not a moment…...tithes/offerings/imani village altar call (7:30 a.m. .....“emmanuel” ......

Not a Moment…Not a Moment…

…but a Movement!

Order of Worship (7:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 6:00 p.m.) ............................................................... 2Hymn of Praise "Love Lifted Me” .................................................................................................... 3Unison Scripture .............................................................................................................................. 3To Do Justice: Not a Moment, but a Movement.............................................................................. 4To Do Justice: Grand Juries Should Be Abolished ............................................................................ 5To Do Justice: 10 Rules for Police Encounters.................................................................................. 6To Do Justice: 5 Reasons to REMAIN SILENT ................................................................................... 8To Do Justice: Know Your Rights: Demonstrations and Protests...................................................... 9To Do Justice: Things to DO if you are Arrested ............................................................................. 10To Do Justice: Your Child is Arrested: Rights of Parents in Illinois .................................................. 11To Do Justice: The American Justice System Is Not Broken ........................................................... 12To Do Justice: Ferguson isn't about black rage against cops. It's white rage against progress ...... 15To Do Justice: Expressing Our Feelings .......................................................................................... 18To Do Justice: #DialInForJustice: A Faith-Rooted Initiative To End Police Brutality ....................... 19To Do Justice: #BlackLivesMatterTrinityUCC - The Trinity UCC Response ...................................... 21Calendar ........................................................................................................................................ 22Events ............................................................................................................................................ 2310 Rules of Survival if Stopped by the Police. ................................................................................ 24

Table of Contents

Trinity UCC Media and Technology Protocols Photography and Recording: Still photography, videography and audio recording of our worship services, ministry programs and community services is prohibited on church property, without prior expressed approval from Trinity United Church of Christ. To request permission, contact Daryle Brown, Executive Director of Multi-Media Communications, at 773-966-1544.

Media: If visiting in an official media capacity, please be sure to check-in at our reception desk upon arrival.

WiFi: Trinity UCC offers Wifi for our members and visitors as a courtesy, so that they may participate in our worship services and ministry. User ID: trinity Password: guest

Listening Assistance: As we endeavor to maintain a sacred worship experience, please return listening devices following the Benediction. An Audio Technician is available in the sound room for 15 minutes following each service for the return of your device.

ThAnk yoU FoR yoUR CooPeRATion!

1December 14, 2014©2014 Trinity United Church of Christ. All Rights Reserved. Any unauthorized use or reproduction is strictly prohibited.

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December 14, 2014©2014 Trinity United Church of Christ. All Rights Reserved. Any unauthorized use or reproduction is strictly prohibited.2

**Order of Worship - 7:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.

Opening Song ...................................................................................................... “You’re All I Need”Ministry of Music.................................................................................................... “God Favors Me”Sermon .........................................................................................“How To Get Away With Murder”Hymn of InvitationThe Service of Giving

Offertory SentencesTithes and Offerings

Altar Call/Benediction

[once the sermon has begun, parishioners may not enter or re-enter the first floor sanctuary.]**The Order of Worship is subject to change, at the dictation of the Holy Spirit…

Opening Song (7:30 a.m.) ..................................................................................“Nobody Like Jesus”Choral Introit (11:00 a.m.) .................................................................................... “Behold The Star” Opening Song (11:00 a.m.) ................................................................... “Come Thou Almighty King”Hymn of Praise ....................................................................................................... “Love Lifted Me”Unison Scripture ........................................................................................ Matthew 2:16-18 (NRSV)

PLeASe ReMAin STAnDinG FoR The ReADinG oF The WoRDInvocationParish Concerns

Visitor Recognition/Passing of the PeaceThe Pastor’s Word

The Service of GivingOffertory SentencesTithes/Offerings/Imani Village

Altar Call (7:30 a.m. .......................................................................................................“Emmanuel”Altar Call (11:00 a.m.) ............................................................................................. “God Favors Me”Sermon .........................................................................................“How To Get Away With Murder”Hymn of Invitation Benediction .........................................................................................................“God Be With You”

Order of Worship - 6:00 p.m.

LoVe LiFTeD MeVerse 1

I was sinking deep in sin, Far from the peaceful shore, Very deeply stained within,

Sinking to rise no more; But the Master of the sea Heard my despairing cry,

From the waters lifted me,Now safe am I.

ChorusLove lifted me, love lifted me; When nothing else could help, Love lifted me, Love lifted me; When nothing else could help,

Love lifted me.

Verse 2All my heart to Him I give,

Ever to Him I’ll cling; In His blessed presence live,

Ever His praises sing. Love so mighty and so true Merits my soul’s best song Faithful, loving service too

To him belongs.

MATTheW 2:16-18 (nRSV)16When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. 17Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: 18“A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”


Hymn of Praise Unison Scripture

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To Do Justice

Not a Moment, but a Movement . . .The recent killings of unarmed African Americans – in Ferguson, in New York, in Cleveland, in Arizona, in Chicago – have resulted in a justice awakening across the country. #BlackLivesMatter has become a rallying cry for not just African Americans, but for justice-loving Americans and global citizens.

Pastor Moss has, on several occasions and through multiple channels, drawn our attention to the call for this to not be just a moment, but a movement for real change.

