Episcopal Diocese of NY Holds Historic Convocation on Reparations

he Episcopal Diocese of New York has once more shown courage when it comes to grappling with today’s complex moral issues. Using the theme "Information, Education, Awareness, Advocacy – Action," a convocation was held recently at the Church of the Intercession in Harlem to consider the subject of reparations to descendants of slavery. The Bishop of New York himself, the Rt. Rev. Mark Sisk, was the Chief Celebrant and delivered the Bishop’s Charge.

The convocation was entirely within the context of a worship service, the Eucharist, so it opened with The Liturgy of the Word, led by Rev. Fred Johnson, Jr, Vicar of the Church of the Intercession, Bishop Sisk, and the Rt. Rev. Catherine S. Roskam.

Welcoming comments by Br. Reginald Martin Crenshaw followed. "As Anglicans, we are called not only to ask difficult questions," he said, "but to remove the distortions that separate us from God and from one another. Our mission is to restore all people to unity with God and Christ. So today we take the initial step in examining that distortion through the issue of reparations."

Br. Crenshaw explained that this initiative began at the Diocesan Convention of 2003 which created a task force to study reparations. The task force was asked to provide opportunities for the larger diocesan community to participate in discussions of the subject in order to help shape the proposal regarding reparations that they will be presenting at the convention in November.

The task force hoped that by the end of the convocation, everyone attending would have a better understanding of 1) the meaning of reparations, 2) the sin of slavery in all its aspects, and 3) the institutional and cultural racism that has followed slavery. To that end, Br. Crenshaw introduced the current writer, who is Communications Director for Caucasians United for Reparations and Emancipation, to provide an overview of the mental, physical, and spiritual brutality committed against enslaved Africans. I explained, for example, that along with forcing them to work for free while whites got the money their labor created, whites took from enslaved Africans their original languages and religions; destabilized their social structures, relations between men and women and the family; and did everything possible to break their spirit, set one against another, and demoralize them as human beings. The heart-wrenching, far-reaching results of this are very much with us now.

The purpose was also to clarify what reparations is – repairing the damage – and what it is not – taking money away from individual whites and handing it over to individual Blacks. In fact, the main thrust of the reparations movement is not towards individuals receiving reparations, as Japanese Americans did for their internment during World War II. Instead, most Black reparationists are looking at ways in which their community as a whole, especially those who need it most, can be benefited. Reparations would include such things as the highest quality education at all levels, intensive job training and grants that promote economic empowerment, improvement in housing and infrastructure, as well as state of the art physical and mental health care facilities in Black communities.

Next, the convocation participants split into breakout groups to select and discuss one of the Biblical quotes provided for study along with historical information about the Diocese’s connection to slavery. During lunch, a representative from each group reported back to the entire body. As they did, it was clear that all groups had lively and productive discussions as they shared their concerns and thoughts in a forthright and honest manner across racial lines.

The session led by Emily Frye took up Ephesians 2: 11-22, about the dividing wall between insiders and outsiders. "We found that passage to be very relevant to the case of Africans in America and to the state of our nation now," Frye said. They all agreed that it’s crucial for reparations to be looked at in the context of the inequality that still exists today.

Another discussion led by Rev. Richard Whitt focused on how the Episcopal Church is called to move this issue forward, given the fact that it benefited enormously from the institution of slavery. The Church can claim the sin, name the sin, and then move on to educating and organizing.

The session led by Julius Powell focused on Isaiah 58: 11-12 that includes the phrase "you shall be called the repairer of the breach," which they considered a basic definition of reparations. In order to help bring attention to the issue of reparations, the group thought it would be good to find out where the Episcopal Church has placed its money since so many institutions, such as J.P. Morgan Chase Bank One, have been discovered to have benefited from slavery.

The participants who attended the highly informative and far-ranging discussion led by Diane Pollard were so invigorated by their interaction that they exchanged email addresses and hope to get an interest group together to continue their educational process.

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