Walk the Walk: Day Six - Remington to Warrenton, Virginia

Chestnut Hill United Church community,

This was our “hump” day - the middle day in our trek. It began with the news that Jacob Blake, a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was shot seven times in the back by police in front of his children after attempting to de-escalate a conflict. He is fighting for his life. Kenosha has erupted.

A Black man, trying to help others out, is presumed violent and dangerous by police who shoot before doing anything else. It’s the story of our criminal justice system. It is why we, as people of faith and conscience, need to rise up in this moment like never before. It is why I and this motley crew of white people who can’t sing without an organ and can’t keep a beat to save their lives (you’ve gotta trust me on that one) are walking through Virginia, down what Martin Luther King, Jr. called, “the highway of freedom” to bring this message with others to our nation’s capital. And to pray we will be transformed ourselves in the process.

As we set off in the heat, we were invited to believe that - with every step of our foot upon the ground - the earth would shake. And that shaking would set off vibrations that would connect with other vibrations and grow across the land. That together - one step, one prayer, one phone call, one vote at a time - we can shake things up. Shake loose complacency. Shake loose injustice. Shake up conscience. Shake apart the old and build up the new.

Jacob Blake. Say his name.

Linda

*I am participating in a nine-day, 140 mile walk from Charlottesville, Virginia to Washington, DC as part of the national “Walk the Walk” pilgrimage of white faith leaders to RECKON with the anti-Blackness that permeates our past and present as a nation and as faith institutions, RESOLVE to advance racial justice in our faith traditions and nation, and REFRAME the faith narrative in this nation. This is co-organized by Faith in Action, the national network of POWER Interfaith, of which our congregation is a part. More here at https://walkthewalk2020.us/