30 Days of Prayer for Justice in the New Year of 2021

“Indeed, racism and its death-dealing consequences are not just offenses against our brothers and sisters as fellow human beings. They are offenses against God, the father of us all.

And how do people of faith respond when they realize they have offended God? They confess. They acknowledge their sin, express remorse and commit to doing better. But when it comes to slavery, our nation’s original sin, and racism, which continues to enslave in our time, have we done that as Americans? Have we done it as a church? Or have we more often sought comfort in the “over-there-ness” of racist acts and crimes? Have we averted our gaze by pretending that “gang-related ‘violence” and the conditions that make it possible are not really “our problem”?”

-- From a column by Cardinal Cupich in Chicago Catholic (May 31, 2020)

Project Description 30 Days of Prayer for Justice in the New Year is a journey of prayer and reflection focusing on the history and continuing reality of racial injustice in the United States. This resource focuses specifically on systemic racism against Black individuals and communities. Beginning on January 18th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and leading up to the season of Lent, this prayer program challenges us as Catholics and as members of the Saint Clement community to confront the institutional racism in our country and in our local communities, to humbly examine our role - as a predominantly white community - in systems of oppression, and to prayerfully commit to working for justice on behalf of all people.

Origin and Purpose of this Resource The idea for this prayer program and resource came from parishioners in Saint Clement’s Justice Ministry. The goal of this resource is to facilitate prayerful and intentional reflection upon the history of systemic racism in the United States through the lens of the Catholic faith. The intended audience of this resource is the Saint Clement Parish community, and thus the resource was developed with the demographic makeup of the parish in mind. The authors hope that this resource will be a step forward in facilitating the education, reflection, dialogue, and action necessary to transform Saint Clement into an actively inclusive and anti-racist community, as our faith requires.

A Note on Authorship This resource was compiled by Saint Clement parishioners Monica Fox, Rebekah Hamilton, Kathleen Salzer and Allen Wesolowski and Saint Clement staff members Rachel Espinoza and Barbara Silva. All of the authors identify as white and therefore acknowledge that their work seeking to illuminate the history of racial injustice in the

United States and in the Church is undertaken from a position of privilege. The authors do not intend to speak for people of color in our parish community and beyond.

Ways to Use this Resource There are a number of ways to engage with this prayer resource: ● Pray these 30 days with an existing small faith group or ministry ● Pray these 30 days individually or as a family ● Pray these 30 days in community via Zoom or Facebook ○ Facilitated Zoom sessions will be held at 12pm every day to pray each day’s reflection as a group. To receive the Zoom link, please fill out the registration form at www.clement.org. ○ A Facebook group has been created to share thoughts and reactions to each day’s reflection. For the link to access the Facebook group, please visit www.clement.org.

Format For every day from January 18th - February 13th, 2021 you will find a reflection with the following parts:

1. Historical Fact 2. Scripture 3. Examination of Conscience & Personal Reflection 4. Lead into Personal Prayer

SECTION 1 (JAN. 18-22): SLAVERY Written by Monica Fox

SECTION 2 (JAN. 23-27): JIM CROW, SEGREGATION & REDLINING Written by Barbara Silva

SECTION 3 (JAN. 28-FEB. 1): DISENFRANCHISEMENT Written by Rachel Espinoza

SECTION 4 (FEB. 2-6): DISINVESTMENT & LOSS OF FAMILY WEALTH Written by Allen Wesolowski

SECTION 5 (FEB. 7-11): HEALTH DISPARITIES Written by Rebekah Hamilton

SECTION 6 (FEB 12-16): POLICE VIOLENCE Written by Kathleen Salzer

WORKS CITED

S ECTION 1 (JAN. 18-22): SLAVERY

DAY 1: Monday, January 18th, 2021

Historical Fact: The Middle Passage The trans-Atlantic slave trade was the largest movement of people in history. Between 10 and 15 million Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic Ocean between 1500 and 1900, depriving the African continent of some of its healthiest and ablest men and women. But this figure grossly understates the actual number of Africans enslaved, killed, or displaced as a result of the slave trade. At least 2 million Africans- 10 to 15 percent - died during the infamous “Middle Passage” across the Atlantic. Another 4 million died inside Africa, during capture, or during the march to or in confinement along the coast. Altogether, for every 100 slaves who reached the New World, another 40 had died in Africa or during the Middle Passage. ● https://www.history.com/topics/Black-history/slavery ● http://www.worldfuturefund.org/Reports/Slavedeathtoll/slaverydeathtoll.html

Scripture: John 15:15 I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.

Examination of Conscience & Personal Reflection: What thoughts or feelings does today’s content raise in my mind or heart? How have I lived up to or failed to live up to God’s call to love all people as my neighbors and beloved creations of God?

Lead into Personal Prayer: Lord, help me to look again at what has been done to your people, to their lives and to their dignity. Help me to recognize the systems and structures that deny the dignity of the human person. Help me to acknowledge my own part, either by acting or not acting. Free me from my own ego, so that slowly, and then more strongly, I will move toward justice into your light. Rekindle in my heart the fire of prophetic enthusiasm.

Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

DAY 2: Tuesday, January 19th, 2021

Historical Fact: Slavery in the US starting in 1619 “Enslavers sought to make their enslaved completely dependent upon them through a system of restrictive codes. The enslaved were usually prohibited from learning to read and write, and their behavior and movement was restricted. Many masters took sexual liberties with enslaved women and rewarded obedient behavior with favors, while rebellious enslaved people were brutally punished. A strict hierarchy among the enslaved (from privileged house workers and skilled artisans down to lowly field hands) helped keep them divided and less likely to organize against their masters. Marriages between enslaved men and women had no legal basis, but many did marry and raise large families. Most slave owners encouraged this practice, but nonetheless did not usually hesitate to divide families by sale or removal.” ● https://www.history.com/topics/Black-history/slavery ● https://www.history.com/news/african-prince-slavery-abdulrahman-ibrahim-ib n-sori ● https://www.history.com/news/zora-neale-hurston-barracoon-slave-clotilda-sur vivor

Scripture: Galatians 5:1 For freedom Christ set us free.

DAY 3: Wednesday, January 20th, 2021

Historical Fact: Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves Two hundred and thirteen years ago a law that outlawed the importation of slaves into the United States was implemented. This meant that with the legal supply of imported slaves terminated, the domestic trade increased in importance. Though Congress outlawed the African slave trade in 1808, the domestic slave trade flourished, and the enslaved population in the US nearly tripled over the next 50 years. The domestic trade continued into the 1860s and displaced approximately 1.2 million men, women, and children, the vast majority of whom were born in America. To be “sold down the river” was one of the most dreaded prospects of the enslaved population. Some destinations, particularly the Louisiana sugar plantations, had especially grim reputations. But it was the destruction of family that made the domestic slave trade so terrifying.

“Although young adult men had the highest expected levels of output, young adult women had value over and above their ability to work in the fields; they were able to have children who by law were also enslaved property of the owner of the mother. Therefore, the average price of female slaves was higher than their male counterparts up to the childbearing years.” The perpetuation of American slavery became dependent upon domestic enslaved births which also encouraged owners of enslaved people to rape enslaved women. ● https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery ● https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/teaching-resource/historical- context-facts-about-slave-trade-and-slavery ● https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/26/us/dna-transatlantic-slave-trade-study-scn-t rnd/index.html ● https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/opinion/confederate-monuments-racis m.html?auth=linked-google1tap&fbclid=lwAR3GBDzFJtT- Scripture: Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

I will move toward justice into your light. Rekindle in my heart the fire of prophetic enthusiasm.

DAY 4: Thursday, January 21st, 2021

Historical Fact: Historical Views of the Catholic Church on Slavery 354-430 : St. Augustine taught that the institution of slavery derives from God and is beneficial to slaves and masters. It should be noted that St. Augustine was himself Black (from Hippo, in Northern Africa).

548: Pope Paul III confirms the right of clergy and laity to own slaves.

650: Pope Martin I condemned people who taught slaves about freedom or encouraged them to escape.

1225-1274: St. Thomas Aquinas defends slavery as instituted by God in punishment for sin, and justified as being part of the ‘right of the nations’ and natural law. Children of a slave mother are rightly slaves even though they have not committed personal sin.

1226: The legitimacy of slavery is incorporated in the Corpus Iuis Canonici, promulgated by Pope Gregory IX which remained the official law of the Church until 1913. Canon lawyers worked out four “just titles” for holding slaves: slaves captured in war; persons condemned to slavery for a crime; persons selling themselves into slavery, including a father selling his child; and children of a mother who is a slave.

1866: Pope Pius IX declares, “Slavery itself, considered as such in its essential nature, is not at all contrary to the natural and divine law, and there can be several just titles of slavery, and these are referred to by approved theologians and commentators of the sacred canons… it is not contrary to the natural and divine law for a slave to be sold, bought, exchanged, or given.”

The five major countries that dominated slavery and the slave trade in the New World were either Catholic, or still retained strong Catholic influences including: Spain, Portugal, France, England, and the Netherlands.

● https://www.globalBlackhistory.com/2015/11/the-role-of-the-roman-catholic-ch urch-in-slavery.html

Scripture: Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.

DAY 5: Friday, January 22nd, 2021

Historical Fact: Medical Experiments After the import of enslaved people were banned from the U.S., the perpetuation of American slavery became dependent on domestic enslaved births. That aligned the economic interests of slave owners - who wanted to promote the healthy births of the enslaved children - and the interests of white physicians - who portrayed themselves as helping the enslaved but also reaped professional benefits because they could experiment on slaves without their consent.

The South Carolinian physician J. Marion Sims, often referred to as the “Father of Gynecology,” performed surgical experiments including amputations on enslaved African women, without any anesthesia. Anarcha, an enslaved woman, was operated on 30 times. Many women eventually died from infections resulting from the experiments.

There was a widespread network of medical colleges and doctors across the American South that carried out and published slave experiments for decades. “The physicians and colleges saw an opportunity in the institution of slavery to elevate themselves, and they took it,” according to historian Stephen Kenny of the University of Liverpool in the U.K. ● https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/06/04/ame rican-medicine-was-built-on-the-backs-of-slaves-and-it-still-affects-how-doctors -treat-patients-today/ ● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Syphilis_Study

Scripture: Exodus 3:7 But the LORD: I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry against their taskmasters, so I know well what they are suffering.

S ECTION 2 (JAN. 23-27): JIM CROW, SEGREGATION & REDLINING

DAY 6: Saturday, January 23rd, 2021

Historical Fact: Black Codes as the Precursor to Jim Crow Modeled on former slave codes, Black Codes were adopted by most states of the former Confederacy following the end of the Civil War and the passage of the 13th Amendment, which banned slavery. These codes sought to limit the freedom, movement, and opportunity of newly emancipated slaves, particularly through economic exploitation and vagrancy laws. Vagrancy laws allowed Black individuals to be arrested for infractions such as not being employed, and forced into a system of unpaid penal labor - effectively being re-enslaved. “The Black Codes laid the foundation for the system of laws and customs supporting a system of white supremacy that would be known as Jim Crow.”

● https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/eras/civil-war-reconstruction/jim-crow-law s-andracial-segregation/ ● https://illinois.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/reconstruction-Black-codes/reco nstruction-the-Black-codes/

Scripture: Isaiah 10:1-2 Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.

Lead into Personal Prayer: Wake me up Lord, so that the evil of racism finds no home within me. Keep watch over my heart Lord, and remove from me any barriers to your grace, that may oppress and offend my brothers and sisters. Fill my spirit Lord, so that I may give services of justice and peace. Clear my mind Lord, and use it for your glory. And finally, remind us Lord that you said, "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." Amen.

(United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)

DAY 7: Sunday, January 24th, 2021

Historical Fact: Jim Crow Laws and the Establishment of “Separate but Equal” Status From the late 1800s and into the 1960s, a number of legal statutes and ordinances, known as Jim Crow Laws, were established in order to maintain a separation of races in the American South. In 1896, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed this separation and established the “separate but equal standard” in the decision Plessy vs. Ferguson, thus codifying segregation in U.S. law. Jim Crow laws required that public institutions and facilities including schools, restaurants, buses, and other public transportation, be segregated.

Real examples of Jim Crow laws:

“It shall be unlawful for a negro and white person to play together or in company with each other in any game of cards or dice, dominoes or checkers.” —Birmingham, Alabama, 1930

“Marriages are void when one party is a white person and the other is possessed of one-eighth or more negro, Japanese, or Chinese blood.” —Nebraska, 1911

“It shall be unlawful for any white prisoner to be handcuffed or otherwise chained or tied to a negro prisoner.” —Arkansas, 1903

“The officer in charge shall not bury, or allow to be buried, any colored persons upon ground set apart or used for the burial of white persons.” — Georgia

“[Text]books shall not be interchangeable between the white and colored schools, but shall continue to be used by the race first using them.” — North Carolina

“It shall be unlawful for any amateur white baseball team to play baseball on any vacant lot or baseball diamond within two blocks of a playground devoted to the Negro race, and it shall be unlawful for any amateur colored baseball team to play baseball in any vacant lot or baseball diamond within two blocks of any playground devoted to the white race.” — Georgia

● https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/eras/civil-war-reconstruction/jim-crow-law s-andracial-segregation/ ● https://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/1-segregated/detail/jim-crow-law s.html

● https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/links/misclink/examples.htm

Scripture: Romans 8:37-39 In all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)

DAY 8: Monday, January 25th, 2021

Historical Fact: Jim Crow as Both Legal System and Social Norm Although Jim Crow was a legal system, it was upheld by social norms and customs based in white supremacy. Such social norms were widespread throughout the country including in Chicago, one of the most significant destinations for African Americans during the Great Migration of the 20th century. Although the city did not have formal Jim Crow laws, restrictive covenants in response to the Great Migration and in place until the 1940s allowed property owners in the city to have agreements prohibiting the sale of property to specific groups, often African Americans. These covenants limited access to housing and freedom of movement for Black residents of Chicago. Even after such covenants were declared illegal by the Supreme Court in 1948, white landowners continued to pursue discriminatory housing measures. For example, shortly after 1948 Supreme Court decision, the Woodlawn Property Owners group wrote:

“If the colored people are convinced that life in Woodlawn would be unbearable, they would not want to come in. There must be ways and means to keep whites from selling, causing colored not to want to come in because life here would be unbearable. We are going to save Woodlawn for ourselves and our children!”

● https://dcc.newberry.org/?p=14436 ● https://www.studythepast.com/weekly/illcrow.html

Scripture: Acts 4:32-35 The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need.

And finally, remind us Lord that you said, "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." Amen.

(United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)

DAY 9: Tuesday, January 26th, 2021

Historical Fact: The Beginning of Redlining In the wake of the Great Depression, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation - under the direction of the newly created Federal Home Loan Bank Board - was tasked with introducing a “systematic appraisal process that included neighborhood-level characteristics when evaluating residential properties.” The goal of this project was to address concerns about the long-term value of real estate owned by the Federal Government and the health of the lending industry. Neighborhoods were graded from A to D. The racial makeup of neighborhoods was a key factor in the grading process. Neighborhoods receiving “D” grades, which were classified as “obsolete”, characterized by “the infiltration of a lower grade population”, and marked on the city map in red, often had the vast majority of Black residents. Properties in these neighborhoods were often considered ineligible for federally-backed mortgages/loans, creating institutional barriers to home ownership. ● https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/working-papers/2017/wp2017-12 ● https://eji.org/news/history-racial-injustice-redlining/

Scripture: Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

DAY 10: Wednesday, January 27th, 2021

Historical Fact: Redlining in Chicago Redlining was legally barred by the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, but by that time nearly the entire South and West Sides of Chicago had been designated too risky by the Federal Housing Administration to insure loans in these areas - so banks did not grant them. “That’s one of the lies out there, that Black people had poor housing because they were poor. It’s actually kind of the reverse.” [Beryl Satter] “That “reverse” was the high cost of housing, which pushed many Black families into poverty and, with city services such as sanitation and garbage collection lacking, led to the decay of neighborhoods.”

