Statement on an Anti-Racist Faith

The following open letter was drafted and approved by RCHP pastors, staff, and consistory on June 12, 2020:

Friends of God,

The COVID-19 pandemic is revealing to each of us many things about ourselves: our longings to be together in community, our fears about our own health and helplessness, and above all, the values and practices that sustain us and bring to us new opportunities to reflect and change. And as we look out upon our world, COVID-19 has also laid bare aspects of our American society that require our focused attention and concern. We all see very plainly what many people have known their entire lives--that racism is pervasive in America, in the structures of society and in the lived experiences of oppression under white-supremacist power structures.

We see that African Americans are disproportionately more likely to die from the coronavirus, largely due to racial inequities in our economic and health-care systems. We know that, even while people of color are more likely to perform essential jobs in transportation, food service, health care, sanitation, and construction, they are also more likely to be exposed to hazardous work conditions without commensurate pay. The wealth gap between white and Black households still stands at about a 10-to-1 disparity. 

New Jersey has the most racist criminal justice system in the country, with a disproportionate 12-to-1 sentencing rate between white and black individuals. This public health crisis is magnifying this injustice, as New Jersey also has the most deadly prison system, whose COVID-19 death rates are the highest in the nation. New Jersey's total number of prisoner deaths to coronavirus is higher than all the deaths in the prison systems of New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut combined. This is due, in large part, to decades of facility neglect, disregard from public officials, and the inhumane culture of brutality inherent to our already racist correctional system.

And even as we grapple with these manifestations of racism, we are also seeing on full display the systemic oppression of Black bodies at the hands of law enforcement. The killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd are but the latest in a long list of unarmed Black deaths by police, and we know that without the video evidence or relentless advocacy of their communities, there would be no movement for justice and peace for their grieving families. The racism that contributed to these extrajudicial killings is only echoed and reinforced by the elected officials who advocate for the violent suppression of those who protest this injustice.

Friends, we cannot claim that all lives matter unless we can honestly say that Black lives matter. 

We, as a church, have been committed to campaigns and programs for social and racial justice. But now is the time to recommit to conversations, practices, and investments of time and money for the sake of creating the racially equitable world that God desires. In the coming weeks, months, and years, we will be exploring as a church what it means to be fully engaged in antiracist dialogue and work.

There are many things happening locally that inspire hope for justice in this moment. Conversations are happening in Highland Park about confronting the racial inequities that still exist in housing, policing, education, and political representation. We will remain attentive to and engaged in these conversations, while looking for ways to speak up for justice and change.

Statewide, there are campaigns underway to radically reform the structures of policing, criminal sentencing, and incarceration. Pastor Amos is helping lead an urgent campaign to pass legislation that will apply "public health credits" to every prisoner serving time during this crisis, which would immediately release prisoners already scheduled to return home in the coming months. Just yesterday, the joint Assembly Judiciary Committee and Law and Public Safety Committee heard testimony from families whose loved ones have either died or are languishing in prison during the COVID outbreak. A large number of legislators responded compassionately, requesting to help sponsor or support the passage of this important legislation. Please take a moment to contact your legislators and ask them to support S2519/A4235 today!

We understand that there is no single fix to the racial injustices and inequities that exist all around us, but RCHP promises to continue engaging in the hard work of listening to, learning from, and amplifying the voices of all who call for justice and social change. We will confront racism wherever we see it, even and especially in our own lives, and we know that this is long-term, covenantal work. But we remain committed, as a church called by God to be a light for justice, peace, and all that is beautiful, to actively pursue and work for God's vision of a just society--on earth as it is in heaven.

In love and justice,

the Pastors, Staff, and Consistory of RCHP