A Pastoral Letter in the Wake of the Violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin

(This letter is authored by Rev. Lance Loveall, pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Kenosha, and Rachel Yates, Presbytery Executive for Milwaukee Presbytery.)

We write with troubled hearts about the wave of violence that has swept over Kenosha, Wisconsin, beginning with the shooting of Jacob Blake, Jr., on Sunday evening.  As is now so prevalent, we have video segments that capture moments and angles, but do not in themselves tell the full story.  One video segment shows Jacob Blake, a Black man, walking away from police to his car, where his 3 young children sat.  With a gut-wrenching ache, we witness a police officer shoot him in the back seven times. 

Photographs and videos also capture the unrelenting violence that followed:  looting and arson, destroying livelihoods essential to the community.  Cameras record police and National Guard under attack.  New footage shows a White vigilante, who intentionally came to the unrest from outside the state, murder two protesters in the street and then walk easily past approaching emergency responders, despite cries of witnesses to stop the shooter.

Cameras capture us at our worst, and they tell part of the story. 

Cameras also record us at our best.  They record the tearful plea of Mr. Blake’s mother, Julia Jackson, urging us to examine our hearts, so that a nation divided over racism can heal.  She offered her prayers for the community of Kenosha, the police, and our country.  Cameras capture firefighters risking personal safety to extinguish blazes deliberately set.  We see snapshots of volunteers coming together to clean up the debris and begin repairs, strangers helping strangers.

These images also tell part of the story.

In the days to come, we will learn more, and we urge local and state agencies to investigate Mr. Blake’s shooting, as well as the violent aftermath, with transparency and thoroughness.  We see in ourselves a tendency to rush to judgment, without the facts, and we must try to avoid a blaming narrative that only tells a part of the story.

​And yet, we cannot ignore the obvious racial tension in our country and our community.  Time and again, we are confronted by a pattern of Black people killed or wounded by police or vigilantes.  The pattern of deaths grips our hearts and makes us moan, “Not again.” 

We acknowledge that racism is deeply embedded in our society.  We are conditioned, often without our awareness, to see Black men in particular as dangerous and threatening.  As our cameras have captured this week, a white teenager can murder two people in the street, injure a third, fire multiple shots toward a crowd of protesters, and boldly shoulder his weapon as he walks calmly past emergency responders.  Even with only part of the story, we have to ask:  why? 

We ask you to pray for Jacob Blake, Jr. and his family in this tragedy.  We invite your prayers for the police officers involved and their families.  Together let us pray for our community - for peace, for love, for grace, for safety.  We pray for the people whose livelihoods and neighborhoods have been affected.  We pray for the families of those who lost their lives during the protests.  We pray that those who came into this community for the purpose of fomenting unrest will disperse and allow healing to begin.

Christ has called the church to use its voice to demand justice for those who do not have it.  As the church, we must be informed and brave enough to tackle the tough issues of race, privilege, injustice, and inequity.  We need to speak out against excessive police violence, scrutinize the use of force, and push for change where necessary.  We urge the Wisconsin legislature to use this special session to begin that work. 

We might never have the full story, but we know it is a story filled with despair and trauma for all involved.  We affirm that violence is never the answer, and we say to our Siblings of Color that we see you and hear you.  We commit to dismantling structural racism so that no one need fear for their life because of the color of their skin.  We demonstrate our commitment by taking action.  Suggestions for our first steps are included below.

Steps to Break the Cycle of Trauma and Violence

Ways to learn more, now
The Wisconsin Council of Churches will be updating their anti-racism resources throughout the week to include worship resources that can be used for the coming weekends: https://www.wichurches.org/2020/07/08/anti-racism-resources/?fbclid=IwAR0sTPS7kwj_G_jUS1BB3Zz6H-yM-gpTsRMukk2FV0ZY5jxQocIZa3s3Ygc
 
Ways to do more, now
Call to demand an investigation and accountability for the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian: (262) 653-4000
Kenosha District Attorney Michael D. Graveley: (262) 653-2400
Kenosha Police Department: (262) 656-1234
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul: (608) 266-1221
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers - Madison Office: (608) 266-1212
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers - Milwaukee Office: (414) 227-4344
 
Email to demand an investigation and accountability for the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian: [email protected]
Kenosha District Attorney Michael D. Graveley: [email protected]
Kenosha Police Department Chief of Police Daniel G. Miskinis: [email protected]
 
Tweet to demand an investigation and accountability for the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Kenosha Police Department @KenoshaPolice
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul @WisDOJ
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers @GovEvers
 
Ways to learn more, long-term
Learn more about the Justice in Policing Act of 2020
with this brief summary: https://judiciary.house.gov/uploadedfiles/fact_sheet_justice_in_policing_act_of_2020.pdf
or by reading the act in its fullness: https://judiciary.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hr_7120_george_floyd_justice_in_policing_act.pdf
 
And if you want to act on what you learned, you can contact your senators and representatives to voice your support or concerns:
in the House: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
in the Senate: https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
 
Just starting out?
Read Waking Up White by Debby Irving: https://bookshop.org/books/waking-up-white-and-finding-myself-in-the-story-of-race/9780991331307
 
Looking for something after that?
Read White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo: https://bookshop.org/books/white-fragility-why-it-s-so-hard-for-white-people-to-talk-about-racism/9780807047415
 
Ready for a Black perspective?
Read So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo: https://bookshop.org/books/so-you-want-to-talk-about-race/9781580058827
 
Or try the Young Adult novel, The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas: https://bookshop.org/books/the-hate-u-give/9780062498533
which is also a movie, if that’s more your style, streaming on:
Amazon Prime
iTunes / Apple TV
Google Play
HBO Max
Hulu

Ways to do more, long-term
To create effective social justice habits, take the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge: https://www.eddiemoorejr.com/21daychallenge?fbclid=IwAR2y1mcg_vtA-8LcurdgjfSigUJJwAhUk4tD76G4E1dTG61uzstyidjdRX4
 
​Start a group study with What Lies Between Us Journal & Guide by Dr. Lucretia Carter Berry: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1544106866/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​Ways to help Kenosha, now
1HOPE, though many conversations with community stakeholders and volunteer organizations, has become the centralized hub for volunteer recovery efforts. 
Anyone interested in volunteering in Kenosha may register through this link:
​ https://1hope.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/1hope-volunteers-for-uptown-kenosha-recovery-cleanup?fbclid=IwAR2lmgeBr9Gt4YC0Ib3-L-HSlyf3NqMrVQAoY7ClwZfIySIp0u8tdzQFyXw

1HOPE has been also been tapped as the lead nonprofit organization for Uptown's recovery funds.​  Find more information on the Uptown Kenosha Relief Fund here: https://www.facebook.com/donate/811985129537140/775675049865478/

If you know of any other urgent community needs please use and share this link: https://1hope.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/1hope-recovery-needs-submission-form