Redlining and its impacts on access to housing continue to be significant contributors to the racial wealth gap in Chicago and in the United States. “Overall, housing equity makes up about two-thirds of all wealth for the typical (median) household. In short, for median families, the racial wealth gap is primarily a housing wealth gap.” In 2016, the median net worth for white households in the United States was $171,000. The median net worth for Black households at that time was $17,150 - nearly 10 times less.

● https://chicagoagentmagazine.com/2016/03/21/Black-white-city/4/ ● https://www.epi.org/blog/the-racial-wealth-gap-how-african-americans-have-be en-shortchanged-out-of-the-materials-to-build-wealth/ ● https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/06/05/heres-what-the-racial- wealth-gap-in-america-looks-like-today/#76976c12164c

Scripture: Philippians 2: 1-4 If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others.

services of justice and peace. Clear my mind Lord, and use it for your glory. And finally, remind us Lord that you said, "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." Amen.

(United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)

S ECTION 3 (JAN. 28-FEB 1): DISENFRANCHISEMENT

DAY 11: Thursday, January 28th, 2021

Historical Fact: Early Right to Vote Limited by Race, Status as Landowner From the earliest days of our nation’s founding, the right to vote was largely limited to white, landowning men. The Constitution of the United States (ratified in 1787) granted state governments the power to determine voting requirements within their borders, and subsequently, many states limited the right to vote to property owning or tax paying white males, thereby excluding all women and persons of color from the right to vote. Early attempts to broaden voting rights largely continued to exclude persons of color. The Naturalization Act of 1790 extended the right to vote to white, landowning men born outside the United States who became naturalized citizens of the United States of America, but did not extend the same benefit to naturalized women or persons of color. Even in some limited instances where states allowed free Black men to vote, this right was not always protected, and even at times was revoked. In 1807, the State of New Jersey (which had previously allowed Black males and single women the right to vote), revoked this right and restricted the right to vote to tax paying white male citizens. ● https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/elections/right-to-vote/the-founders- and-the-vote/ Scripture: Acts 10:34-35 In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.

Strengthen our resolve to make amends for past injustices and to right the wrongs of history. And fill us with courage that we might seek to heal wounds, build bridges, forgive and be forgiven, and establish peace and equality for all in our communities. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

(Catholic Charities USA)

DAY 12: Friday, January 29th, 2021

Historical Fact: The Fifteenth Amendment During the era of Reconstruction following the end of the Civil War in 1865, the United States abolished slavery, granted former slaves U.S. citizenship, and soon after, sought to extend to them the right to vote (Fifteenth Amendment, 1870). Unfortunately, the legal impact of the Fifteenth Amendment was short-lived; while Black men did enjoy the right to vote for a short while during the era of Reconstruction (and even succeeded in electing Black men to the Senate & House), groups such as the Ku Klux Klan began committing terrorist acts against both republican politicians (who had supported the giving Black Americans the right vote) and against Black voters themselves as they went to the polls. Between 1870 and 1871, Congress passed three separate Enforcement Acts that sent election supervisors to the South to observe what happened at the polls and which criminalized Black voter suppression in an attempt to protect Black voters. While these efforts curbed some activities of the Klan, they ultimately were ineffective in protecting the right to vote for Black Americans in the long run. ● Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi, p. 249 ● https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/elections/right-to-vote/voting-rights-f or-african-americans/ Scripture: Ephesians 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God.

Lead into Personal Prayer: God of justice, In your wisdom you create all people in your image, without exception. Through your goodness, open our eyes to see the dignity, beauty, and worth of every human being. Open our minds to understand that all your children are brothers and sisters in the same human family. Open our hearts to repent of racist attitudes, behaviors, and speech which demean others. Open our ears to hear the cries of those wounded by racial discrimination, and their passionate appeals for change. Strengthen our resolve to make amends for past injustices and to right the wrongs of history. And fill us with courage that we might seek to heal wounds, build bridges, forgive and be forgiven, and establish peace and equality for all in our communities.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

(Catholic Charities USA)

DAY 13: Saturday, January 30th, 2021

Historical Fact: Disenfranchisement Through Poll Taxes & Literacy Tests Despite having been given the right to vote by the Fifteenth Amendment, starting in the late 1880s, many Southern states passed a series of laws and codes meant to suppress the Black vote including poll taxes and literacy tests. Poll taxes were fees charged in order to exercise the right to vote, and often prevented Black people (many of whom were former slaves without the income necessary to pay the tax) from voting. Poor white voters often avoided these taxes by a ‘grandfather’ clause, which exempted them from the tax if they had an ancestor who had voted in the U.S. prior to the Civil War. Other states blocked Black voters from voting by selectively implementing literacy tests as a condition to vote. At the time, many Black voters were illiterate, since learning to read had been forbidden (sometimes by state law) as a slave, and so these tests effectively stopped many from exercising the right to vote. ● https://americanhistory.si.edu/democracy-exhibition/vote-voice/keeping-vote/s tate-rules-federal-rules/poll-taxes ● https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5189912

Scripture: Matthew 20:25-26 Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.”

(Catholic Charities USA)

DAY 14: Sunday, January 31st, 2021

Historical Fact: Contemporary Black Voter Suppression Suppression of the Black vote is not just a historical fact, but remains a problem to the current day. Scientific American reported in 2019 on research on smartphone data from the 2016 election that voters in predominantly African American neighborhoods waited 29% longer to exercise their right to vote than voters in predominantly white neighborhoods, with a nearly three-quarters greater chance than voters in other neighborhoods of waiting more than a half an hour to exercise their right to vote. With many minority voters working in jobs that have less flexible work hours, “lengthy wait times can reduce their ability to vote. Long lines are estimated to have deterred between 500,000 to 700,000 people from casting their ballot in 2012.”

