Journey to Jubilee Reparative Justice | |
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The Journey to Jubilee six-week Reparative Justice Bible Study continues on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, and will continue every Tuesday, through July 18, at 7:00 p.m. EDT virtually on NCC’s YouTube Channel. Participants are also encouraged to join the Bible Study via Zoom for a more interactive experience with Bible study leaders and facilitators. Harvard Kennedy School’s Partnership with the National Council of Churches produced this effective resource to aid congregations in learning about reparative justice. Download the Reparative Justice Bible Study toolkit to use in your congregation. Download the Toolkit Here. | |
National Council of Churches Co-Sponsors Juneteenth Reparations March | |
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Included in the group of marchers were NCC staff members and consultants—Keith Swartzendruber, Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland Tune, Rev. Adwoa Rey, and Rev. Stephen Green. Also particpating was Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith, president of the World Council of Churches, representing the North America region. Photo Credit: Bryan Dozier @bryandozierphoto and Keith Swartzendruber. | |
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NCC Co-Sponsors Juneteenth March for Justice | |
The National Council of Churches (NCC) celebrated Juneteenth by co-sponsoring a March for Justice on Monday, June 19, 2023. Marchers gathered at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and walked to Lafayette Square in front of the White House for a rally featuring inspiring messages and songs. The march closed out NCC’s Impact Week, a series of virtual and in-person events to provide resources and personal engagement on a variety of issues, including Mental Health, International Humanitarian Crises, and Gun Violence to Reparations.
The NCC, Faith for Black Lives, and hundreds of faith leaders had sent a letter to the president on Tuesday urging him to establish a commission before Juneteenth. "We – the undersigned faith leaders representing millions of people of faith from around the country – strongly urge you to issue an executive order to establish a Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans," the letter reads. The signatories, who include representatives from various Christian denominations as well as Jewish and Muslim groups, call for the creation of a commission according to the guidelines laid out in the House bill HR 40 and its Senate companion S 40, both reintroduced in January this year. "The National Council of Churches historically has stood on the frontlines in advancing a vision of racial justice in America to build a beloved community," Bishop Vashti M. McKenzie, NCC president and general secretary said. "This historic letter to President Biden from a diverse coalition of faith leaders speaks to the fierce urgency to preserve American democracy through reparative justice." | |
NCC Staffers Support Variety of Juneteenth Activities | |
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This past week there were a variety of local and national events to bring attention to Juneteenth and NCC staff participated in a variety of ways. NCC’s Director of Christian and Education and Faith Formation, Dr. Tammy Wiens, signed on to a unique challenge and biked 19 miles in support of a national event to support Black cyclists. People for Bikes pledged $2000 to Good Co. Bike Club, a Black-owned and operated lifestyle brand that uses the joy of biking as a catalyst to bridge the Black inner-city community. | |
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NCC Advocacy Consultant Rev. Adwoa Rey (left) with Teresa Haley, Springfield NAACP President, and another advocate attending the White House meeting. | |
NCC Meets with House Democratic Faith Working Group to Discuss Gun Violence and Voting Rights On Wednesday, Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland Tune, NCC Chief Operating Officer, and Rev. Adwoa Rey, NCC Advocacy Consultant, participated in a convening of members of Congress and faith leaders, hosted by House Assistant Democratic Leader Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina.
During the session, faith leaders and members of the House Democratic Faith Working Group discussed gun violence and voting rights from a faith perspective, as well as the moral responsibility of Congress to act on these critical issues. The NCC will continue to participate in meetings of the Democratic Faith Working Group and share insights that can be useful to members of Congress as they represent their constituencies and create laws that benefit the whole of society. • • • • • • • NCC Advocates for National Monument to Commemorate Springfield Race Riots of 1908 On Thursday, NCC Advocacy Consultant Adwoa Rey joined a group of civic, community, environment, and faith leaders at a White House meeting to advocate for national commemoration of the Springfield, Illinois Race Riots of 1908, a tragic instance of mass racial violence that led to the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.
The effort, led by Springfield NAACP President Teresa Haley, will designate the race riot site as a National Monument in the National Park System. Recently, the National Park Service conducted a special resource study that evaluated the archaeological site of the Springfield Race Riots and determined that it met the four criteria required for inclusion in the National Park System.
NCC recognizes the importance of truth-telling and uplifting stories that reflect the full historical experience of Black people in the United States. We strongly support the efforts of the Springfield NAACP to commemorate the Springfield Race Riots of 1908 and call on President Biden and Congress to take executive action or enact legislation to designate the historical site as a national monument. • • • • • • • NCC Continues to Urge Congress to Make the Child Tax Credit Permanent During the 118th Congress, Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) re-introduced the American Family Act to permanently expand and improve the child tax credit provision. The tax bill will remove a rule that limits the refundable portion of the credit to $1,400 and the earning requirement, continue the increased $300 per month Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC) for children younger than age 6, expand the maximum Child Tax Credit to $250 per month for children under 17 years old, and extend the Child Tax Credit to the United States Territories.
