Religious leaders meet to discuss social justice role
Communities of faith cannot depend on prayer alone to advance the cause of social justice.
“Preaching to the choir” is not enough to mobilize residents of depressed neighborhoods to effect positive change.
And though the civil rights movement was propelled by believers “taking it to the streets,” today’s faithful must also collaborate across denominational lines to build politically as-
tute power bases that can confront institutions that have power over lives.
That was the message delivered by a panel of Milwaukee religious leaders Thursday evening during a discussion of the role of faith communities in the advancement of social justice.
“We can’t just look to religious solutions, we have to look at political solutions,” Janan Najeeb, president of the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition, said during the discussion at Messmer Saint Rose Catholic School.
The event was part of a series of discussions sponsored by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel through its “50-Year Ache” project.
The project, supported by Aurora Health Care, examines how far Milwaukee has come since the open housing marches of 1967.
The Rev. Walter Lanier, pastor of Progressive Baptist Church, told attendees that as a young man he learned the church was a vehicle for liberation that spoke against injustice and served as a voice for those without power.
But the church must try to make those without power see its relevancy to grassroots organizing, said Keisha Krumm, executive director of Common Ground.
“It’s not just talking, but really acting to create change,” Krumm said, adding that involves conversations and identifying those people who hold power.
“Who has the ability to say yes or no. When we look at the question of criminal justice, judges have a lot of discretion in sentencing,” she said.
But when it comes to judicial elections, “those elections (have) some of the lowest voter turnout, and we don’t really think about those things.”
The Rev. Tim Kitzke, the vicar general for urban ministry for the Milwaukee Archdiocese, said it’s important to personify issues that negatively impact people.
“The more we begin any process, have people meet each other,” Kitzke said.
“Once you put a face to poverty or racism ... it becomes as real as the person sitting next to you.”
That means congregations, big and small, collaborating to assess expertise and building the leverage to force decision-makers to act in the public good, Krumm said.
“They just signed a contract with Foxconn for ... $3 billion of our tax money. There were no faith communities in those conversations,” she said.
“How do we pool ourselves for power and for change and have real conversations about where our money is going, and who’s making these decisions and who’s benefitting.
“With the number of congregations we have in our city, there should be things happening,” she said.
“I don’t think we dream big enough.”