Additionally, over the past several years many states have passed voter ID laws which have disproportionately affected members of the Black community. These laws were used historically - and continue to have the effect of - making it harder for Black Americans to exercise their right to vote. ● https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smartphone-data-show-voters-in-Bl ack-neighborhoods-wait-longer1/ ● https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/new-voter-suppress ion

Scripture: Jeremiah 22:3 Thus says the LORD: Do what is right and just. Rescue victims from the hands of their oppressors.

And fill us with courage that we might seek to heal wounds, build bridges, forgive and be forgiven, and establish peace and equality for all in our communities. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

(Catholic Charities USA)

DAY 15: Monday, February 1st, 2021

Historical Fact: Representation of Minorities in Elected Office Last month, the US inaugurated its 46th President, Joe Biden, and our first female Vice President, Kamala Harris, after an election that saw historic voter turnout. Harris is the first woman and first person of African American and Asian American background to be elected to the second highest office in the nation. This occasion is an apt time to examine the representation of Black Americans in the highest elected offices of government in the US. According to 2019 Census Bureau estimates, Black or African Americans make up 13.4% of the total population of the U.S. And yet, in the 116th Congress (2019-2020), there are only 54 African American Members of the House (with two of those being delegates) and 3 in the Senate. This means that 54/441 (441 = 435 members and 6 non-voting delegates) or 12.2% in the House and 3/100 (3%) in the Senate are African American/Black. Despite a record number of minority members elected to the 116th Congress (House & Senate, 2019-2020), Congress is far from adequately representing the diversity that makes up the United States. ● https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219 ● https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R45583.pdf

Scripture: Revelation 7:9-10 After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.”

And fill us with courage that we might seek to heal wounds, build bridges, forgive and be forgiven, and establish peace and equality for all in our communities. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

(Catholic Charities USA)

S ECTION 4 (FEB. 2-6): DISINVESTMENT & LOSS OF FAMILY WEALTH

DAY 16: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2021

Historical Fact: Lack of Employment Opportunities The number of jobs located in or around downtown Chicago increased from approximately 650,000 to 715,000 between 2010 and 2015 while jobs in the city’s majority-Black communities suffered a loss from 76,900 to 75,400. Approximately 700,000 jobs are based within a 30-minute commute from downtown and the North Side, while only 50,000 jobs are within 30 minutes of the city’s South Side. Black residents in Chicago have the longest commute in the city.

● Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago: Between the Great Migration and the Growing Exodus: The Future of Black Chicago, January 2020, p. 14.

Scripture: Psalm 137: 1-4 By the rivers of Babylon there we sat weeping when we remembered Zion. On the poplars in its midst we hung up our harps. For there our captors asked us for the words of a song; Our tormentors, for joy: “Sing for us a song of Zion!” But how could we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land?

Lead into Personal Prayer: We pray for healing to address the persistent sin of racism which rejects the full humanity of some of your children, and the talents and potential You have given.

We pray for the grace to recognize

the systems that do not support the dignity of every person, that do not promote respect for those who are seen as other, who bear the legacy of centuries of discrimination, fear, and violence.

Lord of all, we ask you to hear and answer our prayers. Give us eyes to see how the past has shaped the complex present, and how to perceive how we must create a new way forward, with a new sense of community that embraces and celebrates the rich diversity of all, that helps us live out your call to reject the sin of racism, the stain of hate, and to seek a compassionate solidarity supported by Your grace and Your love.

We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

DAY 17: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021

Historical Fact: Consequences of Deindustrialization The harmful consequences of deindustrialization, beginning in 1980, were particularly felt by Black Chicagoans. After 1980, unemployment spiked for Black residents, but stabilized among white residents. In 2016, Black unemployment of 21.9% was worse than it was during the Great Depression of the 1930s. In contrast, unemployment trends for white residents stabilized following 1980 and have remained around 5 percent since then. White Chicago residents are twice as likely to work in the information, financial, and professional services industries than Black Chicagoans.

● Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago: Between the Great Migration and the Growing Exodus: The Future of Black Chicago, January 2020, pp. 16-17.

Scripture: Matthew 20:1-7 The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, “You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.” So they went off. [And] he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, “Why do you stand here idle all day?” They answered, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You too go into my vineyard.”

Lead into Personal Prayer: We pray for healing to address the persistent sin of racism which rejects the full humanity of some of your children, and the talents and potential You have given.

We pray for the grace to recognize the systems that do not support the dignity of every person, that do not promote respect for those who are seen as other, who bear the legacy of centuries of discrimination, fear, and violence.

We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

DAY 18: Thursday, February 4th, 2021

Historical Fact: School Closings in Black Neighborhoods According to a report by WBEZ, the ratio of CPS students impacted by a school closing is greater than eighty-two Black students for every one white student affected. 44,700 Black students have experienced a school closing since 2002, while only 533 white students have had a similar experience during this time.

● Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago: Between the Great Migration and Growing Exodus: The Future of Black Chicago, January 2020, p. 19, 31

Scripture: Luke 23:27-28 A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children.”