This week, the three representatives added a provision to the bill that increases the credit families receive in the month a baby is born to $2,000. Research shows the expanded and improved child tax credit included in the American Rescue Plan that expired in 2021 raised more than 61 million children out of poverty. The American Family Act will build on this legacy and provide financial security to more families.
NCC continues to urge Congress to pass this critical legislation to make the Child Tax Credit permanent. | |
Congress Unveils Commemorative Rep. John Lewis Stamp | |
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Rev. Stephen A. Green, Civic Engagement Consultant attended the Congressional Ceremony Unveiling the Rep. John Lewis Forever Stamp on Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy commemorated the life and legacy of Rep. John Lewis as a true love warrior for peace and justice. From the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama to the halls of Congress in Washington, DC, Rep. Lewis lived an exemplary life, creating “good trouble” to build a Beloved Community.
The official stamp unveiling will take place in July at Morehouse College in Atlanta. | |
Howard University Appoints Sherrilyn Ifill | |
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Sherrilyn Ifill served as President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, seated in front of a photograph of Thurgood Marshall. (Photo by Andre Chung/Getty Images) | |
WASHINGTON – Howard University has announced the appointment of civil rights lawyer and scholar Sherrilyn Ifill as the inaugural Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Esq. Endowed Chair in Civil Rights. This appointment is a testament to Ifill’s distinguished career and outstanding contributions to the fields of law, civil rights, and social justice. Ifill most recently served as the seventh president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), the venerable civil rights litigation organization founded by Howard Law School alum, Thurgood Marshall. Marshall was the foremost civil rights litigator of the 20th century and became the first Black justice on the United States Supreme Court in 1967. Vernon Jordan, Jr., Esq. (J.D. ’60) was a revered business leader, civil rights activist, confidant, and advisor to leaders in business, politics, and law, until his passing in 2021. Jordan graduated from Howard Law School in 1960 and served for 21 years on the board of trustees of Howard University. Jordan had a storied career as a civil rights activist and participated first-hand in some of the most important efforts during the Civil Rights Movement, including serving on the legal team that successfully challenged segregation at the University of Georgia. “Sherrilyn Ifill has dedicated her professional life to protecting civil rights, serving at the helm of one of our nation’s most important civil rights litigation organizations, founded by Howard Law alumnus and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall,” said Wayne A. I. Frederick, MD, MBA, Howard University president. “When we consider the legacy of legal giants like Justice Marshall and Vernon Jordan, Ms. Ifill stands out as an exemplar of that vibrant legacy. She stands on their shoulders while paving her own path as a litigator and leader in the fight to protect civil rights in the 21st century. She is an experienced educator committed to teaching the next generation of legal minds. We are thrilled to welcome Ms. Ifill to our academic community as the endowed chair in civil rights and look forward to the valuable contributions she will make in this position.” Ifill recently participated in the Call to Action Reception with Bishop Vashti McKenzie, NCC President/General Secretary, along with other guests, including Sen. Raphael Warnock during NCC’s Impact Week, June 12–19. As the Vernon Jordan Chair, Ifill will launch a multi-disciplinary center focused on promoting the vision and values articulated in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution as the central source of America’s post-Civil War identity. The 14th Amendment Center for Law & Democracy will be based at Howard Law School but undertaken in collaboration with a variety of institutions in law, business, and the arts, including the Charles Hamilton Houston Center at Harvard Law School and the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. Click this link for the full story. | |
Organizations Call for Department of Justice to Investigate Police Killing of Jayland Walker | |
Color Of Change, one of the nation’s foremost racial justice organizations, and the Freedom BLOC, a Black community organizing collaborative that serves as a vehicle for political expression, education, and mobilization in Ohio, along with supporting organizations, including the National Council of Churches, have issued a letter calling on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the fatal police shooting of Jayland Walker on June 27, 2022, in Akron, Ohio, as well as the Akron Police Department (APD)’s extensive record of disproportionate violence against Black communities, including high rates of deadly use of force and non-lethal use of force and racial disparities in police killings and arrests.
They specifically urge the DOJ to open a federal civil rights investigation of the officers involved in the killing of Jayland Walker and to pursue a pattern or practice investigation of the APD for civil rights violations.
