“Thank God there are a few courageous folks left.”
Soon after, there was another text: “This is a reality and extremely scary. Either we rise up strong and fight back or become irrelevant.”
The text messages continued, and they haven’t stopped today.
What started five years ago as a text chain involving many faith leaders turned into the OGVR Faith Coalition (standing for Office of Gun Violence Reduction) and led to this column the four of us co-write on behalf of our clergy community. Since January, the texts in this chain have been nonstop.
As people whose work is centered in community, we know we are not alone channeling the many fears (and few hopes) surrounding the current torrent of attacks on federal norms, protections and rights. We are all seeking solidarity to share our shock; we clergy are no different. We are digging deep into these relationships that nourish us to find the strength to survive this onslaught.
And so this month, we are sharing with you the struggles, insights and triumphs that we in our circle of 11 leaders share with each other on a regular basis. We hope these texts communicate the shared nature of the struggle and provide some important historical lessons and maybe even some potential paths forward.
History matters. With the mass termination of federal employees, we fear the potential consequences will fall disproportionately on communities of color.
In our text chain, a clergy member wrote: “Someone raised a good point today about President (Woodrow) Wilson excluding black people from administration appointments and that many black people were able to achieve middle class status through government and civic employment.” That text notes important history, as did the text that followed: “Absolutely. And all backlash to (President Theodore) Roosevelt hosting (Booker T. Washington). … One hundred years ago as today, too many Americans can’t handle a Black person in the White House.”
Our text chain often explores the ideologies that are driving the federal crisis, such as the great replacement conspiracy theory — which is as racist, anti-immigrant, misogynistic and antisemitic as it is untrue. One pastor in a text described “the ‘new population movement’ … a European-based movement with South African ties is focused on the birth of white children and deeply fearful of the exploding African and Latin population while Europe and Asia are seeing historic lows.”
As faith leaders, we know how history and our present day are often intertwined. This long text captures that interconnection so perfectly:
“This is 1877 all over again when the confederates were pardoned, allowed to run for office, and then struck down ALL legislation that created somewhat of an equal playing field in the South; they used chaos and propaganda to undermine the Constitution. South Africa and Nazi Germany were inspired by America’s post reconstruction strategy. It took America until 1964 and 1965 to undo some of the damage of post reconstruction confederate backlash. This is a generational battle and each generation must choose to fight with moral imagination or be chained by the insecurity of confederate apologists.”
If this weren’t troubling enough, our text chain of predominantly Christian clergy recognizes so much of this new campaign is being waged in the name of Christianity: “There’s no masking at all! This is bold white supremacy and Christian supremacy walking hand in hand.” As we exchanged texts about the influential sects the New Apostolic Reformation and the Seven Mountain Mandate Movement, we discovered how much of the core of the federal focus stems from these fringe groups.
“These people are crazy rich, racist and walk around with bibles.” Followed by: “Those three things are the trinity of human destruction.”
We understand that a deeply ingrained opposition to racial, gender and religious equality in America is motivating the moves by the federal administration, its appointees and its unelected officials. So much and so little has changed in this country since Americans debated the Fugitive Slave Act in the lead-up to the Civil War. That such as ideology cloaks itself in ecclesiastical garments is abhorrent; that it still commands so many adherents is a call to deep and continued resistance.
This text illustrates what those of us who are appalled by the direction of our country are being directed to do: “I keep hearing Rev. Jackson in my ear: ‘When we fight, we win!’ Will read and share these articles. We must understand!”
It is imperative that each and every one of us study American history and see how it is playing out today; it is also every individual’s responsibility to figure out how they can rise in resistance.
We do have reason to hope. As one of our members said: “There are stories of people standing up. We need to encourage more! A woman told me her daughter works for a federal office that received a mandate they disagreed with. The staff were upset wondering how to respond. She said her supervisor told staff, ‘I’ll respond for all of us,’ and then deliver this message to her higher-ups: No we will not!”
A subsequent text read: “Thank God there are a few courageous folks left.” How true.
The very next text in the chain is what we leave you to linger on: “We must RESIST.”
Chicago faith leaders Rabbi Seth Limmer, the Rev. Otis Moss III, the Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain and the Rev. Michael Pfleger joined the Tribune’s opinion section in summer 2022 for a series of columns on potential solutions to Chicago’s chronic gun violence problem. The column continues on an occasional basis.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.