Lead into Personal Prayer: We pray for healing to address the persistent sin of racism which rejects the full humanity of some of your children, and the talents and potential You have given.

the rich diversity of all, that helps us live out your call to reject the sin of racism, the stain of hate, and to seek a compassionate solidarity supported by Your grace and Your love.

We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

DAY 19: Friday, February 5th, 2021

Historical Fact: Hardship Index and Black Neighborhoods Applying a hardship index comprised of six variables (unemployment, education, per capita income, poverty, crowded housing and dependency), the Great Cities Institute assessed Chicago’s 77 community areas on a scale of 0 to 100. Not surprisingly, Chicago’s abandoned neighborhoods, such as Englewood (population loss since 1980 of 59%, joblessness for 20-24 year olds of 57.4%) and West Englewood (population loss of 55%, joblessness for 20-24 year old of 65%) ranked high on the hardship index, scoring as high as 74 in comparison to the Loop’s score of 8.6 and Lakeview’s at 9.6. 49

● Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago: Between the Great Migration and the Growing Exodus: The Future of Black Chicago, January 2020, p. 22.

Scripture: Matthew 25: 31-45 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.”

Then the righteous will answer him and say, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?” And the king will say to them in reply, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.” Then they will answer and say, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?” He will answer them, “Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.”

Lead into Personal Prayer: We pray for healing to address the persistent sin of racism which rejects the full humanity of some of your children, and the talents and potential You have given.

We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

DAY 20: Saturday, February 6th, 2021

Historical Fact: Archdiocesan Demographics The total population of the Archdiocese’s geographic area (Cook and Lake Counties) in 2019 was 5,900,000 represented demographically as follows:

White 43%; Black 21%; Hispanic 26%; Asian 8% and Multi-racial 2%.

Catholics make up 37% of the total population (2,179,000). Diocesan priests serving this population have the following profile:

White 79.8%; Black 3.9%; Hispanic 11.8% and Asian/Other 4.4%.

Elementary and secondary Catholic school enrollment has seen a dramatic decrease from 189,701 students in 1980 to 69,075 students in 2019, with the number of elementary schools decreasing from 380 to 173 and the number of secondary schools decreasing from 64 to 32.

● Archdiocese of Chicago: Data Composite for the year ending 2019.

Scripture: Acts 6: 1-6 At that time, as the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them.

Examination of Conscience & Personal Reflection:

What thoughts or feelings does today’s content raise in my mind or heart? How have I lived up to or failed to live up to God’s call to love all people as my neighbors and beloved creations of God?

Lead into Personal Prayer: We pray for healing to address the persistent sin of racism which rejects the full humanity of some of your children, and the talents and potential You have given.

We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

S ECTION 5 (FEB. 7-11): HEALTH DISPARITIES

DAY 21: Sunday, February 7th, 2021

Historical Fact: Disparities in Childbearing Black mothers die from childbearing/childbirth at a rate more than 3 times that of white women (37.1/100,000 vs 11.7/100,000). Another way to understand this is that while Black women make up approximately 13% of the female population, they account for almost 40% of maternal deaths. The physiological and psychological stress of systemic racism across their lifetimes potentially makes them more at risk for physiological challenges of pregnancy. ● https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/13/upshot/maternal-deaths-policy-neglect. html ● https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2020/202001_MM R.htm Scripture: Psalm 139:13-14 You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works!

Lead into Personal Prayer: When our eyes do not see the gravity of racial injustice, Shake us from our slumber and open our eyes, O Lord. When out of fear we are frozen into inaction, Give us a spirit of bravery, O Lord. When we try our best but say the wrong things, Give us a spirit of humility, O Lord. When the chaos of this dies down, Give us a lasting spirit of solidarity, O Lord. When it becomes easier to point fingers outward, Help us to examine our own hearts, O Lord. God of truth, in your wisdom, Enlighten Us. God of love, in your mercy, Forgive Us. God of hope in your kindness, Heal Us. Creator of All People, in your generosity, Guide Us. Racism breaks your heart,

break our hearts for what breaks yours, O Lord.

Ever present God, you called us to be in relationship with one another and promised to dwell wherever two or three are gathered. In our community, we are many different people; we come from many different places, have many different cultures. Open our hearts that we may be bold in finding the riches of inclusion and the treasures of diversity among us. We pray in faith. Amen.

(Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)

DAY 22: Monday, February 8th, 2021

Historical Fact: Infant Mortality Rate Not only do Black women die from complications of childbearing/childbirth at much higher rates than white women but so do Black infants. The mortality rate for Black infants is more than twice that of white infants with Black infants dying at a rate of 11.4/1000 births while for white infants it is 4.9/1000 births. Inequities in health care, housing, and environmental stress all contribute to this disparity. ● https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/magazine/Black-mothers-babies-death- maternal-mortality.html Scripture: Isaiah 49:15 Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.

(Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)

DAY 23: Tuesday, February 9th, 2021

Historical Fact: Asthma Asthma is more prevalent in Black children, who have consistently higher asthma rates than white children. Black children 1-4 years old have asthma at approximately 10 times higher rates than white children of the same age. Black children die from asthma at a rate of 11.4/million compared to 1.2/million for white children. It is also true that Black adults die from asthma at a much higher rate than white adults (26.6 vs. 12.3). Environmental factors and poverty are contributing causes to this disparity. ● https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/asthma_stats/asthma_underlying_death.html ● https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK224475/

Scripture: Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed the human out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the human became a living being.

(Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)

DAY 24: Wednesday, February 10th, 2021

Historical Fact: Diabetes Rates of diabetes and the consequent secondary effects are almost twice as high in Black individuals than in white individuals. (11.7% of the Black population vs 7.5% of the white population). Contributing to the development of diabetes is a lack of access to fresh foods and limited selections of food types. Food deserts exist in Black communities that make shopping for healthy food more difficult and fresh foods tend to be more expensive. ● https://www.diabetes.org/resources/statistics/statistics-about-diabetes ● https://www.cms.gov/About-CMS/Agency-Information/OMH/Downloads/Marc h-2017-Data-Highlight.pdf Scripture: Isaiah 58:6-8 Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

(Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)

DAY 25 Thursday, February 11th, 2021

Historical Fact: COVID-19 Black individuals make up approximately 12% of the American population but, as of September 2020, account for 21% of the deaths from COVID-19. This is approximately 1.5 times their share of the population. In our neighboring states of Wisconsin and Michigan, the death rate among Black individuals is 2.5 times their share of the population. The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths have remained disproportionately high since April 2020. Increased risk of exposure and lack of access to testing are contributing factors. ● https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/09/23/914427907/as-pande mic-deaths-add-up-racial-disparities-persist-and-in-some-cases-worsen Scripture: Ezekiel 34:16 The lost I will search out, the strays I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, and the sick I will heal.

(Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)

S ECTION 6 (FEB. 5-11): POLICE VIOLENCE

DAY 26: Friday, February 12th, 2021

Historical Fact: Early Data on Police Violence Against African Americans The modern police department developed in the 1830s and '40s in northern cities in response to population increases and social disorder. Although European immigrants were frequently targets of aggressive police action, Black Americans moving from the rural south to northern cities also experienced police brutality. Beginning in the 1910s, Chicago saw a large wave of migration of African Americans from the south, many settling in the city’s south side. A 1929 Illinois Crime Survey indicated that Black Americans made up only about five percent of the population of Chicago and Cook County but represented thirty percent of the victims killed by police. ● https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/long-painful-history -police-brutality-in-the-us-180964098/ ● https://theintercept.com/2020/07/04/chicago-police-simon-balto-intercepted/

Scripture: Psalm 130 Out of the depths I call to you, LORD; Lord, hear my cry! May your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, LORD, keep account of sins, Lord, who can stand? But with you is forgiveness and so you are revered.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits and I hope for his word. My soul looks for the Lord more than sentinels for daybreak.

More than sentinels for daybreak, let Israel hope in the LORD, For with the LORD is mercy, with him is plenteous redemption, And he will redeem Israel from all its sins.

Examination of Conscience & Personal Reflection:

Lead into Personal Prayer: Dear God, In our efforts to dismantle racism, we understand that we struggle not merely against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities – those institutions and systems that keep racism alive by perpetuating the lie that some members of the family are inferior and others superior.

Create in us a new mind and heart that will enable us to see brothers and sisters in the faces of those divided by racial categories.

Give us the grace and strength to rid ourselves of racial stereotypes that oppress some of us while providing entitlements to others.

Help us to create a church and a nation that embraces the hopes and fears of oppressed people of color where we live, as well as those around the world.

Heal your family God, and make us one with you, in union with our brother Jesus, and empowered by your Holy Spirit.

(Pax Christi)

DAY 27: Saturday, February 13th, 2021

Historical Reflection: The Civil Rights Movement & Police Brutality In addition to its nonviolent resistance to laws enforcing racial segregation in southern states, the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s challenged police brutality and racially discriminatory laws and segregation in the north. During his address at the March on Washington in 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” Aggressive law enforcement responses to peaceful protests by Black Americans against racially discriminatory laws and segregation included the use of fire hoses and dogs, and disturbing images of such uses of force helped to bring about the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or sex. ● https://policing.umhistorylabs.lsa.umich.edu/s/detroitunderfire/page/1958-63 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/07/Black-lives-matters -police-departments-have-long-history-racism/3128167001/ ● https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/long-painful-history -police-brutality-in-the-us-180964098/

Scripture: Micah 6:8 You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with God.

Create in us a new mind and heart that will enable us to see brothers and sisters in the faces of those divided by racial categories.

Give us the grace and strength to rid ourselves of racial stereotypes that oppress some of us while providing entitlements to others.

Help us to create a church and a nation that embraces the hopes and fears of oppressed people of color where we live, as well as those around the world.

Heal your family God, and make us one with you, in union with our brother Jesus, and empowered by your Holy Spirit.

(Pax Christi)

DAY 28: Sunday, February 14th, 2021

Historical Fact: Current Statistics According to the Mapping Police Violence database, police killed 1,114 people in the U.S. in 2020. Black people represent 28% of those killed by police in 2020 despite constituting only 13% of the population. Black people are "3 times more likely to be killed by police than white people" and "1.3 times more likely to be unarmed" than white people. In Chicago, police were involved in 435 shootings between 2010 and 2016, wounding 170 people and killing 92. “Almost 80 percent of the 262 people shot by Chicago police were African-American. Latinos accounted for 35 of the shooting victims, nearly 14 percent of the total. Only 14 of those shot were white, less than 6 percent of the total.”

● https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/ ● https://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/2018-11/chicago_contagiousness_of_violen ce.pdf Scripture: Isaiah 61:1 For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, For Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, Until her vindication goes forth like the dawn And her victory like a burning torch.

Create in us a new mind and heart that will enable us to see brothers and sisters in the faces of those divided by racial categories.

Give us the grace and strength to rid ourselves of racial stereotypes that oppress some of us while providing entitlements to others.

