The online editorial staff comprises Betsy Shirley, Jenna Barnett, Josiah R. Daniels, Mitchell Atencio, Heather Brady, Kierra Bennning, and Zachary Lee.
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Former Hiroshima Mayor Urges Trump to Say No to Nukes
Hiroshima, Japan—Protest against nuclear weapons during President Obama's visit. May 2016.
Ten days before Donald Trump's inauguration, the former mayor of Hiroshima sent the president-elect a letter calling on the incoming U.S. administration to lead on nuclear non-use in Northeast Asia.
"Keenly aware that your decisions on matters related to nuclear weapons will affect everybody in the world and especially those of us living in Hiroshima, we, Hiroshima citizens and hibakusha (A-bomb survivors), expect these decisions to be wise and peaceable," Tadatoshi Akiba, Hiroshima's former mayor, wrote.
Weekly Wrap 1.20.17: The 10 Best Stories You Missed This Week
1. TODAY in the D.C. Metro: Nonviolence and Active Bystander Intervention Training
If you’re in town, churches and other facilities across the Washington, D.C., metro area are offering FREE trainings this afternoon and spots are still available. Sign up at the link!
2. A Christian Packing List for the Women’s March on Washington
“… when we march, when we work, when we write and call, we have a uniform, we have the gear we need.”
3. Where Women’s Marches Are Happening Around the World
While an estimated 200,000 people could descend on Washington, D.C., for the Women’s March on Washington, sister marches are happening throughout the country — and the world. This map illustrates the magnitude of the movement.
Peaceful Protest Could Be Criminalized in Several U.S. States
Image via John Lucia/flickr.com
Bills criminalizing peaceful protest have been introduced to state legislatures in five U.S. states, reports The Intercept. The five states are Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Washington. The bills have been proposed by Republican lawmakers.
The bills proposed in Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota aim to effect highway protests. The bill introduced in North Dakota, if passed, would give motorists the legal right to kill with their vehicles any protesters standing in the road, if the protester is struck accidentally.
President-Elect Trump Wants to Eliminate National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities
Image via National Endowment for the Arts Facebook
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting provides nationwide access to public radio, television, and other non-commercial telecommunications services. The National Endowment for the Arts provides Americans with funding needed to engage with the arts and facilitate arts projects. The National Endowment for the Humanities provides funding to museums, libraries, and institutions of higher learning to promote study of the humanities.
Obama Commutes Most of Chelsea Manning's Prison Sentence
Image via Stephen Melkisethian/flickr.com
On Jan. 17 the White House announced that President Obama commuted much of Chelsea Manning’s remaining prison sentence, reports the New York Times. Ms. Manning was slated to be released from prison in the year 2045. She will now be released on May 17. As of Jan. 17, President Obama has granted more commutations than any U.S. president in history.
Chelsea Manning was given a 35-year prison sentence after she was convicted for a 2010 U.S. intelligence leak that involved WikiLeaks and exposed information concerning the nation’s global diplomacy and its military. Much attention of the media came Ms. Manning’s way due to her trial and conviction, as well as the fact that, after her sentencing, Ms. Manning announced she was transgender and began to identify as Chelsea.
New Police Association Policy: Includes De-Escalation, But Permits Warning Shots
Image via ep_jhu/flickr.com
On Jan. 17 the International Association of Chiefs of Police released their National Consensus Policy on Use of Force, a model policy for officers in the U.S. to follow when considering use of deadly force, reports The Washington Post. The IACP’s model policy includes de-escalation for the first time.
“An officer shall use de-escalation techniques and other alternatives to higher levels of force consistent with his training whenever possible and appropriate before resorting to force and to reduce the need for force,” the policy reads.
More Than 100 Calvin Profs to 'Professor Watchlist': 'Add All of Our Names'
"Your organization claims to recognize 'the right for professors to say whatever they wish.' Professors like Joe Kuilema don’t say whatever they wish. Instead, we say what we know, based on careful research, the accumulated work of other scholars, and our own direct experience outside the classroom."
Trump Says Civil Rights Hero John Lewis 'All Talk ... No Action Or Results'
On Jan. 13, Georgia Rep. John Lewis — civil rights icon who was beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., marching for voting rights for African Americans in 1965 — said he would not be attending President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, a first for the longtime congressman since serving. Trump took to Twitter the morning on Jan. 14 to attack Lewis.
DOJ Condemns Chicago PD for Excessive Force
There were more than 400 force reports and over 170 officer related shootings in Chicago from January 2011 to April 2016 that. Not only did the department review, investigate and analyze these police documents, procedures, and trainings, they met with city leaders, community organizers, former police officer, rode along with current officers, and heard from over 1000 community members before making this judgement.