On the pages that follow we provide a wealth of information culled from sources around the country to help us to understand our rights and to provide guidelines for protests and demonstration actions, as well as information to assist us in managing interactions with law enforcement.

You have the right to an attorney. If you or someone you know is arrested by the Chicago Police Department, call 1-800-LAW-REP-4 for a FREE LAWYER. Call immediately when someone is arrested – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The only thing you should say to the police is “I WILL NOT TALK. I WANT MY LAWYER.”

DO NOT talk to anyone except your lawyer about your case.

If you are stopped by the police on the street, you must give them your: (1) Name; (2) Address; (3) Phone number; and (4) Date of Birth.

Hablamos espanol. Tienes el derecho a un abogado. MARQUE IMMEDIAMENTE despues de que esta arrestado para obtener un ABOGADO GRATIS. Estamos abierto 24 horas del dia.

Free 24-hour legal help for people who are arrested or detained at Chicago police stations

1-800-LAW-REP-4(1-800-529-7374)

Hearing Impaired: Give above number to the Illinois Relay Center (800) 526-0844 TTY


To Do Justice

Grand Juries Should Be AbolishedExcerpt from Slate Magazine, by LaDoris Hazzard Cordell (the first black woman appointed to the bench in Northern California, and the independent police auditor for the city of San Jose.)

Grand juries originated in 12th-century England to prosecute criminals; in the 20th century, England abolished them. Other members of the former British Empire—Scotland, Wales, New Zealand, Ireland, Australia, and Canada—have done the same, but not the United States. As demonstrated in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases, today’s state criminal grand juries serve no useful purpose and make a mockery of justice; they should be abolished. There is nothing grand about grand juries.

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1791, includes a grand jury clause that reads, “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury.” All federal capital crimes and federal crimes punishable by imprisonment for more than one year must therefore be presented to a federal grand jury, unless the accused waives this right. The federal grand jury does not determine whether the accused is guilty; rather, it decides if there is “probable cause” to believe that the accused has committed a crime. By codifying the grand jury in the Fifth Amendment, the framers intended to protect people “against hasty, malicious and oppressive prosecution.” On the state level, things are different.

In state courts, judges preside over probable cause hearings called preliminary examinations. These “prelims” are open to the public, and they are adversarial. Witnesses are questioned and cross-examined by prosecutors and defense attorneys, all of whom must abide by the rules of evidence.

About half of the states have both prelims and criminal grand juries. In these states, it is in the sole discretion of prosecutors whether to hold prelims or to convene grand juries. Unlike prelims, criminal grand jury proceedings are not adversarial. No judges or defense attorneys participate. The rules of evidence do not apply; there are no cross-examinations of witnesses, and there are no objections. how prosecutors explain the law to the jurors and what prosecutors say about the evidence are subject to no oversight. And the proceedings are shrouded in secrecy.

n high-profile, controversial cases, where officers use lethal force, prosecutors face a dilemma. If they don’t file charges against officers, they risk the wrath of the community; if they do file charges, they risk the wrath of the police and their powerful unions. By opting for secret grand jury proceedings, prosecutors pass the buck, using grand jurors as pawns for political cover. The Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases are examples of how prosecutors manipulate the grand jury process.

Read the entire article at http://tinyurl.com/TrinityGJ

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10 Rules for Police Encounters

Excerpted from NewsOne, by Madison J. Gray

1. Calm down. This is the cardinal rule for dealing with any law enforcement agent, be they your local or state police or the FBI or Homeland Security. In the officer’s brain, he or she is most likely thinking, “Diffuse the situation,” that is also how you should be thinking, even if you have to take a few deep breaths to do it.

2. keep your hands visible. This is a major part of diffusing the situation. When the cop can’t see your hands, he or she doesn’t know where they are or what you are doing with them. When they see you’re not a threat, they are less likely to perceive you as one — and less likely to draw a weapon.

3. Shut up. Other than identifying yourself when asked, you’re really under no obligation to start running your mouth, and when you do, you could be inadvertently incriminating yourself. Whatever you do, DON’T ARGUE. Truth is, unless you are under arrest, you don’t have to speak (outside of a few things we’ll discuss below) and even then the only things you should say are, “I want to remain silent,” and “I would like to speak to a lawyer.”

4. have your identification handy. If a police officer asks to see your ID, give it to him/her, and you might even tell them that you’re going in to your pocket or purse to get it so that he can’t say you’re reaching for a weapon. Again, stay calm and even-tempered through this process.

5. Find out if you’re being detained. A simple question will let you know if you have to stay and deal with the police or if you can go on your way: “Officer, am I being detained or am I free to go?” Don’t ask it in a snide or condescending way. Check your attitude and just ask the question. What you want is to end the engagement as calmly and as soon as you can. If they are not detaining you, then they can’t keep. If you stay, that can be interpreted as voluntary. Remember, when the cop tells you that you are free to go, just leave.

To Do Justice

7©2014 Trinity United Church of Christ. All Rights Reserved. Any unauthorized use or reproduction is strictly prohibited.

