Humble Walk’s Statement in Solidarity Against Racism

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The Humble Walk: Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Maryland stands in solidarity with the Black community and all people facing oppression because of their race. We mourn for the loss of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubrey, Tony McDade, and countless others whose murders are a product of systemic injustice within our country. We condemn the police brutality, racism, and white supremacy permeating the structures and systems of American society, and we support all those protesting these injustices.

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We recognize the diversity within the Black community. We recognize that people experience marginalization and racism differently due to the intersection of their race with their other identities, such as gender-identity and sexuality, socio-economic status, immigration status, and mixed-race identities. We recognize that black and brown bodies have led movements of change. We recognize Womanism as a women's movement made specifically for women of color excluded from white Feminism. We recognize Pride as a movement started by queer people of color in protest against police brutality. We recognize that this is not a comprehensive list of identities and movements. We also recognize that working towards dismantling racism means lifting up and celebrating all of these identities.

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We recognize the lack of racial diversity within our organization, so we commit to listen first and continually center and create space for voices of communities who endure racism as an everyday reality. We commit to working with qualified anti-racism leaders to provide training within our own community as a first step towards dismantling racism. We commit to creating and sharing a resource list for educating ourselves and others to be able to speak truth to power in the world. We acknowledge our own complacency and commit to working towards improving our actions to further anti-racism. We encourage the wider faith community on and around campus to join us in these actions and in condemning white supremacy and racism.

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The mission of the Humble Walk is to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God,” based on the call to action in Micah 6:8. We cannot move towards justice without working towards dismantling the systemic racism in our country. We cannot love mercy without demanding an end to police brutality. We cannot walk humbly without deferring to Black voices that white supremacist systems work to oppress. We recognize that publicly denouncing racism is only the first step, and we are committed to holding ourselves accountable to work towards justice for all our Black siblings who are a vital reflection of God’s image.