Through our work we tried to discover what is important in the lives of people. We wanted to be with people who had different backgrounds and experiences and try to learn how much that mattered. Because of this, the status quo was always called into question. Should we expect people to behave differently than what was normally expected? Should we challenge people to live out a Christian perspective on relationships? Should we help people with their material needs because they were poor? Ultimately, I think the norms of American society are like Jesus answer to the question about paying taxes—he basically seems to be saying, who cares about taxes, that’s not what’s important, pay them if you must, but remember I am teaching how to love God by loving your neighbor.
THE NEIGHBOR
One way we communicatedwith neighbors and supporters was through our newsletter called The NEIGHBOR. The newsletter was produced about ten times per year from 1993 to 2016. I wrote feature articles challenging thoughts and ideas. The newsletter included an update on programs to inform neighbors of upcoming activities and the results of past efforts. Good News from the Neighborhood told of positive happenings in families, with volunteers and donors. This included births, weddings, college admissions, new jobs, new donations and volunteer efforts. Upcoming events told neighbors and others about special activities such as the annual Family Fun Fair or monthly health luncheons. “Perfect” attendance in social growth and development groups was listed each month for children, teens and adults. This page of names was key to getting everyone to read the newsletter. Each month, children, teens and adults searched for their name in the attendance columns.
The NEIGHBOR was distributed to families involved in programming, taken on home visits to new families, placed in local churches and made available to supporters. Articles reminded everyone about our mission, gave people new ways to think about each other and provided hopeful reminders of all the good things we found in our neighbors. The NEIGHBOR was a key element in reflecting what our neighbors brought to our community. The newsletter was a way we connected to each other and provided hope. Throughout this book articles from The NEIGHBOR will be used to illuminate our story.
This article from The NEIGHBOR reinforces this thought and talks about how oppression can be overcome.
The NEIGHBOR UNTO CAESAR SEPTEMBER 2006
The “zealots” of Jesus’ time wanted him to be a revolutionary leader who would throw off the yoke of the Roman Empire. They expected Him to be political and militant because the Jewish people were oppressed by a ruthless military government. The question is, “did they get the revolution Jesus was offering?”
Between the Vietnam War and the War in Afghanistan, what have we learned? Knowing war is wrong, torture is evil and people can be corrupted has not transformed us. Corresponding actions such as protests, letter writing and voting have not helped us be more human. The nation is at war with terrorists instead of communists, torture is being used as a weapon and war profiteers are stealing the people’s money...again. Would Jesus have protested, or continued to heal, preach and live among the poor and oppressed?
When Jesus taught about loving God and neighbor, he was not speaking in the abstract. Jesus loved his apostles, laid hands on the sick, blessed and shared food with thousands and went door to door spreading good news. The revolutionary power of love was intended to change hearts and minds.
Sharing the energy of the Spirit of Jesus with each human being we meet is really hard to do. Positive results require a long-term commitment to a very slow process. It is not exciting, front page news, to care for each other—but it is what makes us most human.
Who knows where we would be if between the Vietnam War and the War in Afghanistan energy and focus had been on changing communities by being compassionate neighbors? If churches again became places of Christ and had doors open to all, blessed and shared food as much as prayer, healed the sick and went door to door spreading the Word, what would be different?
Caring for our brothers and sisters directly, and every day, could lead us to a just society and world. Other approaches have not moved us forward. We must decide between fighting against war or moving toward love of God and neighbor. Revolution of the heart can bring peace to us all.’
I can help you accept and open yourself mostly by accepting and revealing myself to you.
Anonymous
No One can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
UNDERSTANDING OPPRESSION/ENDING OPPRESSION
While I understand white privilege has created a society which is oppressive to African Americans, I believe African Americans have shown us a way through oppression to a just society. To become like the oppressor, only leads to more oppression. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others who struggled for civil rights knew this. Over and over again, MLK, Jr. preached how “violence begets violence”. Choosing a nonviolentapproach for the movement meant African Americans would work toward justice by treating their oppressors as human beings. No matter what white people did to black people during the struggle, members of the movement would not return it as “an eye for an eye”. Dogs, hoses, batons and vile language used to attack nonviolent protestors, were met without physical, verbal or spiritual violence1. People in the movement had to agree to this.
In Ferguson, Missouri, the protests against the murder of an unarmed teenager by the police, reminded everyone what happens with even the appearance of violence. Peaceful protesters were associated by police with others who started fires and were looting. The police responded as if the protesters were doing something wrong--the tear gas flew and tanks began to roll. The protesters had every right as Americans to protest the overstepping of the state. Instead, they were treated like people we have seen in other countries, who do not have these civil rights. To be afraid to be killed by the police because of the color of your skin, “hands up, don’t shoot” --is a stain on liberty and justice. To have to proclaim, “Black Lives Matter,” is a measure of where African Americans stand as citizens.
The civil rights movement was about more than the fair treatment of African Americans. MLK, Jr. and others knew they were about the radical change of American society. As Christians, they believed in the commandments of Jesus—to love God and love your neighbor. In the way they responded to their oppressors, they represented not only how they should be treated as human beings, but how all Americans, and people across the world should be treated. This message became clearer to many Americans. I believe this message lead to the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.--a horrifying way to preserve the status quo.
Many of the families we served were led by mothers and grandmothers who had moved from the south during the Great Migration2 . While living in the south, people had learned to avoid or negotiate with the people who might hurt them. After moving to northern industrial cities, they had to learn this all over again. The cities were places where there were so many more people who could hurt them. They found institutions had incorporated racism into their business. However, people found ways to cope with prejudice and racism and still live happy lives.
Many, if not most white people, feel very little guilt about slavery, nor do they want to take responsibility for the trauma it has caused nearly 45 million Americans. White people do not understand how poverty, Jim Crow, lynching, and “hands up, don’t shoot” have affected people who are their neighbors. This is how oppression continues. When one group of people does not learn or care about another group, who are treated as if their value is not the same, two societies develop. As long as the oppressor is able to maintain their comfort, they are satisfied. When threatened, things happen to put people back in their place.
SOCIAL MOBILITY
Social mobility is the concept of individuals making progress in society through education, economic