December 14, 2014

6. Do not consent to illegal searches. A police officer can stop you for reasonable suspicion or “probable cause,” which means the cop reasonably believes that you have committed a crime. If no evidence is apparent, there is no reasonable suspicion or probable cause, and there is no search warrant, then the police can’t just go through your car or home. He can pat you down to be sure you don’t have a weapon, but that’s about it. If he goes further and says he wants to search your property, you can simply say: “Officer, I do not consent to any searches.” In some cases, they will search anyway, but even if they find something, it would not be admissible as evidence against you in court because it came through an illegal search.

7. Do not resist arrest or even give the impression that you will. In countless police shootings, this would have been the difference between life and death. It is much, much better to simply comply when you are under arrest. Running will only make them more frustrated and may compound any charges against you. Being patted down on a wall or on your car,or being told to lie down on your stomach won’t be the proudest moment of your life, but just let it happen and live to fight another day.

8. Do not become “Super negro.” If you give the impression that you will fight them, the police will make use of years of training to subdue you. This means that sudden movement, nervousness; loud, angry or profane talk; or putting your hands on a cop could be enough to make them draw a weapon on you. From there, if they even think you have a weapon and might use it, they will aim at you. If you draw a weapon and refuse to put it down, they will fire - when an officer fires his weapon, he does not shoot to wound.

9. Tell your friends to follow the above rules as well. If you are in a group, that doesn’t mean strength in numbers. There is no reason for the police to behave any differently if they believe there is reasonable suspicion and detain you.

10.Use your eyes, ears, and memory. If it turns out that the police were engaged in misconduct, your best weapon is your ability to take mental notes of the whole encounter as best you can. Remember what the officers said to you, what they asked you, and what reason they gave for stopping you. Look at them directly and remember what they looked like and how their voices sounded. If you can, try to remember their badge numbers. Most importantly, as soon as you can, write down or voice record what happened, and omit anything that might be inaccurate.

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©2014 Trinity United Church of Christ. All Rights Reserved. Any unauthorized use or reproduction is strictly prohibited.8 December 14, 2014

To Do Justice

Reasons to REMAIN SILENT

From David O Defense Blog (davidodefnese.com)

1. Talking to the police will not convince them of your innocence. Some people think that if they tell the officers they are not guilty of a crime that the officer will believe their story and let them go. Wrong, that does not happen, the officer already has some reasonable cause for thinking you have committed a crime and sharing your side of the story will only lead to serious risks of saying incriminating statements.

2. Remaining silent does not mean you are guilty. Often people believe that not talking to law enforcement means they are admitting they are guilty. False, it just means you have chosen to exercise your constitutional right to remain silent. You have the right to remain silent!

3. There is no benefit from admitting your guilt. Confessing your guilt of a crime to a police officer has no benefit. In fact, typically, an individual who confesses their crime to an officer will face a longer and harsher sentence than an individual who did not confess guilt and let their criminal defense attorney do the talking for them. It is much more difficult for a defense attorney to negotiate a plea bargain for an individual that has confessed to an officer of their guilt. REMAIN SILENT!

4. Police often embellish and exaggerate. Unfortunately, officers don’t write their police reports from an unbiased perspective, they write their reports from their own perspective. If you don’t talk, a cop cannot exaggerate on your statements.

5. The more times you tell a story, the harder it becomes to tell it the same. It is nearly impossible to retell a story exactly how you told it the first time, even if it is the truth. Discrepancies will be used to discredit you, if your court testimony differs from your original story.

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Know Your Rights: Demonstrations and Protests

From the American Civil Liberties Union

General Guidelines (For more detail go to https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/kyr_protests.pdf)

• The First Amendment prohibits restrictions based on the content of speech. You have a right to say what you want, except under very narrow, nondiscriminatory conditions.

• Generally, all types of expression are constitutionally protected in traditional "public forums" such as streets, sidewalks and parks and your speech activity may be permitted to take place at other public locations (like plazas) that the government has opened up to similar speech activities.

• In general, owners of private property may set rules limiting your free speech. If you disobey the property owner's rules, they can order you off their property (and have you arrested for trespassing if you do not comply).

• Permits are not usually need in order to engage in free speech activity, unless there is:• A march or parade that does not stay on the sidewalk, and other events that require

blocking traffic or street closure • A large rally requiring the use of sound amplifying devices; or • A rally at certain designated parks or plazas

• Many permit procedures require that the application be filed several weeks in advance of the event. However, the First Amendment prohibits such an advance notice requirement from being used to prevent rallies or demonstrations that are rapid responses to unforeseeable and recent events. A permit cannot be denied because the event is controversial or will express unpopular views.

• If marchers stay on the sidewalks and obey traffic and pedestrian signals, their activity is constitutionally protected, even without a permit.

• You may approach pedestrians on public sidewalks with leaflets, newspapers, petitions and solicitations for donations without a permit.

• You have the right to picket on public sidewalks without a permit, but it must be done in an orderly, non-disruptive fashion so that pedestrians can pass by and entrances to buildings are not blocked.

To Do Justice


To Do Justice• The government cannot discriminate

against activities because of the controversial content of the message, so if you can show similar events have been permitted in the past, you have a right to be granted a permit.

