Join our town-hall to learn: Why is emptying the jail crucial to public health and safety? How are the courts operating in this crisis? What are conditions like in the jail? What are your public officials doing to save the members of our community trapped inside the jail? Purpose: to let our community know how the courts are operating during the COVID-19 crisis, why jails pose a unique threat, and what our community can do to save the lives of people trapped in the jail. Outcome: to take action by demanding our public officials act NOW to save the lives of people in our community who are being abandoned in jail! Guest: Judge Brandon Birmingham RSVP: www.bit.ly/judgetownhall
Faith in Texas envisions a world in which economic, racial, and social equity enable everyone to live in complete liberation to pursue their divine purpose and participate fully in the systems and processes that govern their lives. As long as the Black community is under attack, our vision cannot be realized. Our community and nation are in the midst of an uprising for Black lives. This struggle will not be finished until all Black people can live and be treated with the dignity they deserve as sacred creations. We invite you to join us on an intentional march to the sites of the lynching of Allen Brooks in 1910 and the murder of Diamond Ross in 2018. On this sacred ground, we will honor those we have lost to racist violence and make a declaration and commitment to our city and ourselves: Never Again. This struggle requires sacrifice, so we will prepare ourselves, through prayer and sacred practices from our many faith traditions, for the continued action necessary to overcome. Together we can tap into our prophetic imaginations to unleash a new system of justice that ensures the hungry are fed, the vulnerable are cared for, and the sick are healed. What: "Never Again" Pilgrimage for Black Lives When: Saturday, June 20, 10:00am Where: Gather at the JFK Memorial Plaza, 646 Main St, Dallas, TX 75202. The Pilgrimage will end at the Frank Crowley Courts Building, 133 N Riverfront Blvd, Dallas, TX 75207. The pilgrimage route is 1.4 miles. Bring: Water, mask, hand sanitizer, signs that say "Never Again" or "Black Lives Matter"
What does safety look like when viewed through the lens of faith? Join us for a discussion challenging us to redefine safety through the lens of our theologies and faith. We will analyze our current, violence-driven system of policing and incarceration to pose the question: is this system delivering on its promise of safety, or is it perpetuating violence and harm? What might a system rooted in liberation and dignity look like? As people of faith, we believe that all people have inherent worth and dignity. For this reason, we care deeply about harm and violence, and we seek responses to harm that do not create more violence. Our faith values prioritize restoration and repair rather than punishment. We recognize that as humans we are complex; no one is innocent or guilty, rather all of us have done harm and been harmed by others. We also recognize that -- as creations of the Most High -- none of us are “monsters,” disposable, illegal, unreachable, or irredeemable. During Imagining Safety: Race, Policing, and Incarceration, we will unpack the history of these systems and their origins in slavery and white supremacy, and begin to imagine a public safety system rooted in the dignity of all people, the needs of survivors and community members, and the reality that most harm results from oppressive political, economic, and social conditions. We will also discuss practical steps we will take to move towards the dream of full liberation for all people. Call-in information will be shared upon registration.