You might have noticed that I was arrested today. I would like to take some time to explain what went on today now that I am home. Please let me know if you have any questions and we can talk about it. Clergy and friends came together to march to the Ferguson Police Department. We came to confess our own complicity in a racist system and to offer the chance for the members of law enforcement to do the same. We asked them to repent for their participation in a racist system that leads to the criminalization and victimization of so many of our young Black youth. We came out of a deep love for law enforcement, knowing that there are a lot of good cops stuck in a bad system. We asked them to reject that system. So often Black bodies are not safe in public. We came to reclaim public space as sacred space, a space where our children can be safe. The PD is a government building paid for with public tax dollars. We stood in the parking lot in the pouring rain for 4.5 hours...the same amount of time that Mike Browns body lie in the street. Some of us made the choice to participate in nonviolent Civil Disobedience by crossing the police line. When I crossed the police line I was arrested for a peace disturbance. Before crossing the line, at one point I was face to face with law enforcement praying for them. They took a step forward and shoved me and I fell over, scraping my knee. They used a baton to press into the throat of my young friend Matt who had nowhere to go (because of the crowd behind us) and got choked by the baton. Matt did not react. He did not touch the police. At one point the police also knocked Matts glasses off. I chose to put myself in a position where arrest was possible to show that I stand with the young black leaders in Ferguson who are protesting this unfair system day in and day out. Many of them have faced brutality and arrest. I was acting in solidarity with my friends there. Civil Disobedience and planned arrests are a huge part of our nations history. It is a way to bring attention to a cause so that we can put pressure on the powers that be to work for change. To clarify, I never EVER touched a police officer or used unkind words with them. I came to change hearts...and found that my own heart was also changed.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 02:41:34 +0000
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