When our voting rights are stolen, justice is bent.
When books are banned, justice is bent.
When artists, journalists, and constituents are silenced, justice is bent.
When children are indoctrinated instead of educated, justice is bent.
When the government kidnaps persons, then deports, incarcerates, tortures, abuses, kills them; justice is bent.
We are living in a time of bent justice. Yet Dr. Martin Luther King wrote: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Do we, then, as persons a faith, simply wait for the universe to bend justice-ward?
Dr. King didn’t think so; he marched, he sought legislation, he spoke, he wrote, he endured imprisonment. And he put his life on the line. Dolly Parton provided books for children and invested in the black and LGBTQ+ communities. Maya Angelou wrote—and lived, “Still I Rise.”
As persons of faith, we are called to act for justice. Below are some ideas for creative activism. No one can do everything; everyone can do something.
Reframe: Instead of “going to” your place of worship, “go from.” The purpose of a worship community is to empower us to walk our faith into hurting world, not to turn us into pew potatoes.
Contact, contact, contact: Contact info for our representatives is available online. Make a regular practice of contacting them: mail a letter or postcard, email a message, leave a voice mail. It’s scary at first, but gets easier with practice. If your Rep is working against justice, state what you want them to do instead; if they are working for justice, they can use your encouragement!
Boycott: Research where business send their money, where they source their products, how they treat their employees. Spend money supporting businesses that live your values.
Protest: Post a sign in your yard; carry one in a protest march.
Wear your beliefs on your sleeve: I have a t-shirt that reads, “I’m with the Banned” below a shelf of classic banned books. There’s activist jewelry as well! AND many of these clothes and accessories are created and sold by businesses surviving injustice.
Here I Stand! (or, in the words of Charlie Brown, “I can’t stand idly by”): Speaking your truth to someone who might disagree is hard. Doing so in love is even harder. Consider persons who helped expand your understanding and who deepened your soul; you can be that for someone else! A CAVEAT: some people are only interested in bullying, judging, and holding the “only” right opinion. These we leave in God’s hands.
Vote with your vulnerable neighbors in mind. Vote and encourage your friends and family to vote as well. Vote, even if violence is threatened. Vote, because voting is vital for justice.
Create! (you knew I’d get here): Creating is activism. Creating puts good into the world. Creating feeds our souls to hope through the day. You might belt out a tune whose lyrics gives you chills, post your poetic thoughts on social media, make a poster that expresses your hopes, or draw a thought-provoking cartoon.
We’d love to hear your ideas! Together, let’s put our soul muscles to work against injustice and start bending the universe just-ward!
