In early December I marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in the chilly air, joining thousands of others
shouting: “We can’t breathe! We can’t breathe!” Marching alongside me were two YAV alumnae who attend Union
Presbyterian Seminary and Marranda Major, another YAV
in Washington. The march was one of numerous demonstrations across the nation that day to protest the deaths
of black men at the hands of police officers. Together, we
were praying with our feet.
This was my second march in DC; my first came the day
after Michael Brown’s killer, officer Darren Wilson, was not
indicted. I was so rife with grief and anger that I needed
to act. Two YAV alumnae and I marched through the city
that evening, fusing our anger, frustration, and sense of
loss with that of hundreds of others. During the march, I
became aware that my anger comes from empathy, not
experience. My white skin allows me to trust that a police
officer won’t shoot me for merely walking down the street.
The Washington DC Young Adult Volunteer board decided that the YAV house should be in a neighborhood that reflects DC’s demographics, meaning that we six white women stand out on our block. The growing Black Lives Matter movement has reinforced our commitment to engage our neighbors. Do we know them beyond an occasional hello? Are we making a point to talk with them about their life experiences?
Black Lives Matter also inspired us to spend one of our community days discussing how civil rights leader Willie Baptist’s thoughts on nonviolent movements relate to today’s movement for racial equality. We were concerned about the mainstream media’s apparent bias against the current movement and therefore committed to reading news from perspectives of people of color. We discussed how to be white allies to the movement, particularly as young adults of faith.
Each of our placements touches on racial inequalities in this country: Emily Powers and Mallory Price work primarily with older black men who live on the streets. Marranda’s work with NEXT Church emphasizes the need for racial dialogue in the church. Emily Wilkes, a Lilly Fellow, engages mostly white youth at the Pilgrimage, a Presbyterian ministry of service learning, in discussions about race and urban poverty. The wide range of public policy issues that Jenny Hyde and I advocate for--through the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness -- are impacted by race.
After seeing the movie Selma, we reflected on the power of ordinary people to effect change. In 1965 in Selma, Alabama, people our age were at the helm, risking their very lives. John Lewis was 25 when he was almost beaten to death on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. His example, alongside thousands of others, beckoned us to question how much we were willing to sacrifice.
Our community has begun to learn about issues of affordable housing in our neighborhood through a local tenant organizer. The lack of access particularly affects people of color. On February 6, we toured our neighborhood, learning about the struggles to keep rents low. The next day, we attended the "Housing for All" rally in downtown DC to push for affordable housing in 2015.
In the coming months, we Young Adult Volunteers in the nation's capital will continue to discover what it means to pray with our feet, our voices, and our lives as we seek to live faithfully into our calling to "love mercy and do justice." Will you join us?
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| YAV Alum Lauren Voyles and YAV Marranda Major march for racial justice. |
The Washington DC Young Adult Volunteer board decided that the YAV house should be in a neighborhood that reflects DC’s demographics, meaning that we six white women stand out on our block. The growing Black Lives Matter movement has reinforced our commitment to engage our neighbors. Do we know them beyond an occasional hello? Are we making a point to talk with them about their life experiences?
Black Lives Matter also inspired us to spend one of our community days discussing how civil rights leader Willie Baptist’s thoughts on nonviolent movements relate to today’s movement for racial equality. We were concerned about the mainstream media’s apparent bias against the current movement and therefore committed to reading news from perspectives of people of color. We discussed how to be white allies to the movement, particularly as young adults of faith.
Each of our placements touches on racial inequalities in this country: Emily Powers and Mallory Price work primarily with older black men who live on the streets. Marranda’s work with NEXT Church emphasizes the need for racial dialogue in the church. Emily Wilkes, a Lilly Fellow, engages mostly white youth at the Pilgrimage, a Presbyterian ministry of service learning, in discussions about race and urban poverty. The wide range of public policy issues that Jenny Hyde and I advocate for--through the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness -- are impacted by race.
After seeing the movie Selma, we reflected on the power of ordinary people to effect change. In 1965 in Selma, Alabama, people our age were at the helm, risking their very lives. John Lewis was 25 when he was almost beaten to death on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. His example, alongside thousands of others, beckoned us to question how much we were willing to sacrifice.
Our community has begun to learn about issues of affordable housing in our neighborhood through a local tenant organizer. The lack of access particularly affects people of color. On February 6, we toured our neighborhood, learning about the struggles to keep rents low. The next day, we attended the "Housing for All" rally in downtown DC to push for affordable housing in 2015.
In the coming months, we Young Adult Volunteers in the nation's capital will continue to discover what it means to pray with our feet, our voices, and our lives as we seek to live faithfully into our calling to "love mercy and do justice." Will you join us?