Weekly Wrap 1.13.17: The 10 Best Stories You Missed This Week
1. Women’s March on Washington Releases Its Platform
And it’s a progressive manifesto. Read up on the four-page policy platform here.
If you’ll be in town on Friday afternoon, churches and facilities throughout the D.C., Maryland, Virginia metro are offering free trainings. Sign up at the link!
And …
3. Tell Us Why You’re Marching
Whether here in D.C., at a sister march throughout the country, or in spirit — tell us your story about why you’re marching on Jan. 21.
This 'Black-ish' Monologue Nails the African-American Struggle in a Post-Election America
Screenshot via black-ish/Facebook
“You don’t think I care about this country?” asks Dre, an African American character played by Anthony Anderson, on the television show black-ish, in the Jan. 11 episode “Lemons.”
“I love this country, even though at times it doesn’t love me back.”
Did Anything Happen to the ACA? Here’s a Quick Look
Image via Stephen Melkisethian/Flickr
The U.S. Senate voted 51 to 48 in the early hours of Jan. 12 to begin the process of repealing major portions of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The vote went on for seven hours, as Senate Democrats attempted to build on growing unease among House and Senate Republicans over repealing major provisions of the ACA without a repeal in place. Ultimately, only Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) joined the Democrats in voting against, and the resolution was approved.
Last night’s hours-long late night vote is known as a “vote-a-rama,” a long series of back-to-back votes in the Senate. Though atypical, it’s become a more common practice for major votes in the Senate.
Pressed on Russia, Tillerson Says He Hasn't Discussed Policy with Trump
Image via www.GlynLowe.com/flickr.com
On Jan. 11 the Senate confirmation hearing for former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, for the office of Secretary of State, began, reports NPR. In his hearing Tillerson admitted to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he has yet to discuss with President-Elect Trump U.S. foreign policy as it regards to Russia.
He also made a statement that seemed in partial opposition to the use of sanctions against Russia and other countries, stating that they “are going to harm American businesses.” However, he relented to the idea that sanctions have the ability to be a “powerful and important tool.”
Here's What Happened at Trump's First News Conference in 167 Days
Image via Joseph Sohm/ Shutterstock.com
He referred to himself as “the greatest job producer that God ever created.”
President Obama's Farewell Address: Full Transcript and Video
I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written:
Yes We Can.
Yes We Did.
Yes We Can.
Dylann Roof Sentenced to Death in Charleston Shooting Trial
Image via Charleston County Sheriff's Office
On Jan. 10 a federal jury sentenced Dylann Roof to death for the fatal shooting of nine African American parishioners, reports CNN. The shooting took place in the basement of the parishioners' church — the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. — in June 2015.
Roof’s sentencing comes after family and friends of the nine churchgoers publicly expressed their forgiveness of his actions, and others called for Roof to not receive the death penalty.
Christian Theologians Give Sen. Jeff Sessions Their Own Confirmation ‘Hearing’
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R, Ala., during confirmation hearing for U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts in 2005. Rob Crandall / Shutterstock.com
Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions' Senate confirmation hearing for attorney general begins this week. On Monday, Jan. 9, faith leaders marched to the Capitol to pray and protest his confirmation in light of the senator's stances on the Voting Rights Act, immigration, and other issues. Faith leaders delivered a petition written by Christian theologians opposing Sessions' nomination, which had received more than 4,000 signatures by the afternoon of Jan. 9. Here, some of those theologians offer alternate testimony for consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee as they interrogate Sessions' record.
U.S. Senators Threaten to Decrease Security of U.S. Embassies Worldwide
Image via meunierd/Shutterstock.com
It wasn’t long ago that Rubio and Cruz criticized the Obama administration for the deaths of four Americans, including Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, in a terrorist attack on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
“Congress and the Executive Branch need to work together to do everything possible to make sure something like this does not happen again,” said Rubio in June 2016.
Meryl Streep at the Golden Globes: 'When the Powerful Use Their Position to Bully Others, We All Lose'
Meryl Streep accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at the 2017 Golden Globes, using the platform as an opportunity to call for respect amid our current political climate and lift up the importance of a strong press, specifically promoting the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Weekly Wrap 1.6.17: The 10 Best Stories You Missed This Week
7. How Has the ACA Affected Your Life? Tell Us Your Story.
We may feature on Sojourners’ online publication.
8. WATCH: Trailer for ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ Brings James Baldwin’s Words to Life
“I Am Not Your Negro uses Baldwin's unfinished manuscript for Remember This House as the basis for exploring the history of Black racial justice movements from the Civil Rights Movement to the present.”
9. Cher Will Produce, Star in Movie About the Flint Water Crisis
“Cher will play the key role of a Flint resident whose family is seriously impacted by the water crisis.” Flint, Mich., is a predominantly black city.