On Tuesday, February 13th in Brooklyn, Mayor William Di Blasio delivered his "State of the City" address for 2018. On Thursday morning in the august setting of Christ Chapel at Riverside Church, the Micah Faith Leaders Table delivered its 'Spirit of the City" 2018 address. Not so much as a response to the mayor as these faith leaders sharing their own faith based critical analysis of where we are now and equally important, where we need to go. Much to Micah's credit, the leaders gave detailed policy proposals in each of their work areas: economic justice, housing, immigrants, police community relations and education. (The full text of the presentation can be found at www.micahspirit.weebly.com and full video will soon be available. Videos can be found at https://www.facebook.com/robert.l.brashear/videos/10156010323563361/ )
According to older faith activists on hand for the event, this was an unprecedented, even historic moment. It is a major element of Micah's strength that it is the most diverse alliance of leaders in the city, one of the first to go beyond the Abrahamic tradition and be inclusive of Buddhists and Hindus as well. Equally important, Micah has accomplished the seemingly impossible task of bringing evangelical and progressive Christians together in the faith rooted struggle for justice. This diversity was clearly present in Thursday's presentation.
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| The MICAH panel |
After an introduction by Joel Gibson, Rabbi Michael Feinberg of the New York Labor-Religion Coalition addressed economic justice. Citing the mayor's goal of making New York City the "fairest city in the US," Rabbi Feinberg outlined the current crisis in affordability and outline a proposal to address the issue of a real living wage with a broad based commission to establish what that is and bring it to implementation.
Bishop Raymond Blanchette of the Clergy Campaign for Social and Economic Justice spoke about the current "schools to prison pipeline" and how to close it. He also examined carefully the current controversy around charter schools, differentiating between community based and directed creative projects and what are essentially private schools using public resources. He challenged the mayor, if he wants to control the schools, to bring the community and parents into their governance.
Sunita Viswanath of Afghan Women and the Coalition of Progressive Hindus helped us understand the importance of our interconnectedness and social justice for Hindus before presenting the the proposals for housing. (In a day when there are a record 68,000 homeless people in New York City, the mayor's not mentioning the issue in his address was astounding.) A detailed...and achievable.. plan to produce and build new affordable housing followed.
Dr. Chloe Breyer, executive director of the Interfaith Center of New York, Micah's new "home," delivered the Police and Community Relations report. While appreciative of efforts at increasing community based policing, there is still a long way to go. Specific ways to bring the police closer to...and more accountable to...the community were outlined. (It's worth noting that Rev. Dr. Breyer was one of those physically abused by police during the protests around the efforts to deport New Sanctuary leaders.) The fact that nearly 4 years later, the officer responsible for Garner's death, Daniel Pantaleo remains on the NYPD speaks louder than any proclamations.
Franciscan Brother Anthony Zuba spoke passionately about issues regarding Immigration, very immediately important. While appreciating the mayor's proclamation of New York City as a sanctuary city, the cooperation, even physically rough tactics of the NYPD in support of ICE deportation efforts would seem to contradict that commitment. The case of Muhammad Bah is another clear example of the vulnerability of immigrants. Had he not been an immigrant, a Muslim and suffering from bipolar he might well still be alive. Meanwhile ICE continues to target people for deportation for what would appear to be political motivation.
Dr. Raymond Rivera of the Latino Pastoral Action Council brought it all home with his concluding remarks. (https://www.facebook.com/peter.heltzel/videos/10156066377062068/)
Perhaps there was no one better for the final prayer than Dr. Debra Almontaser of the Muslim Community Network. Dr. Almontaser was the victim of a vicious Islamophobic campaign that led to her dismissal as principal of New York City's first Arabic Culture focused public school, the Khalil Gibran school. With her usual grace and inclusive spirit, Dr. Almontaser invoked a unified stand for justice in the one city we share.
The Micah Faith Table is to be commended for bringing not only critique but creativity. A challenge, an agenda with definable, achievable and measurable goals has been delivered. Now the work begins.
