THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION
The theological reflection this month is taken from written testimony given by Clara Long before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and a passage by Gustavo Gutiérrez.
LEARN
Choose one or more of the following:
READ
Book of the Month: Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria E. Anzaldúa
“Moving beyond the black/white binary” article about how the black-white binary keeps Latino voices out of public discourse and erases important stories of history.
Latino Civil Rights Timeline (website)
“Why are people using the term ‘latinx’” (article)
WATCH
Postville: When Cultures Collide (53min) Through the prism of Postville, Iowa (population 1,500), this documentary examines what happens when a once homogeneous town becomes a new model for the American melting pot. This program investigates the roots of cultural misunderstanding, explores the meaning of community, showcases the manifestation of underlying racism and offers a glimpse into what might be the future of small town America.
Peril and Promise: (55min) Takes viewers through the past 30 years, with a second wave of Cubans arriving in Miami during the Mariel exodus and with hundreds of thousands Salvadorans, Nicaraguans and Guatemalans fleeing civil wars, death squads and unrest to go north into a new land — transforming the United States along the way.
Latino and Hispanic identities aren’t the same. They’re also not racial groups.
LISTEN
Podcast on Hernandez v. Texas, which addressed civil rights for Mexican Americans, and was the first case to be argued before the Supreme Court by Mexican American attorneys. It set a new precedent in how the 14th Amendment was interpreted in terms of race and ethnicity.
NOTICE
Choose one or more of the following:
What opportunities are there in your community to celebrate Latino and Hispanic Heritage month?
Follow the Iowa Department of Human Rights on Facebook where they highlight Latino & Hispanic Iowans during September and October.
ENGAGE
Choose one or more of the following:
Consider donating to the Eastern Iowa Community Bond Project or volunteering through Freedom for Immigrants to visit immigrants in detention in Iowa.
Connect with people in your area working on immigration issues.
Join national advocacy campaigns such as the #DisarmHate campaign organized by the Detention Watch Network.
REFLECT
What stood out to you the most?
How are you feeling?
What action will you take?
Who in your family/community may want to take action with you?
PRAY
Creator God, We thank You for our wondrous diversity, for our cultures, traditions and languages, for all the ways we celebrate our humanity and praise Your divinity. We value all peoples, and in this time, we celebrate Hispanic Latino/a/x Heritage Month. May we remember in our churches the leaders, teachers, and theologians that have been part of our Christian faith tradition. May we continue to hear from diverse voices that speak the truth of God's love, peace and justice for all peoples. Guide us in ways of new understandings to build a more inclusive church. In the name of Christ Jesus, our Savior, Redeemer and Friend, we pray. Amen.
-adapted from a prayer by Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell
