ECS-NJ Say the Word: Reparations--Juneteenth 2021

By Canon Barbie O. Bach, Diocese of NJ

“Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt: you shall raise up the foundations of many generations: you shall be called the repairer of the breach” – Isaiah 58:12.

Approximately 30 members of the Diocese of New Jersey supported the Reparations movement on Juneteenth at a march and rally at Newark City Hall, urging the state senate and legislative assembly to vote on proposed bills to establish a task force to study reparations necessary for the lasting effects of slavery.  Two priests of the Diocese of New Jersey held a banner at the rally, and Bishop Chip Stokes spoke among the opening leaders: “After more than 400 years of brutal history and oppression it is time for us as a state and a nation to face the enduring deep and living scars of slavery and take meaningful steps toward reparative justice.”  In the fall, the diocese’s busy Reparations Task Force will host a second informative webinar and a service at Trinity Cathedral for the entire diocese to confess woeful sins of injustice and reveal hidden hurtful truths of the past.