Thursday, February 9, 2017

Remarks at Press conference [2/6/17]

( Below are my remarks made at a gathering organized by the Interdenominational ministers alliance, with regards to the various actions taken by the new Trump administration. A write up on the event itself can be found at[url] http://www.toledoblade.com/Religion/2017/02/07/Community-comes-together-in-unified-show-of-support.html[/url]]


We gathered here almost a year ago with the same interests, same concerns, and, almost to a person, the same people present then are present here once again.

In the back of our minds, we believed that we would never reach a point where we would have to gather once again for the same issues.

There is much fear and feelings of uneasiness that is increasingly becoming prevalent these days, particularly in the Muslim community.

Yet, in the midst of that, we have gathered! Christians, Jews, Muslims, people of other faiths and with no faith, coming together because we see the same realities and want to change that picture or that reality into something better!

So perhaps we should view these things as blessings in disguise.!

The African American Christian theologian, Dr. Cornell West, recently said "Justice is what love looks like in public."

So if we are calling for love and acceptance for all, we are calling for justice. If we are calling for justice, we are calling for love.

Yes, we do invoke God, but we also come as a show of unity. We will not allow race, religion and class to divide us. If we are truly for love, we have to be for universal justice.

We call upon the new administration to exercise justice, to act with rationality and responsibility.

More than this, we call for all of us-as a society-to be inward-looking, to address our own thinking and our own souls- to abandon irrational fears and xenophobia, to truly make America great again by strengthening education, infrastructure, and real communal growth.

Thank you!

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