"My Trip on the Freedom Express" with the Rev. Carol

My trip on the Freedom Express
by The Rev. Carol Duncan

Who was on the bus: Rabbi Malkah Binah Klein, Michael Caine, Mordechai Liebling, Sara Melton, Sia Barbara Kamara, Lilah Saber, McKinley Sims, Elder Melanie DeBouse, Caleb DeBouse (videographer), Dwayne Royster, Rev. Greg Edwards, Margaret Ernst. We had two guards with us and a fantastic bus driver.

Monday, October 24th
The first stop in Allentown was at the Resurrected Life Children’s’ Academy. We heard passionate speakers about the importance of early childhood care. A person’s traits and outlook and health are hugely influenced by their first three years. Vote to care for the children!

Afterwards we had a brief training on influences on PA politics, beginning with Jeffrey Yass. His interest is solely in making and protecting his own money. He pours money into politics and sponsors his own lobbying firm. He operates a PAC called Opt Out, against unions. His firm has a legal arm to reduce the firm’s and owner’s taxes. He promotes tax breaks for religious schools of which 20% of the donations flow back to his firm. He is clear the country needs a permanent underclass to serve the upper class. Our trainer told us we have to be as clear about our self interest as Jeffrey Yass is about his.

That afternoon we held a Party at the Ballot Box at the Lehigh County Government Center. We registered some 22 people and persuaded some to vote. Allentown’s voters are discouraged partly because wealthy developers captured state funds to renovate the downtown. Much of the money flowed back to the already wealthy.

That evening we worshipped and had dinner at the Muslim Association of the Lehigh Valley. The speaker, Michael Caine, spoke about voting on behalf of children and education. Many children were in attendance.

Tuesday, October 25th
Resurrected Life Community Church. Its pastor, Rev. Dr. Greg Edwards, expounded on the changing demographics of Allentown and Lehigh Valley. Allentown is the third largest city in the state, Population 127,500. It has changed in the last 30 years from predominantly white to predominantly black and brown. Many from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, 54% Hispanic, 11% black, 29% white. Voting turnout is very low. Mayor won election with 8,000 votes. He told us how the politics works. The Attorney General plays a huge role. If POWER could turn out increased voting, the politics could change.

In the afternoon we visited the Boys and Girls Club of Bethlehem. We heard educators speak about the needs of the schools and the children. We learned that when the Boys and Girls Club hired a Black ED, it became a place of love. We gave POWER’s values about education. I recorded an interview for media but I haven’t seen it yet.

Wednesday, October 26th
We drove to Scranton, arriving in time for lunch. We visited Marywood University. The day was co-sponsored by the Roman Catholic nuns NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, known as ‘the nuns on the bus’. Their bus tours are on behalf of the poor and homeless. Pope Francis likes them. In fact we were a stop on their Pope Francis Voter Tour. At the school Joseph Fleming from Faith in Action led a training on Relational Organizing. Students from the Social Work Department participated. We agreed that we speak with a common voice to oppose the principalities and powers that work against justice. A key building block is justice vs charity. Charity is meeting a need that is a symptom of injustice. Justice is system change to overcome gaps in resources. Both are needed. We work from our own stories and formative experiences to discover our self interest and seek shared self interest.

That evening we attended a Town Hall for Spirit Filled Voters co-sponsored by POWER and NETWORK. It was held at St. John’s Byzantine Catholic Church. We helped NETWORK stage a presentation they have done previously on their tour. It was about equipping people (Catholics) to be multi-issue voters instead of just being abortion opponents. The presentation was about voter suppression, Racism, poverty, environmental destruction, discrimination and xenophobia as equally sacred voting issues to be aware of. We broke into small groups to practice talking about these issues. Toward the end the priest from St. John’s tried to turn everyone back toward antiabortion voting. Since it was his church and we were at the end of the presentation anyway, we just left after trying to talk reasonably for a few minutes.

Thursday, October 27th
We drove for five hours to Washington County. We arrived at the Center for Coalfield Justice in Washington PA near the WV border. Their mission is to improve policy and regulations for the oversight of fossil fuel extraction and use; to educate, empower and organize coalfield residents; and to protect public and environmental health.

They believe that people who live with the daily impacts of fossil fuel extraction should be treated with the utmost respect. They provide community members with detailed information about proposed projects and potential impacts so they can make informed decisions about individual or collective actions. They connect people in similar struggles together to build power and to invest in the leadership of people living in Washington and Greene Counties.

They blend organizing with legal work to create an expanded set of options for achieving justice. By investing in people’s skills and leadership, their communities learn to advocate effectively for a healthy environment and thriving economy.

Their work comes right out of Eliza Griswold’s book Amity and Prosperity. Their work is to research corporations, particularly energy ones, to see how they influence power. They reminded us PA has unlimited election spending. Energy companies based in PA for example EQT, CNX, Chevron give hugely to every member of both the PA House and Senate Energy Committees and the Washington County Board of Commissioners, as well as every Representative and Senator in the region. Even when contests are uncontested. Just to keep them funded and in power. They make sure each member of the Energy Committees has at least one lobbyist on staff. These companies strategize and contribute to every new effort and law to bypass local governments.

I got to deliver POWER’s presentation. People said I did a good job!

Friday, October 28th
We drove to Pittsburgh and arrived in time for lunch at Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN). PIIN is a network of congregations and organizations like POWER in Southwestern Pennsylvania. They are committed to drawing together people of faith to act powerfully on local and regional issues of justice and fairness. Through the processes of community-building, working with politicians and policy makers, direct action, and negotiation, they transform their communities. Like POWER, PIIN believes our shared faith values call us to act together as agents of change in order to create a more just world. With POWER they celebrate working as a diverse coalition of many backgrounds and faith traditions.

The other sponsoring group was 1Hood Media. The mission of1hood Media is to build liberated communities through art, education, and social justice. 1hood Media aims to be the vehicle that will identify, develop, and inspire the artists & activists of today and tomorrow.

Together with POWER, the three groups presented a panel of remarkable speakers on the dangers of White Christian Nationalism (WCN). This will soon be available on POWER’s YouTube channel. It was riveting. I will pull out a few highlights from my notes, but I hope we can all see it soon.

Bp. Royster named WCN as heresy and idolatry. Others agreed saying WCN is not Christian but power grabbing using the props of religion for legitimacy. It started in the 1600s with the Doctrine of Discovery, picturing God as a white male having hegemony over the earth. Different skin colors and sexes are only living to serve the white male. WCN gives this minority of European whites control over all. As people of faith and courage we must resist. WCN is like the KKK, fearful that people of color are multiplying and will diminish the power of white people. Antisemitism is increasing. In Charlottesville men chanted Jews will not replace us. They tell a story about Jews controlling America with people of color as their puppets. One of the Freedom Riders is a woman pastor who decided to lead a rural church. She says it is not for us just to denounce. We must help people feel loved and to experience God’s love. We must embody liberating theology, not just be kind but speak truth to power like Jesus did so others can see the falseness of the god they proclaim.

We must use the pulpit to encourage people to vote. Democracy is at stake. Love your neighbor by voting so people can find wholeness and hope. We must call for white people to be less dependent on people of color being silent about their pain. We must decolonize our faith.

That was the end of the second week of the Freedom Express.