Help us to create a church and a nation that embraces the hopes and fears of oppressed people of color where we live, as well as those around the world.

Heal your family God, and make us one with you, in union with our brother Jesus, and empowered by your Holy Spirit.

(Pax Christi)

DAY 29: Monday, February 15th, 2021 Historical Fact: Lack of Accountability Nationwide, there is little accountability for police violence. According to the Mapping Police Violence database, "98.3% of killings by police from 2013-2020 have not resulted in officers being charged with a crime." A 2015 Amnesty International report found that all 50 states and the District of Columbia failed to comply with international law and standards on the use of lethal force by police and that the laws on the books were not adequate to prevent unlawful use of lethal force or to hold police accountable for using it. Several states have no laws at all on the use of lethal force by law enforcement officers.

Black communities in Chicago are not only disproportionately affected by police violence but are also less likely to obtain redress. An analysis by the Citizens Police Data Project indicated that while Black citizens filed 61% of all complaints of police misconduct compared to 21% by white citizens, only 25% of the complaints filed by Black citizens were upheld or sustained compared to 58% of the complaints by white citizens.

● https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/police-brutality/ ● https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/aiusa_deadlyforcer eportjune2015-1.pdf ● https://www.ssa.uchicago.edu/ssa_magazine/policing-and-inequality-examinin g-community-response-police-shootings

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.

Create in us a new mind and heart that will enable us to see brothers and sisters in the faces of those divided by racial categories.

Give us the grace and strength to rid ourselves of racial stereotypes that oppress some of us while providing entitlements to others.

Help us to create a church and a nation that embraces the hopes and fears of oppressed people of color where we live, as well as those around the world.

Heal your family God, and make us one with you, in union with our brother Jesus, and empowered by your Holy Spirit.

(Pax Christi)

DAY 30: Tuesday, February 16th, 2021

Historical Fact:U.S. Department of Justice Investigation - CPD In 2017, the U.S. Department of justice completed a lengthy civil rights investigation into the Chicago police department. The Justice Department found that CPD officers had engaged "in a pattern or practice of using force, including deadly force, that was unreasonable, in violation of the Fourth Amendment." This included: shooting at fleeing suspects who presented no immediate threat; shooting at vehicles without justification; using less-lethal force, including tasers, against people who posed no threat; using force to retaliate against and punish individuals; and using excessive force against juveniles. The Justice Department also identified "serious concerns about the prevalence of racially discriminatory conduct by some CPD officers and the degree to which that conduct [was] tolerated" and noted that "the impact of CPD’s pattern or practice of unreasonable force [fell] heaviest on predominantly [B]lack and Latino neighborhoods…” As a result of a lawsuit brought by the Attorney General’s office against the city of Chicago to implement the Justice Department‘s recommendations, a federal consent decree was entered into in 2019, requiring reforms of the CPD’s policies, training and practices to address the use of excessive force and improve accountability and transparency. A report in June of 2020 from the independent monitor overseeing the federal consent decree indicated that the city had failed to meet more than 70% of the compliance deadlines.

● https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-findings-investi gation-chicago-police-department ● http://chicagopoliceconsentdecree.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/DOJ_CPD _findings_factsheet.pdf ● https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/police-reform/home/consent-decree.htm l ● https://cpdmonitoringteam.com/reports/ ● https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-politics/chicago-police-misse d-more-than-70-of-deadlines-in-first-year-of-consent-decree-report-says/22922 22/ Scripture: Isaiah 32:15 Until the spirit from on high is poured out on us. And the wilderness becomes a garden land and the garden land seems as common as forest.

Then judgment will dwell in the wilderness and justice abide in the garden land.

The work of justice will be peace; the effect of justice, calm and security forever.

My people will live in peaceful country, in secure dwellings and quiet resting places.

Create in us a new mind and heart that will enable us to see brothers and sisters in the faces of those divided by racial categories.

Give us the grace and strength to rid ourselves of racial stereotypes that oppress some of us while providing entitlements to others.

Help us to create a church and a nation that embraces the hopes and fears of oppressed people of color where we live, as well as those around the world.

Heal your family God, and make us one with you, in union with our brother Jesus, and empowered by your Holy Spirit.

(Pax Christi)

Thank You

Whether you participated as an individual, a family, a small faith group, or a ministry, we thank you for joining us in this journey of prayer.

We hope that you have been challenged to learn, pray, and reflect deeply on the ways that racism remains a troubling part of our nation and our world, and have grown in your personal commitment to undertake the work of actively opposing racism in all its forms.

As we enter the season of Lent, a season of repentance and conversion, we turn our hearts to the One who can bring healing and reconciliation. We ask that you carry this intention into your prayer and practices throughout the season ahead.

If you are interested in continuing the conversation, please reach out to Barbara Silva at [email protected].

Works Cited Below is a list of the sources used and cited in the creation of this resource.

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United States Census Bureau https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219

The United States Department of Justice https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-findings-investigation-chicago-p olice-department

The University of Chicago Law School https://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/2018-11/chicago_contagiousness_of_violence.pdf

USA Today https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/07/black-lives-matters-police-departm ents-have-long-history-racism/3128167001/

The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/06/04/american-medicine- was-built-on-the-backs-of-slaves-and-it-still-affects-how-doctors-treat-patients-today/

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Syphilis_Study

World Future Fund http://www.worldfuturefund.org/Reports/Slavedeathtoll/slaverydeathtoll.html