The shooting of Renee Nicole Good by a federal ICE agent caused faith leaders in Minnesota to issue an invitation to the nation that people of faith might come to Minneapolis and St. Paul for “A Day of Truth and Freedom” on January 23. Two faith-based community organizations joined with the labor movement to call for a general strike in the Twin Cities and public demonstrations by civic leadership to demand that ICE leave Minnesota.
Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock Vice-President Paul Carbone and Associate Minister Rev. David Carl Olson responded to the call. On Thursday, with the LGBTQ-inclusive organization Multifaith Antiracist Change and Healing (MARCH), Olson attended a half-day training on civic response to moves toward authoritarianism, a training that framed the day’s intent. Carbone went to a training at St. Paul’s (San Pablo), an Evangelical Lutheran Church that serves its multicultural neighborhood, and then volunteered at First Universalist Church to organize clergy for Friday’s actions. Both then participated in a workshop on non-violent direct action and joined the team of faith leaders who would accompany and support local clergy who would risk arrest at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport. They then joined nearly 200 UU ministers for dinner and fellowship.
On Friday, Carbone and Olson accompanied former Shelter Rock student minister, now Senior Minister at Unity Church—Unitarian, Rev. Dr. Oscar Sinclair as he, with 99 other local clergy, was arrested at the airport. (Sinclair would be released later in the day.) They then went to downtown Minneapolis to join the march organized by ISAIAH, the congregation-based community organization which is funded in part by the UU Veatch Program. ISAIAH includes many Muslim and African congregations and works closely with a number of labor unions in actions like this. While 20,000 participants filled the Target Center where speakers demanded that ICE leave Minneapolis, three times as many people continued to rally outside the Center in minus-10-degree weather.
UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofia Betancourt and Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism Executive Director Lena K. Gardner asked to send their love to Shelter Rock and especially Rev. Dr. Natalie Fenimore. UUA Co-Moderator Rev. Kimberly Quinn Johnson asked specifically how what was learned in Minneapolis might be brought back to building powerful relationships among the congregations on Long Island. Carbone and Olson are returning to Shelter Rock and will share more fully their experiences with the hope that we might address Rev. Quinn Johnson’s challenge.