Protect public lands that highlight American heroes
in Wilberforce, Young’s Ohio home. This national monument tells Young’s story and inspires anyone who faces life’s challenges head-on. It is but one national monument that captures our stories as Americans. Other national monuments such as Pullman, Harriet Tubman and one known as Bears Ears all capture the unique and culturally important stories that make up the fabric of our nation.
As a teacher and preacher, I understand the importance of not only telling our own stories but learning about one another's stories. An abundant life depends upon how we inform, educate and engage. National monuments and parks help us not only hear stories from the land but also interact with one another in God’s creation. Public lands — our parks, forests and monuments— engage us.
Yet, today our public lands — places where we pray and play — are under threat from the Trump Administration. In December, President Donald Trump reduced the size of the Bears Ears National Monument by 85 percent and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by 50 percent. He has also ordered a review of all national monuments established after 1996.
And in the most recent federal budget, President Trump proposed significant cuts to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program that has provided funds for hundreds of land restoration projects on Ohio public lands. From state parks to local parks, this fund has helped preserve public lands so that they can be places where we pray and play. I fear further land and budget reductions which put our public lands in danger.
I am part of a broad nationwide faith coalition that is taking proactive steps to advocate for the preservation of national monuments that are culturally important and to push for funding for our public lands through programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund. As a member of the clergy, I am particularly energized and motivated to do all in my power to protect and preserve public lands which educate our citizens about the meaningful contributions to our country by unsung heros like Charles Young.
More than 40 national and state religious organizations have sent a letter to Congressional leadership celebrating our civil rights monuments. The letter, signed by some of the nation’s largest religious denominations such as the United Church of Christ, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. and the United Methodist Church, states: “Our responsibility to care for Creation is coupled with our duty to preserve and honor the story of all Americans, and ensure all our children have equitable access to healthy recreation and the opportunity to find their own story in our park system.”
Congress should work to restore public lands redacted by the Trump Administration and work to provide robust funding like the Land and Water Conservation Fund so that our public lands can remain places where we recreate and connect to each other and God’s creation.