The First Amendment covers all forms of communication including music, theater, film and dance. The Constitution also protects actions that symbolically express a viewpoint. Examples of these symbolic forms of speech include wearing masks and costumes or holding a candlelight vigil. However, symbolic acts and civil disobedience that involve illegal conduct may be outside the realm of constitutional protections and can sometimes lead to arrest and conviction. Therefore, while sitting in a road may be expressing a political opinion, the act of blocking traffic may lead to criminal punishment.

What should i do if my rights are being violated by a police officer? It rarely does any good to argue with a street patrol officer. Ask to talk to a supervisor and explain your position to him or her. Point out that you are not disrupting anyone else's activity and that the First Amendment protects your actions. If you do not obey an officer, you might be arrested and taken from the scene. You should not be convicted if a court concludes that your First Amendment rights have been violated.

Things to Do if you are Arrested

·Be polite and as courteous as possible to the police. Do not give them any reason to find you threatening.

·Ask for the police officer's name and badge number, or read it off of his or her badge. Try to remember it. Try to get a good look at the officer's face so that you can identify him or her later by that method, if necessary.

·If you are arrested in your car, show the police officer your driver's license and registration information.

·if you are a child/minor (under 17) ask for your parent or guardian to be contacted.

·If you are taken into custody, keep silent until your parent and attorney, are present (parents, keep you child silent until your attorney is present)

·Ask if you are under arrest. If you are, you have the right to be told why.

·Clearly inform the police that you will not speak to them about anything without an attorney being present.

·As soon as you can, write down everything that happened during the course of your arrest so that you can use that writing to refresh your memory at a later date.

·If you are physically injured by the police during the course of your arrest, seek medical attention and inform your medical providers of the cause of your injuries. Take photographs of your injuries as soon as possible.

·Remember that you do not have to answer ANY question that the police ask of you. If you answer a question which at first seems harmless, be aware that it may later come back to haunt you. Wait for your attorney!


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your Child is Arrested: Rights of Parents in illinoisExcerpt from The Juvenile Justice System: A Guide for Families in Illinois. Find it at http://tinyurl.com/NWLawGuide

YOU MUST BE NOTIFIED IF YOUR CHILD IS ARRESTED OR HELD BY POLICE Police must tell you as quickly as possible if your child is arrested or is held as a suspect or a witness. This is why it is important for your child to tell police his or her name and how to contact you. If you learn that your child is in police custody, you should go to your child right away.

YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHY YOUR CHILD IS IN POLICE CUSTODY AND WHERE YOUR CHILD IS BEING HELD Police must tell you about the charges against your child, and what crime they believe your child has committed. Police also must tell you where your child is held in police custody.

YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO A LAWYER FOR YOUR CHILD You have a right to a lawyer for your child, even if you can’t pay for one. The court system will give your child a lawyer for free. Police must stop questioning your child as soon as he or she asks for a lawyer. You and your child should remain silent until the lawyer arrives. Asking for a lawyer does not mean that your child is guilty or that you are being difficult.

YOU SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO SEE YOUR CHILD, AND TO BE WITH YOUR CHILD DURING ALL QUESTIONING Tell police that you want to see your child right away. Stay with your child to be sure that your child’s rights are protected, and make sure your child tells police that he or she wants a lawyer. STAY CALM. Don’t yell or become upset. If you are under control, you can better help your child.

NOTE: The document created by the Northwestern Legal Aid Clinic provides excellent information about the Juvenile process. Download it at http://tinyurl.com/nWLawGuide

12 December 14, 2014©2014 Trinity United Church of Christ. All Rights Reserved. Any unauthorized use or reproduction is strictly prohibited.

To Do JusticeThe American Justice System Is Not Broken

From The Concourse, by Albert Burneko

In July, New York police officer Daniel Pantaleo choked unarmed black man Eric Garner to death, in broad daylight, while a bystander caught it on video. That is what American police do. Yesterday, despite the video, despite an NYPD prohibition of exactly the sort of chokehold Pantaleo used, and despite the New York City medical examiner ruling the death a homicide, a Staten Island grand jury declined even to indict Pantaleo. That is what American grand juries do.

In August, Ferguson, Mo police officer Darren Wilson shot unarmed black teenager Michael Brown to death in broad daylight. That is what American police do. Ten days ago, despite multiple eyewitness accounts and his own face contradicting Wilson's narrative of events, a grand jury declined to indict Wilson. That is what American grand juries do.

In November 2006, a group of five New York police officers shot unarmed black man Sean Bell to death in the early morning hours of his wedding day. That is what American police do. In April 2008, despite multiple eyewitness accounts contradicting the officers' accounts of the incident, Justice Arthur J. Cooperman acquitted the officers of all charges, including reckless endangerment. That is what American judges do.

In February of 1999, four plainclothes New York police officers shot unarmed black man Amadou Diallo to death outside of his home. That is what American police do. A year later, an Albany jury acquitted the officers of all charges, including reckless endangerment. That is what American juries do.

In November of 1951, Willis McCall, the sheriff of Lake County, Fla., shot and killed Sam Shepherd, an unarmed and handcuffed black man in his custody. That is what American police do. Despite both a living witness and forensic evidence which contradicted his version of events, a coroner's inquest ruled that McCall had acted within the line of duty, and Judge Thomas Futch declined to convene a grand jury at all.


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The American justice system is not broken. This is what the American justice system does. This is what America does.

The Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates has written damningly of the American preference for viewing our society's crimes as aberrations—betrayals of some deeper, truer virtue, or departures from some righteous intended path. This is a convenient mythology. If the institutions of white American power taking black lives and then exonerating themselves for it is understood as a failure to live out some more authentic American idea, rather than as the expression of that American idea, then your and my and our lives and lifestyles are distinct from those failures. We can stand over here, and shake our heads at the failures over there, and then return to the familiar business, and everything is OK. Likewise, if the individual police officers who take black lives are just some bad cops doing policework badly, and not good cops doing precisely what America has hired and trained them to do, then white Americans may continue calling the police when black people frighten us, free from moral responsibility for the whole range of possible outcomes.

The murders of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, Sam Shepherd, and countless thousands of others at the hands of American law enforcement are not aberrations, or betrayals, or departures. The acquittals of their killers are not mistakes. There is no virtuous innermost America, sullied or besmirched or shaded by these murders. This is America. It is not broken. It is doing what it does.

America is a serial brutalizer of black and brown people. Brutalizing them is what it does. It does other things, too, yes, but brutalizing black and brown people is what it has done the most, and with the most zeal, and for the longest. The best argument you can make on behalf of the various systems and infrastructures the country uses against its black and brown citizens—the physical design of its cities, the methods it uses to allocate placement in elite institutions, the way it trains its police to treat citizens like enemy soldiers—might actually just be that they're more restrained than those used against black and brown people abroad. America employs the enforcers of its power to beat, kill, and terrorize, deploys its judiciary to say that that's OK, and has done this more times than anyone can hope to count. This is not a flaw in the design; this is the design.


To Do JusticePolicing in America is not broken. The judicial system is not broken. American society is not broken. All are functioning perfectly, doing exactly what they have done since before some of this nation's most prosperous slave-murdering robber-barons came together to consecrate into statehood the mechanisms of their barbarism. Democracy functions. Politicians, deriving their legitimacy from the public, have discerned the will of the people and used it to design and enact policies that carry it out, among them those that govern the allowable levels of violence which state can visit upon citizen. Taken together with the myriad other indignities, thefts, and cruelties it visits upon black and brown people, and the work common white Americans do on its behalf by telling themselves bald fictions of some deep and true America of apple pies, Jesus, and people being neighborly to each other and betrayed by those few and non-representative bad apples with their isolated acts of meanness, the public will demands and enables a whirring and efficient machine that does what it does for the benefit of those who own it. It processes black and brown bodies into white power.

That is what America does. It is not broken. That is exactly what is wrong with it.


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Ferguson isn’t about black rage against cops. it’s white rage against progress.

From The Washington Post online, by Carol Anderson

When we look back on what happened in Ferguson, MO during the summer of 2014, it will be easy to think of it as yet one more episode of black rage ignited by yet another police killing of an unarmed African American male. But that has it precisely backward. What we’ve actually seen is the latest outbreak of white rage. Sure, it is cloaked in the niceties of law and order, but it is rage nonetheless.

Protests and looting naturally capture attention. But the real rage smolders in meetings where officials redraw precincts to dilute African American voting strength or seek to slash the government payrolls that have long served as sources of black employment. It goes virtually unnoticed, however, because white rage doesn’t have to take to the streets and face rubber bullets to be heard. Instead, white rage carries an aura of respectability and has access to the courts, police, legislatures and governors, who cast its efforts as noble, though they are actually driven by the most ignoble motivations.

White rage recurs in American history. It exploded after the Civil War, erupted again to undermine the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision and took on its latest incarnation with Barack Obama’s ascent to the White House. For every action of African American advancement, there’s a reaction, a backlash.

The North’s victory in the Civil War did not bring peace. Instead, emancipation brought white resentment that the good ol’ days of black subjugation were over. Legislatures throughout the South scrambled to reinscribe white supremacy and restore the aura of legitimacy that the anti-slavery campaign had tarnished. Lawmakers in several states created the Black Codes, which effectively criminalized blackness, sanctioned forced labor and undermined every tenet of democracy. Even the federal authorities’ promise of 40 acres — land seized from traitors who had tried to destroy the United States of America — crumbled like dust.

Influential white legislators such as Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (R-Pa.) and Sen. Charles Sumner (R-Mass.) tried to make this nation live its creed, but they were no match for the swelling resentment that neutralized the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, and welcomed the Supreme Court’s 1876 United States vs. Cruikshank decision, which undercut a law aimed at stopping the terror of the Ku Klux Klan.


To Do JusticeNearly 80 years later, Brown v. Board of Education seemed like another moment of triumph — with the ruling on the unconstitutionality of separate public schools for black and white students affirming African Americans’ rights as citizens. But black children, hungry for quality education, ran headlong into more white rage. Bricks and mobs at school doors were only the most obvious signs. In March 1956, 101 members of Congress issued the Southern Manifesto, declaring war on the Brown decision. Governors in Virginia, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia and elsewhere then launched “massive resistance.” They created a legal doctrine, interposition, that supposedly nullified any federal law or court decision with which a state disagreed. They passed legislation to withhold public funding from any school that abided by Brown. They shut down public school systems and used tax dollars to ensure that whites could continue their education at racially exclusive private academies. Black children were left to rot with no viable option.