Police in the United States shoot and kill more than 1,000 people every year. The number of fatal police shootings has risen in recent years, with the highest number of people killed by police recorded in 2022. Despite being roughly 14 percent of the U.S. population, Black people are killed by police at more than twice the rate of white Americans. In his recent remarks delivered on the civil rights violations by the Louisville Metro Police Department and Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government, AG Garland underscored that the DOJ is charged by Congress with ensuring that the constitutional and federal statutory rights of the people are protected and that the DOJ is authorized to conduct pattern or practice investigations to help fulfill this responsibility.
The supporting organizations acknowledge that the DOJ has significantly increased the Civil Rights Division’s capability to investigate police departments with the goal of detecting and correcting patterns of unconstitutional conduct. However, more work needs to be done to expand these efforts, especially in the absence of federal legislation. Since George Floyd’s killing in May 2020, police killings and significant unlawful racial disparities in policing have continued to increase.
The full letter and collective demands can be found here. Questions or concerns about the letter should be directed to Queen Adesuyi at queen.adesuyi@colorofchange.org. | |
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Religions for Peace Sponsors Webinar on | |
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Tuesday, June 27, 2023 • 2 PM to 3 PM ET Zoom registration is required but complimentary. Please click here to register.
Religions for Peace (RFP) USA is the largest and most broadly-based representative multi-religious forum in the United States, with participants from more than 50 religious communities, representing each of the major faith traditions. | |
Episcopal Church Sponsors "It's All About Love: | |
Join the Episcopal Church for “It’s All About Love,” a churchwide festival of worship, learning, community, and action for the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, to be held Sunday, July 9 through Wednesday, July 12, at the Baltimore Convention Center. Register here. “It’s All About Love” is organized around three Jesus Movement festival “tents”: Evangelism, Racial Reconciliation, and Creation Care. Get ready for evening revival worship and daytime speakers, workshops, panels, and practice opportunities around the big tent themes. Stick with one tent or explore across the tents, following the themes of worship and liturgy, formation, justice and advocacy, leadership, preaching, stewardship, and youth and children. Featured speakers, preachers, and artists to include Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, President of the House of Deputies Julia Ayala Harris, Brian McLaren, the Rev. Mariama White-Hammon, Dr. Kwok Pui-lan, Sarah Augustine, Lilly Lewin, Dr. Catherine Meeks, the Very Rev. Canon Kelly Brown Douglas, the Rev. Winnie Varghese, Live Hymnal & Friends, and more! Lodging: Discounted room blocks have been reserved for participants near the Baltimore Convention Center | |
Friendship Press Releases Classic Titles | |
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Shop the Friendship Press Sale and Take an Extra 20% Off with code fp2023
Print copies can be ordered from the Friendship Press website or readers using Kindle can order on Amazon. | |
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The Racial Healing of America Revival and Bus Tour | |
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The ACU Carl Spain Center on Race Studies and Spiritual Action invites everyone to join them for the Racial Healing of America Revival and Bus Tour, July 9–17, 2023. The Racial Healing of America Revival and Bus Tour will serve as one form of direct spiritual action. It will publicly demonstrate that we are against violence and racial division by visually demonstrating that we are for racial healing.
The Bus Tour will bring together people of faith and goodwill from various ethnic backgrounds to publicly promote racial healing and biblical justice, and to advance social peace across America. The revival and bus tour will start in Dallas (TX), with stops in Memphis (TN), Birmingham (AL), Charleston (SC), and ending in Washington (DC). The revival services will include featured speakers and congregational singing in each city. Tour participants will visit the International African American Museum in Charleston and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.
Click here for event information and registration. | |
Register for March on Washington 60th Anniversary Event | |
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Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of National Action Network; Arndrea Waters King, President, Drum Major Institute; and Martin Luther King, III, Chairman, Drum Major Institute enlist your participation in the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington to be held August 26, 2023, in Washington, DC to mobilize the faith community across America, for "March on Washington Not a Commemoration, a Continuation!"
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Employment Opportunities | |
The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations | |
Represents The Episcopal Church’s public policy positions to Congressional offices, U.S. government departments and agencies, and the broader policy community in Washington. Builds and maintains relationships with government officials to further the policy goals of The Episcopal Church. Serves as a resource for OGR and Episcopalians on a wide range of U.S. public policy issues, including developing a deep understanding of U.S. political context, and detailed knowledge of legislative and policy initiatives. Maintains flexibility to respond to emerging and priority needs and to develop new areas of legislative and policy expertise.
If you or someone you know would like to apply, please click here for more information. • • • • • • • Interfaith Alliance Seeks Policy and Advocacy Associate Interfaith Alliance is hiring a policy and advocacy associate to support our federal and state policy initiatives focused on religious freedom, fighting discrimination, and protecting democracy. The position description is attached and on the Interfaith Alliance website. |
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