Reparations -- Saturday, March 8th
Saturday, March 8 at 1:00 p.m.: Rev. Robert Turner, "Creating a Culture of Repair"
The Reparations Working Group of Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM) is presenting the Rev. Robert Turner at Stony Run Friends Meeting, 5116 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD and on Zoom.
Rev. Turner is the Senior Pastor of the AME Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, where he has served for almost three years. He previously served as pastor of the historic Vernon AME Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the only building on Greenwood Avenue to survive the 1921 massacre. While in college, he was influential in the campaign for the University of Alabama Faculty Senate's apology for the school’s role in slavery.
Rev. Turner is a commissioner for the National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC) and for Baltimore’s Community Reinvestment and Reparations Commission, and serves on the boards of the Associated Black Charities, and the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund.
Rev. Turner walks from Baltimore to Washington, DC every month, in one day, to share his message: #40 miles for 40 acres, a call for reparations. Rev. Turner is author of Creating a Culture of Repair: taking action on the road to reparations.
And just to let you know – in his book, Rev. Turner has compiled 100 actions that people can take to bring repair to our bigger world and to our own faith communities. Take a look! There is much good work to do and all are welcome!
Join by Zoom.
WHY WE RALLY
All Lives Can't Matter Until Black Lives Matter!
Since 2020, IC4BL has held rallies in Baltimore City and the surrounding counties to proclaim that Black Lives Matter! With the current administration, it's now more important than ever to stand up for what we believe.
Immediately upon assuming office, Pres. Trump signed Executive Orders banning environmental justice programs, federal equity initiatives, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) considerations in federal hiring. He revoked Executive Order 11246, signed by Lyndon Johnson in 1965, which prohibited discriminatory hiring practices and employment practices for government contractors. As of mid-February, Trump has nominated only one cabinet member who is Black; his other cabinet picks are openly hostile to DEI and peddle "reverse racism" conspiracies.
Immigrant Lives Matter!
With ICE raids disproportionately targeting Black and Brown communities, IC4BL is also standing up for our immigrant neighbors.
If you'd like to make signs for the rally, please remember that we are an interfaith group demonstrating nonviolently in action and speech. Some ideas for signs: No Human Being is Illegal; Stop the ICE Raids; Welcome the Stranger, etc.
"The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love them as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt" (19:33-34).
Related Action for March: Latino Racial Justice Circle
Related Action for March: Latino Racial Justice Circle
The Latino Racial Justice Circle is a local Baltimore 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has been educating our faith communities to recognize, and then act, to eliminate systemic racial injustice and everyday incidents of bias and discrimination towards the Latino community.
Please consider donating online or bringing a check to our rally to support LRJC. The need for legal assistance in the Latino community as members are targeted in ICE raids is enormous. Legal assistance often makes the difference in immigration proceedings to prevent deportation and there is no government-funded counsel for individuals facing removal in immigration proceedings.
IC4BL walked in the first Baltimore City Black History Month Parade!
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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA)
The Dismantling of DEI: What can we do?
One of the most successful strategies of the Civil Rights' struggle was the boycott. The People's Union has called for an Economic Boycott on Friday, February 28, 2025. Although this boycott is more broadly aimed at the Trump administration's attacks on democracy, it is a great first step in demonstrating the power of the boycott.
On February 28th, "we turn it off for one day. We shut it down for one day. We remind them that this country does not belong to the elite, it belongs to the people, and this will work,” the founder of The People's Union, John Schwarz said. "If enough of us participate, they will feel it and if they don't listen, we escalate."
There are other boycotts directed against specific companies which have eliminated or scaled back on their DEI initiatives. The NAACP has called for a boycott against McDonalds, Target, Walmart, Amazon and Tractor Supply.
You can also support companies that have affirmed their commitment to DEI such as Costco, Delta Airlines, Apple and Proctor & Gamble.
Locally, look for Black-Owned Businesses to support. Visit Baltimore has a special section on Black-Owned Restaurants.
Faith Groups Sue to Prevent DHS from Entering places of Worship to Enforce Immigration Actions
UPDATE: On February 24, 2025, Judge Theodore Chang preliminarily enjoined the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from immigration enforcement in Quaker Meetinghouses, a Georgia-based network of Baptist churches, and a Sikh temple in California.
On January 27, 2025, several Yearly and Monthly Meetings of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), filed a suit in federal District Court challenging the Trump administration's abrupt change in policy that permitted ICE agents to enter places of worship (the "sensitive locations" policy that also includes schools and hospitals). On February 7, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Sikh Temple Sacramento and the New York Yearly Meeting joined the plaintiffs in the original suit. Counsel for the faith groups is Democracy Forward. Click below to read more about the lawsuit and the work of Democracy Forward.
Union of Reform Judaism and Central Conference of American Rabbis bring lawsuit against DHS
"The URJ (Union for Reform Judaism) and CCAR (Central Conference of American Rabbis) have proudly joined more than two dozen national faith denominations and associations as plaintiffs in a major federal lawsuit defending religious freedom. The suit challenges the rescission of a longstanding “sensitive locations” policy that strictly limited ICE from immigration enforcement actions in houses of worship."
"The lawsuit is rooted in our commitment to defending our right and ability to fulfill without government interference the holy and prophetic tenets of our faith, including worship, community building, education, programming and more. We welcome people into our buildings without regard to their status in this country. The sensitive locations policy ensures that all these things happen freely and without the intrusion of ICE. This lawsuit will ensure our ability to choose to continue that holy work, free from government interference. For us, this is a matter of principle. The United States’ dedication to religious freedom, established in the First Amendment to the Constitution, is a unique and central blessing of our democracy. It has allowed Jewish life, and all religious life, to flourish in this country over the centuries. Without these protections in place, Americans of all faiths will be at risk."
"The lawsuit is led by a team from the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP), a non-profit, public interest litigation firm housed at Georgetown University Law Center. The suit is premised on protections established by the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which affirmed that any action taken by the government that imposes on religious freedom must do so through the least restrictive means. In this case, we have joined with a host of national faith denominations who share our belief that the Department of Homeland Security’s lifting of the sensitive locations policy fails to meet RFRA’s standards and will have significant and harmful impacts on our religious freedom."
"The lawsuit imposes no obligations on any individual Reform congregation, clergy, or congregant. As always, every synagogue, rabbi, and congregant is free to decide their own policies and practices, as well as make their own determination on the services they provide or do not provide.
Given the increase in ICE activity, we suggest every congregation engage in thoughtful, advance planning in consultation with their congregation’s legal advisors and local immigration law experts who can best guide them on their circumstances and local/state laws when it comes to immigration issues that may impact the synagogue’s members, program participants, and overall activities.
For more information about the URJ and CCAR’s commitment to immigration justice, rooted in the biblical directive to welcome the stranger, or immigrant, mentioned 36 times in the Torah, visit the RAC website."