A little more than half a century after Brown, the election of Obama gave hope to the country and the world that a new racial climate had emerged in America, or that it would. But such audacious hopes would be short-lived. A rash of voter-suppression legislation, a series of unfathomable Supreme Court decisions, the rise of stand-your-ground laws and continuing police brutality make clear that Obama’s election and reelection have unleashed yet another wave of fear and anger. It’s more subtle — less overtly racist — than in 1865 or even 1954. It’s a remake of the Southern Strategy, crafted in the wake of the civil rights movement to exploit white resentment against African Americans, and deployed with precision by Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. As Reagan’s key political strategist, Lee Atwater, explained in a 1981 interview: “You start out in 1954 by saying, ‘N-----, n-----, n-----.’ By 1968 you can’t say ‘n-----’ — that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like ‘forced busing,’ ‘states’ rights’ and all that stuff. You’re getting so abstract now you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things, and a byproduct of them is blacks get hurt worse than whites. And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I’m not saying that.” (The interview was originally published anonymously, and only years later did it emerge that Atwater was the subject.)

Now, under the guise of protecting the sanctity of the ballot box, conservatives have devised measures — such as photo ID requirements — to block African Americans’ access to the polls. A joint report by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the NAACP emphasized that the ID requirements would adversely affect more than 6 million African American voters. (Twenty-five percent of black Americans lack a government-issued photo ID, the report noted, compared with only 8 percent of white Americans.) The Supreme Court sanctioned this discrimination in Shelby County v. Holder , which gutted the Voting Rights Act and opened the door to 21st-century versions of 19th-century literacy tests and poll taxes.


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The economic devastation of the Great Recession also shows African Americans under siege. The foreclosure crisis hit black Americans harder than any other group in the United States. A 2013 report by researchers at Brandeis University calculated that “half the collective wealth of African-American families was stripped away during the Great Recession,” in large part because of the impact on home equity. In the process, the wealth gap between blacks and whites grew: Right before the recession, white Americans had four times more wealth than black Americans, on average; by 2010, the gap had increased to six times. This was a targeted hit. Communities of color were far more likely to have riskier, higher-interest-rate loans than white communities, with good credit scores often making no difference.

Add to this the tea party movement’s assault on so-called Big Government, which despite the sanitized language of fiscal responsibility constitutes an attack on African American jobs. Public-sector employment, where there is less discrimination in hiring and pay, has traditionally been an important venue for creating a black middle class.

So when you think of Ferguson, don’t just think of black resentment at a criminal justice system that allows a white police officer to put six bullets into an unarmed black teen. Consider the economic dislocation of black America. Remember a Florida judge instructing a jury to focus only on the moment when George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin interacted, thus transforming a 17-year-old, unarmed kid into a big, scary black guy, while the grown man who stalked him through the neighborhood with a loaded gun becomes a victim. Remember the assault on the Voting Rights Act. Look at Connick v. Thompson, a partisan 5-4 Supreme Court decision in 2011 that ruled it was legal for a city prosecutor’s staff to hide evidence that exonerated a black man who was rotting on death row for 14 years. And think of a recent study by Stanford University psychology researchers concluding that, when white people were told that black Americans are incarcerated in numbers far beyond their proportion of the population, “they reported being more afraid of crime and more likely to support the kinds of punitive policies that exacerbate the racial disparities,” such as three-strikes or stop-and-frisk laws.

Only then does Ferguson make sense. It’s about white rage.


Expressing Our Feelings

Speak truth to power, even if your voice shakes. — ebony only

Racism should be classified as a mental illness . . . people need therapy. — Dr. Sunni Ali

It seems they think we are going to go

away, but we are only going to grow.

— Russell Simmons

Today we celebrate the freedom fighters in Selma. That was 50

years ago. What will they say about us 50 years from now? — RolandSMartin

They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds. @yaMeCanse via harvard Medical Students

#ICantB r e a th e

#BlackLivesMatter because . . .. . . God created us all in His image, I AM a child of the most high! — yolanda kelly. . . We are worthy. — LaVerne Mack. . . All lives matter, point blank period. — Joanne Gilispie. . . We are all the same under the Son. — Sheryl Thomas. . . Our children are our future! And they play with EVERYONE until they are told not to..... "Hate causes so many problems but has YET to solve one" Maya Angelou — LaDonna Ashley . . . Equality for all matters. — kristin A. Lewis


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#DialInForJustice: A Faith-Rooted Initiative To End Police Brutality

To be black in America is to listen to death daily. To hear mothers wailing at unnecessary funerals, to see fathers mourning lost sons, to offer graveside prayers that puncture the heart of God - this is the sorrow song of a people, and a nation, haunted by racism.

Over our heads however, I hear the sweet, dark sounds of freedom in the air, calling for the dry bones of democracy to arise from the segregated sinews of our society. The multiracial chorus of protestors chanting "I Can't Breathe"; the die-ins, walk-outs, and highway-halting actions of youth from New York to Chicago to Tallahassee to Los Angeles represent a thirst and hunger for righteousness that includes and yet transcends voting.

