He has told you, O mortal, what is good,
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness
and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8, NRSVue)
17 How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
18Little children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. 19 And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him 20 whenever our hearts condemn us, for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
(1 John 3:17-20, NRSVue)
Dear Disciples,
On Wednesday, April 29, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision that now makes it extremely difficult to challenge creation of voting maps without proving intentional discrimination. Redistricting decisions can be made without consideration of their impact on non-white voters and communities. The impact of race is negated as though the stain of more than 400 years of structural and institutional racism are no longer a factor in American society. In effect, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has suffered another blow. In 2013, the Shelby County v Holder decision removed part of Section IV of the Act, which mandated federal oversight of state voting laws. States previously needed federal approval to make changes to voting laws in order to ensure that there was no adverse impact based on race.
The Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana legislators broke the law in creating a majority-Black Congressional district according to the mechanisms permitted by the Voting Rights Act. This re-interpretation is harmful and erodes protections that are still needed to become a more just society. Our present commitment to being a movement for wholeness and our deeply rooted historic commitment to removing hidden and systemic barriers compels us to question and oppose the recent ruling, and recommit ourselves to work to remove barriers to voting in care for the participation of all and the flourishing of the United States of America.
The impact of the decision
The impact of this decision goes far beyond the case brought by the state of Louisiana. It further removes accountability at the state level to ensure that free and fair access to not only voting but fair representation is not infringed upon because of race. The reality is that people of color, whether Black, Latino, or Asian, whether in the South or in urban cities like Chicago, often live in the same area, and their presence is often concentrated geographically. Geography does matter in terms of ensuring voting rights are not diminished. To ensure that people of color, long marginalized by law and custom, are able to have fair representation is not intentional discrimination against those who have long benefited from racist laws and structures.
We do not argue for gerrymandering on any basis. We simply proclaim that voting is a sacred right of citizenship and the 15th Amendment to the Constitution established that the right to vote cannot be abridged on the basis of race. Removing race as a consideration effectively allows such abridgement and further guts the provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Dr. King stated that we cannot mandate the change in one’s heart but we can legislate so that we regulate action. We are seeing the cycle of resistance to anti-racism once again. After passage of the 15th Amendment and Reconstruction, the passing of various Jim Crow laws sought to prevent Blacks from voting. Such prohibitions were only removed when the 1965 Voting Rights Act was passed.
Lineage of Disciples history & concern
Reconciliation Ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was born out of the civil unrest that ensued following the martyrdom of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968. Through this ministry, the church has been committed to addressing systems that support the dis-ease of our living in two separate societies – one which benefits one group of people and one which systemically marginalizes the poor and powerless. Beginning with Resolution 29 of the International Convention of the Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) in 1968, a few years after the Voting Rights Acts was passed, our programs were shaped and motivated by “ a conscientious Christian concern for these our brethren who before God are equal with us; and be directed . . .to the radical removal of basic underlying causes.” In 1969, the General Assembly adopted a resolution that called for the church to work for legislative change to change the plight of the poor, “many of whom are minority persons.”
The 1964 Civil Rights Act banned discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and education. The 1965 Voting Rights Act eliminated barriers to voting including literacy tests, and established federal oversight to enforce the 15th Amendment which ensures that citizens cannot be denied the right to vote by federal or state governments. President Lyndon B. Johnson, a lifelong Disciple, signed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 on July 2, 1964. He joined the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as a teenager in his hometown, maintained a lasting connection to the First Christian Church in Johnson City, Texas, and worshipped at National City Christian Church while in D.C. President Ronald Reagan was also a Disciple who grew up and worshiped in Illinois. In 1982, after evaluation, he extended the Voting Rights Act by 25 years. We are the church of Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan, Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell, leaders that were committed to creating religious and social systems that broke down barriers and access even as they lived out their faith and political commitments in different ways.
For decades, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has prioritized the ministry of reconciliation and worked to fight racism and poverty. Through the Reconciliation Ministry, we have sought to encourage congregations and ministries to establish programs, education, support access to voting, and ensure that our own processes and programs were accountable to our stated priority of becoming an anti-racist church. We cannot be silent as we watch court actions that erode the very essence of citizenship and equity in the United States. If laws and districting maps can be created that do not consider race or whether the action impedes either voting access or equitable representation of groups based on race, we must speak as the church that follows Christ, commanding us to love God and one another. In response to that command and that love, we seek to build a world where all have enough. We are a church that loves boldly, generously, completely and courageously enough to work actively for that world.
Call to action
The Supreme Court decision on April 29 ignores the reality of history of the United States. It ignores the impact of racism in a society where Black people were once legally considered chattel property. The dehumanization of persons allowed for the condoning of laws that prohibited the very rights the Constitution and other legislation intended to protect. In a context where the full history of America’s slavery is being removed from public places, schools and the public consciousness, we are dangerously close to allowing the dehumanization of persons of color as a legal construct once again.
If we are to be the church we say we are, a church committed to the elimination of racism and the reconciliation of all persons to “God’s covenant of love that binds us to God and to one another”, we must resist such action. We must resist through education, through advocacy, through voting. We cannot be silent in this moment when we follow Jesus, who himself declared that he was called to free those who are captive and oppressed, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim God’s love for all. (Luke 4:18)
Moving towards wholeness together,
Rev. Terri Hord Owens,
General Minister and President
Reconciliation Ministry Commission
Rev. Eric Brown and Rev. Brian Frederick-Gray, Co-Chairs; Rev. Bill Rose Heim, Rev. Erin James-Brown, Rev. Yvonne Gilmore, Rev. Tracey Anderson Tellado, Jasmine Sanchez, Rev. Delesslyn Kennebrew, Rev. Chung Seong Kim, and Rev. Lori Tapia
