January 18, MENTOR To Serve This Present Age

Transcription

1 January 18, 2015 A Charge To Keep We Have MENTOR To Serve This Present Age Facilitate Assistance In Transition and Healing (F.A.I.T.H.)

2 As we begin 2015 with National Mentoring Month and the commemoration of the MLK Day of Service, let us serve this present age with a sincere desire to facilitate assistance in transition and healing and with realization of our individual and collective responsibility to ensure liberty and justice for all. The words justice and Sunday are deeply seeded in service which seeks to protect human and civil rights and serve mankind. The National Alliance of Faith and Justice, the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, and cooperative agencies such as the National Park Service and Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency in Washington, DC, are pleased to announce plans for the Annual Justice Sunday National Continuum, which will kick-off with the annual observance of Justice Sunday on January 18, Honoring the role played by volunteers and institutions of faith in the pursuit of unity, human rights, and equality, Justice Sunday is a benchmark for service before and beyond the Martin Luther King Day of Service. The title, Justice Sunday, is a symbolic call to action which reminds us of the charge we each have, in our own way, to serve this present age. NAFJ, NABCJ, and many cooperating agencies regard Justice Sunday as a national day of mentor recruitment. For others, engagement becomes meaningful service of choice for the entire year to follow. Justice Sunday 2015 provides a critical benchmark to organize meaningful work to facilitate alliances in transformation and healing (f.a.i.t.h.) of deep community divides. Founded in 2003 by the National Alliance of Faith and Justice ( it occurs as part of a comprehensive weekend. Though Sunday is often set aside, the observance may occur over a series of days which respects all faiths. Observance period begins on January 15, birthdate of the late Dr. King, inclusive of Justice Sunday. Justice Sunday challenges practitioners to begin service before and continue beyond the MLK Day of Service. As such: Become a collaborative organization or institution; Download/view our Justice Sunday promo film in advance of or during the service. It can be found at or Confirm a faith host o Identify the date (between Jan ) and time o Leadership authorizes service agenda Request a mayoral, county, or state proclamation Include an opportunity or challenge for attendees to serve Follow-up and sustain the work

3 Law enforcement officers have very challenging and often dangerous jobs working to keep communities safe. As law enforcement leaders, current and retired criminal justice professionals - - each of us have an essential obligation to ensure fairness, eliminate bias, and build community engagement. As such, we have the opportunity on Justice Sunday to gather and to renew our commitment to serve while we protect, to plant seeds in the lives of returning citizens and future generations, and to declare our commitment to build bridges, eradicate divides in our communities, and to cherish the positive benefits from our collective outcomes... Mr. Carlyle Holder President, National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice... Justice brings about the understanding of what is fair and right as well as the realization that something went wrong... Mr. Ernie Hudson Actor... The United States is now at a critical juncture in recalibrating its criminal justice policies. Differences in views and experiences contribute to an imbalance in the administration of justice that tips the scales from the school house to the jail house and all points in between. It is disturbing to know that a half century after the beginnings of the modern day civil rights movement, there are far more African Americans behind bars today than in As long as we must use words like racial perceptions of crime, differential arrests, disproportionate minority contact, and other such phrases to define our actions, we fall short of the dream of Dr. King and thousands of others who volunteered in the quest for freedom... Mr. Marc Mauer Director, The Sentencing Project People diverse, passionate and committed continue to make America strong. Among ways, we thank the many men and women who place their lives on the line, day after day, to protect and to serve and to ensure that law is fair and upheld. Through national service and volunteering, Americans from all walks of life contribute to their communities and the nation, to include those who serve in prisons and jails or to assist those who seek productive reintegration into families and communities. Today s challenges are complex and require comprehensive, integrated and innovative approaches to shape solutions that work.

4 JUSTICE SUNDAY advocates faith in action and the charge we have to make a difference in the quality of life for all. Throughout the United Methodist Church, it represents Human Relations Day, and service before and beyond that Sunday should be those on which we exercise our individual and collective energies to ensure equal brother and sisterhood. Rev. Bill Mefford Director of Civil and Human Rights United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society... American Baptists have been called to be Christ s witnesses for justice and wholeness within a broken society. We have been led by the Gospel mandates to promote holistic change within society. As Christians and leaders of American Baptist Churches USA, we have a pastoral and prophetic concern for what we are witnessing... We will continually examine our own roles and attitudes to eliminate any vestiges of racism and we will work to witness for racial justice which is implicit in the Christian faith...we will recognize that concern for racial justice is not confined to American Baptist churches. We will work with other religious, ecumenical and secular groups with similar concerns to secure racial justice... American Baptist Home Mission Societies American Baptist Churches USA In an electronic catalog of rich reflections, photos, and resources published by the Episcopal Church in Practices: Community Responds, the Episcopal Church writes,... Communities of faith have responded in a variety of ways to the death of Michael Brown, the difficult issues raised between persons and communities in the weeks and months since, and the cries for reconciliation rooted in justice and equality. Responding with prayer, questioning, marching, and holding community forums are only a few examples of the ways that clergy and lay people of various faith traditions have called for reconciliation rooted in justice...