To join within this symphony of justice, I am calling faith communities to participate in a national #DialInForJustice during the month of December. The goal is to call the United States Department of Justice and local police departments, communicating our desire to see systemic reforms to policing in America. This initiative seeks to lift up faith-filled voices alongside the already existing trumpet blasts of groups like the Organization of Black Struggle, Dream Defenders, PICO, Sojourners, and so on.

Why a dial-in for justice? Because the Zimmerman civil rights case, opened in August 2012, needs to close. Because the United States Department of Justice needs to open a patterns or practice investigation into the operation of the New York City Police Department and other localities. Because the federal government must help adjust what local cities and jurisdictions can or will not alter - the disproportionate, life-destroying use of power against people of color in the land of the almost free, home of the sometimes brave. Renewed democracy requires reworking inherited traditions of social action. Phone banking for a cause is a proven way to mobilize not only votes, but to stir souls and share policy demands in the direction of racial justice.


To Do JusticeIt is our constitutional right to petition the government for the redress of grievances. Further, it is the sacred duty of all religious institutions - as a Christian preacher, I am especially but not exclusively concerned about the church - to call the State to fulfill its mandate to advance the common good (Romans 13:4). The catastrophic calamities of blue-on-black violence confront us in city after city. Our children are not safe within nor beyond our sanctuaries. A dial-in for justice will not resolve the implicit bias of cops who associate men of color with criminality or conceive of sun-kissed women as sassy threats for surveillance. This joint effort, however, will ensure that we are talking to a primary entity - the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice - with the ability to address our manifold issues. When faith communities speak as one voice among others, we can make a difference. In the words of Rev. Dr. William Barber, let us move forward together, not one step back!


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#BlackLivesMatterTrinityUCC – The Trinity UCC ResponseAs we continue to fight for justice in response to the recent grand jury decisions in the Brown and Garner murders, as well as the countless unnecessary murders of many others by law enforcement officers, we have:

• hosted three forums to educate our children and parents, where members of the law enforcement and legal community provided information on interacting with police and we provide tools to assist in effectively handling arrests

• A “Call to Action” with our youth assisting with the planning of, and leading our “Black Lives Matter” unity and protest march where we “took it to the streets” as over 1,000 people participated in a sit-in, pray-in, teach-in, preach-in, die-in at the 95th Street Red Line Station

But this is a Movement, not a Moment, so . . .

• Today, Sunday, December 14th for all worship services, Pastor Moss preaches on the topic, “how To Get Away With Murder”

• Following 11am services we will be holding the Black Lives Matter youth Forum as we encourage the youth to let their voices be heard!

• In the coming weeks, we will be taking our education forums out into the community, sharing critical information with high schools and middle schools throughout our “parish”

• Early next year, we will launch an education program, Jury Power, to emphasis the importance of effective jury service

• We will be actively encouraging the formation of an independently-elected civilian police board

Today 12/14400 W. 95th Street

7:30 a.m. Worship Service – SA9:30 a.m. Bible Discovery Hour - WC

S.A.L.T - Serving and Learning Together - 20311:00 a.m. Worship Service – SA2:00 p.m. Member in Discernment - 203

Women Conference Prayer & Fasting Committee - 120

6:00 p.m. Worship Service – SA7:00 p.m. Healing Ministry - WC

Monday 12/15400 W. 95th Street

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TUCC Village Center - 1947 West 95th Street12:00 p.m. Immabasi: Diabetes Support - W3017:00 p.m. Adult Usher Ministry - W307

TUESday 12/16400 W. 95th Street

5:00 p.m. Worship & Planning Retreat - BRWorship and Arts Planning - FH

6:00 p.m. Boot Camp - ADomestic Violence - 207

6:30 p.m. Women’s Chorus Rehearsal - SASisterhood - 120Tangeni Business Meeting - 116

7:00 p.m. Career Development - 202Immabasi: Mental Health Support Group - 102Sanctuary Choir: Steering Committee - 203Singles Community: Planning Meeting - WC

8:15 p.m. Men’s Chorus Rehearsal - SA

TUCC Village Center - 1947 West 95th Street5:30 p.m. Green Committee - W3056:00 p.m. Amani-TUCHC - W3017:00 p.m. Mimes Ministry - W307

WEdnESday 12/17400 W. 95th Street

11:30 a.m. Prayer Service – WC1:00 p.m. Widows Council - WC5:30 p.m. Praise Team Rehearsal - FH6:00 p.m. Armor Bearers - 2077:14 p.m. Wednesday at the Well - SA

TUCC Village Center - 1947 West 95th Street9:00 a.m. Gates Corliss Workshop - W301

THUrSday 12/18400 W. 95th Street

11:00 a.m. Justice Watch Team Project - A1:00 p.m. Active Seniors Book Club - 2025:30 p.m. Mwanabaraka And Khayralla - SA6:00 p.m. Drill Team Rehearsal - A6:30 p.m. Men’s Fellowship - 203

Nehemiah Trinity Rising - 202Trustee Ministry - BR

7:00 p.m. Sanctuary Choir Rehearsal - SAChristian Martial Arts - FHEmmaus Road - WC

TUCC Village Center - 1947 West 95th Street6:30 p.m. All Worship and Arts Rehearsal - W3017:00 p.m. Prison Ministry - W302

