—69 bomb threats at 54 Jewish community centers in 27 states and a Canadian province, according to the Jewish Community Center Association of North America. That’s a lot of disruption and a lot of fear, which is exactly what the cowards who make such threats are trying to affect. As it turns out, I know a…
Repealing the Johnson Amendment Means Pulpits for Sale
Remarks delivered by Executive Director Jennifer Copeland at HKonJ 2017. Picture this on the marquee in front of your favorite house of worship: Pulpit for Sale! For the right price I will support the Republican candidate for office, but bring me more money next week and I’ll support the Democrat. Perhaps with enough financial incentive, I’ll preach a sermon for the Communist. Makes no difference, it’s all about the money. If the Johnson amendment is repealed, a promise made just weeks ago by the one who is now President, faith…
Speak Against Vitriol; Stand for Values
For more than 80 years the NC Council of Churches has stood for essential human rights and common decency grounded in the Gospel imperative to “love God and love neighbor.” We started with the issue of racial equality in 1935 and forthrightly moved into “migrant labor” and immigration, women’s right, the environment, and health care. Anyone watching the news this week has witnessed the steady unraveling of each of these causes and more. The unraveling goes far beyond taking apart the initiatives of the most recent executive administration; we are…
Getting Back to Our Normal: Some Suggestions for the Long Haul
Our friend Rob Schofield over at Policy Watch wrote a column on Tuesday that was as vitally important in its truth-telling as it was hard to read for the future it forecasts. One of the crucial facts he offered — those of us opposed to the policies, personalities, and vicious rhetoric of the current administration must be prepared for the long haul. The reality is proving to be every bit as damaging as we thought it might. So what now? A couple of thoughts: Don’t accept the lies. Trust your brain,…
Let’s Keep Marching
At another time in my life, I would not have spent most of Saturday occupying my tiny square of personal space in the heart of Washington DC, literally shoulder to shoulder with a half million others. But there I was, pink hat and all. I chose to be there because my grandmother cleaned other people’s homes and worked in food service in the promise that her two daughters, and then her three granddaughters, would all attend college. I chose to be there because I have raised three brown sons to…
A Letter to President Trump
Dear Mr. Trump, You ARE my president. I did not vote for you, but you were elected, and that makes you my president because I am a citizen of these United States. True, my ancestors tried to secede from the union in 1861, but the ancestors of others prevailed against them and kept us together. Not your ancestors, to be sure, because they immigrated long after the colonies declared independence and the southern states rebelled. But my ancestors were here for all of that and I have never lived anywhere…
Update: Save Our Health Care Rallies Statewide on January 15
On Friday, the House of Representatives voted to continue the process that could ultimately repeal the Affordable Care Act. Activists across the nation were already planning Day of Action events for Sunday focused on saving our health care, and several will take place in North Carolina. This is an opportunity to make your voice heard. Nine House Republicans joined Democrats in voting against this next step in the repeal process, and there are enormous questions about how it would even work. There is also growing uneasiness even among those who want…