5 NAFJ extends the MLK Day of Service weekend by presenting Justice Sunday. The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King is commemorated in thousands of sustained service activities, each representing the many hours volunteered by youth and adults of faith. Ceremonies, prayer breakfasts, artistic performances are all very meaningful contributions and mobilization factors for volunteers which fit into the framework of the national service landscape. Throughout the pages of history, institutions of faith were not only meeting places for the movement, but they served as an epicenter of freedom and a haven for strategic planning. They were training centers for courageous volunteers, youth and adults, who were enlisted then dispatched to serve in armies of justice and compassion. The National Park Service (NPS) interprets nationally relevant thematic issues like civil rights in collaboration with cooperating associations and other partners, to include those of faith. NPS, a federal agency of the U.S. Department of Interior, seeks the opportunity to increase the use of parks as places of learning and offer a unique opportunity to learn more about hundreds of years of activism and service. The church was and remains a place where different social and economic groups came and continue to assemble. As we seek justice in this present age, we acknowledge the work began by Dr. King and so many others and recognize that constructive dialogue, strategic steps, community continuity, and long-term commitment was and will be necessary to aid in the achievement of progress. All have a role to play. On Justice Sunday, congregations gather in fellowship, renewal, thanks, and are inspired to serve. The following examples include, but are not exclusive, to ways in which Justice Sunday has or will be observed: Pastors/leaders designate segments of worship services for remarks or proclamations by key officials Viewings of the Justice Sunday video are presented (can be downloaded at Mentor recruitment opportunities follow worship or special services to support returning citizens or children whose parents are incarcerated Inserts are included in service bulletins to increase public awareness of key community and justice issues Volunteers and mentors are recognized

6 ... The struggle for civil rights continues, and today s students will take up previous generations unfinished business. When they learn about the civil rights movement, they learn more than a sequence of events and personalities. They learn about effective citizenship, democratic action and the nature of struggle. They also gain essential frames for understanding the current realities of American society. We expect our children to aspire to a better future and exhort them to be the leaders of tomorrow. By teaching about this great movement for freedom, opportunity and democracy, we give them the tools to create that future and to continue the march... Maureen Costello Director, Teaching Tolerance... Justice Sunday, the observance of the MLK Day of Service, and the recognition of National Mentoring Month each occur in January and afford us a tremendous opportunity to begin the year by serving. Mr. Carlyle Holder President, National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice To identify local POP affiliates and NABCJ designated chapters or to express interest in the program, us at office@nafj.org or visit our work at Through the PEN OR PENCIL National Initiative, NAFJ uses an evidenced based approach to connect history to today s challenges and quest for justice. The POP curriculum provides activities which encourage mentees, their peers, their mentors, parents, civil rights scholars and icons, and criminal justice professionals to utilize and appreciate the untold and under-told stories of selfdetermination, courageous, relevancy, and lifelong lessons which are inspired by service

7 Take A Stand To Keep A Seat Centralizing Change Honorary National Committee Ms. Carlotta Walls Lanier Youngest Student Central High Little Rock Nine Mr. Chuck McDew Former Chairman Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee Dr. Timothy Jenkins Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Mr. Julian Bond Civil Rights Activist Distinguished Adjunct Professor, American University Ms. Constance Curry Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee Ms. Edith Payne Historic youth icon/civil rights activist 1963 March on Washington In 2007, the National Alliance of Faith and Justice launched PEN OR PENCIL (POP). Through POP activities, youth become further aware that their connection to others, their community, and historical legacy collectively support their development toward adult competency. POP consists of an extensive menu of evidence-based, group mentoring activities which help youth to think more critically in making principled decisions about when and how to take a stand against distractions, defiant, criminal and adverse behaviors despite negative or group pressure or, when applicable, to form steps to produce key outcomes against injustice in their lives. Young people played an essential role in the African American freedom struggle. To constructively recognize A Century of Black Life, History, and Culture (the centennial theme of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History), in January 2015 (National Mentoring Month), NAFJ will begin outreach to Central High and Middle Schools which have been identified in 23 states. In addition, schools attended by youth already served by NAFJ affiliates and chapter locations of the NABCJ in seven additional states will be recruited. To learn more about POP activities, visit org. Counting down to the 60 th anniversary of courage by the Little Rock Nine NAFJ has partnered with the National Park Service/Little Rock Central High National Historic Site, the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice (NABCJ), and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) to foster nine (9) ongoing thematic mentoring, service, and curriculum-driven POP activities, each aligned with Common Core Standards. Activities aim to foster productive behavior, interventions sensitive to problems affecting youth, and to develop collaboration between schools, law enforcement officers, mentees, educators, and parents. History recalls courageous acts of collaboration and determination. The anniversaries of key and lesser known actions in U. S. civil rights history such as the founding of the Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee; student participation in bus boycotts; the Birmingham Children s Crusade, or the story of the Carter family of Drew, Mississippi, to name just a few, provide valuable lessons and the foundation to demonstrate the impact of youth as strategists in peer-influenced mobilization and determination. As we draw from many less discussed but key examples, NAFJ and partners seek to inspire youth to apply courage, tenacity, and life skills of history, supported by cultural-based mentoring, to overcome personal and community trials. The 1957 school desegregation crisis at Little Rock Central High School was the first to put on trial America s commitment to its founding principles after the passage of Brown vs Board of Education. Cultivating this powerful example of youth who withstood fear, intimidation, delays/cancelled school days, extreme bias and much more to gain their education (THE PENCIL), we support a new generation of determination to derail the pipeline to prison (the PEN). To salute the difference nine students made to influence America s progress, the campaign will use nine POP menu activities to challenge and empower a new generation to take a stand to keep a seat in school. No child should be left behind to watch opportunity behind a closed door.

8 Justice Sunday A Charge To Keep We Have To Serve This Present Age January 18, 2015 MENTOR Centralizing Change Help youth take a stand to keep their seet in school Facilitate Assistance In Transition and Healing (F.A.I.T.H.)