FrIday 12/19400 W. 95th Street

11:00 a.m. Free N One - 2026:00 p.m. 20 Something Leadership - 2036:30 p.m. Alumni Rehearsal - A

Hurston Hughes Writers - 207Mwanabaraka Placement Rehearsal - SARestart for Health - FH

7:00 p.m. 20 Something Ministry Meeting - 203Africa Ministry - BRHealing Ministry - 202

SaTUrday 12/20400 W. 95th Street

7:30 a.m. Yoga - NII8:00 p.m. Piloxing - A

Budget & Finance Committee Meeting - BR9:00 a.m. Mwanabaraka - SA

Confirmation Class Chatting with the Charters - FH10:45 a.m. Imani/LWFC Rehearsal - WC11:00 a.m. All Worship and Arts Placement Rehearsal - SA

Can-Cer-Vive - 207Caregivers (Loved Ones) - 102Family Caregivers Support Group - FHMath Tutorial - 203

12:00 p.m. African Diaspora JWT Human Rights Movement - 120Isuthu Kwanzaa Celebration - A

12:30 p.m. Walaika Rehearsal - WC2:00 p.m. Isuthu - WC

Lupus Support - 1022:30 p.m. Women’s Guild - 203


Calendar

SaTUrday 12/20 cont.400 W. 95th Street

3:00 p.m. Sanctuary Choir Concert - SA3:30 p.m. Adult Usher Ministry - FH4:00 p.m. Baby Dedication Class - WC

Amani Reception - A5:30 p.m. Baby Dedication Ceremony - WC

TUCC Village Center - 1947 West 95th Street11:30 a.m. The Next Movement - W3051:30 p.m. Endeleo Ambassador Program - W301


Events

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CoMMUniTy eVenTSBLACk UniTeD FUnD of Illinois, Inc. will begin training qualified applicants in January 2015 for the Community Trades pre-Apprentice Program (C-TAP), to prepare individuals for career opportunities in the building and construction trades, Orientation and registration through December 19, Information, Call Iris Dunmore, 773-324-0494

Do iT yoURSeLF MeSSiAh Tuesday, December 16, 7:00 p.m., South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 South Shore Dr., Information 773-721-3210

GooD FooDS yeAR-RoUnD Farmers Market is an indoor market featuring locally grown by Black farmers or carefully selected healthy from producers with safe food practices, The Healthy Food Hub powers the market which features affordable prices, serves brunch and soups throughout the winter, Saturdays, The Quarry 75, 2423 E. 75th St., 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Information, Visit www.theplanningcoalition.org

inTeRn TRAininG SeSSionS December 22-23 and December 29-30, 10:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., provided by Public Building Commission of Chicago, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St.,

Training sessions will include the following topics: Business Etiquette, Leadership, Technology Skills (Word and Excel), Career Development, In order to attend these sessions and receive a stipend, RSVP to Kim Smith, [email protected] or 312-744-7240, Transportation assistance available

PRe-kWAnZAA CeLeBRATion and holiday market, Friday, December 19, 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Saturday, December 20, 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Harriet Harris Park District, 6200 S. Drexel, Information, Call 773-955-ARTS

JUnioR SPeAkeRS CLUB For 6th – 8th grade students, Saturdays, through February 7, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., Nichols Park, 1355 E. 53rd St., Information and fee, Call Jihan, 773-648-1047

PoRGy AnD BeSS Special rates, The online promotion code: PORGYGROUP, offers discounted main floor and first balcony seats for performances on December 18 (matinee only); the promotion code: TRINITYUCC offers a 20% discount on all performances, Lyric Opera of Chicago, 20 N. Wacker Dr., No minimum ticket purchase required, Special prices for children ages 17 and under, Information, Contact Joel Friend, 312-827-5927 or [email protected]

The SoUTh ShoRe ChAMBeR, the Planning Coalition and artists, authors and merchants have aligned in an effort to have residents Walk, Shop, Dine, South Shore, Fridays – Sundays, through December 21st, The Quarry 75 Entertainment Venue, 2423 E. 75th St., Information, visit www.theplanningcoalition.org or www.southshorechamberofcommerceinc.org


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Be polite and respectfulwhen stopped by the police.Keep your mouth closed!

Always rememberthat anything you sayor do can be usedagainst you in court.

Avoid physical contact with the police. No sudden movements & keep hands out of your pockets.

Don’t, under any circumstance, get into an argument with police.

Remember that your goal is to get home safely. Use theabove rules to help do that. If you feel that your rights have been violated, you and your parents have the rightto file a formal complaint withyour local police jurisdiction.

Keep yourhandsin plain sightand make surethe police cansee your hands at all times.

Do not runeven if youare afraidof the police.

Even if you believe thatyou are innocent,do not resist arrest.

Stay calm and remainin control. Watch your words, body language,and emotions.

Don’t make any statementsabout the incident until youare able to meet with a lawyer or a public defender.

STOP

Encounters with the police can cost you your life. Think about your actions!

*Credit: David Miller, founder of The Dare To Be King Project

Not a Moment…Not a Moment…

…but a Movement!

not a moment…...tithes/offerings/imani village altar call (7:30 a.m. .....“emmanuel” ......

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