- October 8, 2020 Social Justice, Association, Community
By Associate Gerry Rauch
May 25 … George Floyd was killed by a policeman who kept his knee on George’s neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds … even as he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe … even as his life slipped away in front of the officer … even as those around shouted at the officer that he couldn’t breathe. How could this possibly have happened? How had George Floyd’s very humanity been dismissed?
This is what I was processing as I listened to the news. Just a few months before, Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed Black man, was attacked and killed while jogging. Breonna Taylor, an ER tech, was killed in her own bed by undercover officers entering her apartment via a battering ram. If these were white bodies, would this have happened? Would the nation have been more upset? How have we white people developed a default of “Black = dangerous”?
I felt a visceral need to do something. What would be effective? What would be safe with COVID-19 lurking in crowded spaces? What was my responsibility as a Christian to these injustices?
I decided I needed to somehow speak out publicly, even if I needed to go and stand by myself on the street corner with a sign. Hmmm … there’s an idea. I am a member of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in St. Louis, located in the Shaw neighborhood on tiny 39th Street. This location would not allow for much visibility. I decided to contact my friend, Rev. Jacque Foster, pastor of Compton Heights Christian Church on Grand and Flora Place, to see if she had an interest in collaborating on a vigil in front of her church. She did.
We decided to call ourselves People of Faith Standing for Racial Justice and that we would stand from 5 to 6 p.m. every Friday. This was on a Tuesday.
While standing in the St. Margaret of Scotland sanctuary, my pastor, Fr. Matt O’Toole, filmed a witness to the need for people of faith to stand up for racial equity. It was powerful! Rev. Jacque put the word out to her community as well. Three days later, 400 people showed up with their signs, children and masks, socially distancing and standing for racial justice. We’ve been standing ever since—amazing.
We intend to continue indefinitely. Many, many people honk in solidarity as they pass by. People of color have stopped to take pictures and to thank us. We deserve no thanks, but forgiveness for benefitting from the system that continues to oppress them. We now end the vigil together in a safely-distanced circle for prayer. We disburse hoping it all makes a difference.
Raising our voices to defend our dear neighbors, without distinction, is what we are called to do as members of the Community of St. Joseph. If you are physically able, please join us any Friday. If not, join us in prayer as we stand vigil. Each, in our own unique way, is called to do nothing less.