Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?
Acts 2
This week one of our own experienced a tragedy, but one that is far too common here in Baltimore. Anthony Francis, our reparations organizer, was sleeping when he felt the ground shake on Monday. When he went outside the house at the end of his block had collapsed, falling on top of the Harlem Park community garden that Anthony and other neighbors have maintained for many years.
The next day he was startled by a loud banging on his door at 8 am as the Housing Department said he had 20 minutes to move his vehicle or the city would tow it so they could demolish that house and the two next to it. WMAR covered the story.
It is an all too common story: a vacant home, owned by the city since the 1970’s, collapsed because of institutional neglect, damaging a number of other properties and possibly Anthony’s own home. The startling part (for me) is that when I drove over on Tuesday morning to see what was going on things were… empty. No one really cared. Despite tons of toxic materials thrown into the air next to an elementary school, the destruction of one of the few safe community spaces and multiple owner occupied properties at risk, the city just yawned.
I took some photos, a short video, and shared the story on social media. Within an hour multiple press outlets reached out to get more information. WMAR ran a story on the 11 O’Clock news and by this morning the City Housing Department had set a meeting with Anthony to discuss next steps.
Let me be clear. This is not a story about me being a hero. It is a story about people and places that do not speak a common language; about a lack of trust between resident and government in certain zip codes and census tracts that require an outside voice to intervene to get attention.
This is a story about broken relationships. About the need for reparations. We talk all the time about ‘Smalltimore’ but once again the need for reparations, particularly around housing and environmental justice, is brought to our church’s doorstep.
This week we celebrate the feast of pentecost — a day when we see the Holy Spirit make plain to the world the salvific power of Jesus Christ. Stories and moments and traumas and healings that were hidden from view for so many communities were suddenly made plain.
This is what we need to do here in Baltimore. Make plain the reality of the need for reparations and the work ahead of us here in Baltimore. So I want to invite you to take part in Reparations Month this June. Every Sunday we will have a different focus — Criminal Justice, Housing, Environmental Justice and Education. It will be reflected in the prayers, the homily, and in a post church coffee and conversation in the Parish Hall. See the flyer below for more details.
This week we will welcome Donna Brown from The Citizen’s Policing Project (CPP) who will share some urgent advocacy efforts at the city and state level regarding Consent Decree here in Baltimore and community oversight over police accountability efforts. I hope you will join us.
