The 2018 ICPJ Winter Newsletter is available for download. Check it out for a report back from the 2018 Facing Race Conference, updates on Congregational Sanctuary and human rights organizing for immigrant youth, and much more. 

Washtenaw Poor People’s Campaign-Moral Fusion Summit

Challenging the Racial & Economic Caste System in Washtenaw County

Saturday, January 26, 2019:  9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Brown Chapel AME, 1043 W. Michigan Ave. Ypsilanti, MI 48197

By listening to each other, we hope to create a common agenda for the Poor People’s campaign in our county by  identifying and prioritizing strategic actions that can remove the barriers that keep people trapped in systemic poverty.   These priorities will come out of our workshop discussions on: Housing, Health Care and Disability, Immigration, Policing, Criminal Justice, Veterans’ Concerns, Employment & Wages, K-12 Education, Environmental Justice, and LGBTQ Justice.

Co-sponsored by Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice and WeROC

For more information contact: [email protected]

Register soon through the ICPJ Website

Summit is free; those that can afford it are asked to contribute $10 towards lunch and our other expenses.

Come together to remember the 30,000+ lost each year and to work for hope, peace, and love in their honor.

WHEN: Thursday, December 13, 7−8:30 pm

WHERE: First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor, 608 E. William St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104

This year marks the 6th anniversary of the heartbreaking Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, CT. Since then, 500,000 Americans have been killed or injured by guns. Gun violence impacts all communities; victims, survivors, and families are often forgotten.

We invite the Washtenaw County community to join us in this
non-denominational vigil of loving remembrance for all who have fallen victim to gun violence. The evening includes live music, a student performance, and messages of hope.

We urge you to join us in our effort to continue to shine a light on the devastating epidemic of gun violence in our nation.

Thank you.

I am so proudly grateful for what you and the whole ICPJ community do to:

• Train up the next generation of activists
• Speak out against injustice
• Provide sanctuary in the face on unjust deportation orders
• Change minds, change hearts, and change policies
• Care for the Earth
• Bring people together
• Speak out against Islamophobia

And so much more.

Thank you for making the world a better place.

Mohamed Soumah, a 44-year-old man from the West African former French colony of Guinea-Conakry who has been threatened by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with immediate deportation, has taken sanctuary in Ann Arbor Friends Meeting House (Quakers).  Mohamed, who has been living and working in the United States for fifteen years, suffers from a serious, life-threatening disease that requires ongoing medical attention. According to his physician, he is essentially on life support.  His home country lacks adequate facilities for this kind of care, so returning there would be a death sentence.  His mother, who suffered the same hereditary condition, died there due to inadequate treatment.  The average per capita income in Guinea is $825/year, and average life expectancy is 52 years. The United Nations Development Program ranks Guinea 175^th of 189 countries included in the Human Development Index rankings.

Press Release – 31 October 2018

Press Advisory – 31 October 2018

How you can help:

• Volunteer to provide support: A volunteer training will take place on Sunday, November 11 at 1pm at the Ann Arbor Friends Meeting, 1420 Hill Street.
• Donate to  Washtenaw Congregational Sanctuary to Mohamed and build a sanctuary network for others facing unjust deportations
• Advocate to the ICE Detroit Field Office to give Mohamed Soumah a stay of removal for medical reasons as the medical facilities in his home country are inadequate to provide him the lifesaving care he needs. Contact  [email protected]
• Advocate for more humane immigration policies. One way to do that is to submit a public comment opposing President Trump’s proposed change to the Public Charge Rule, will make immigrant families afraid to access essential health, nutrition and shelter programs. Learn more at ProtectingImmigrantFamilies.org

Our hearts are broken by the news of the mass shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh earlier today. Our thoughts and prayers go to those affected by this hate crime: the families who have lost loved ones, the broader Jewish community who feels a renewed fear of the continued threat of anti-Semetic violence, and members of other communities targetted by hate groups who see in this attack a reminder of their own vulnerability.

Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center reminds us “The Torah teaches, ‘Tzedek tzedek tirdof — Justice, justice shall you pursue.’ Why “justice” twice”? This means: Pursue just ends through just means.”

The shooter, Robert D. Bowers pursued unjust ends through unjust means. His white Christian nationalist ideology led him to seek a country that put members of his community above others.  He pursued this unjust end through demonization and violence.

This crime follows just days after the series of pipe bomb attacks on Democratic lawmakers and their supporters and ricin-laden to the President. This series of attacks reminds us that demonization and hate speech have consequences.

“Justice, justice shall you pursue.” These crimes call us again to rededicate ourselves to the just ends: a society of inclusion and equity for all faiths, ethnicities, and genders. These crimes also call us pursue these goals through just means–coragously challenging the idoelogies of bigotry and supremecism while avoiding the seductive traps of demonization and violence.

As I write this the death toll stands at 11. May their memories be a blessing. May their families find comfort. And may we all join together in the just pursuit of a world of inclusion through just means.