A Mama’s Day Message to Clergy

Babies & Bailouts… and beyond…

“I believe in the power of our callings. I believe in saving the soul of our nation and that we cannot show up authentically for that struggle if we ignore the one right here, right in this community of faith.”
— Rev. Sofia Bentacourt’s “The Missing Remant”

Comrades in the project of liberation -

May we invite you to rest and reset with us for a moment. We know your email inboxes are full, text messages have been left unread, notifications continue to “ding,” on your phone, and you’ve probably had to upgrade your Zoom account. We see you. And we invite you to be here, now.

Breathe in.
Breathe out.

Breathe in peace.
Breathe out anxiety.

Breathe in love.
Breathe out fear.

Breathe in freedom.
Breathe out oppression.

Breathe in liberation.
Breathe out cages.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Friends connecting by the Great Breath, welcome to this project of liberation. Continue to breathe in liberation and breathe out all that is not life giving, life-affirming, and life-nourishing.

Comrades, we have been called. The Great Breath of Life has called us, has compelled us in the answer of our call, to be active in the liberation of our Black Mamas and Caregivers. We have been called to help break the chains and shackles of oppression. We have been called to be active in the processes of decarceration and abolition. We must be active in the dismantling of money-bail. We have been called to this moment, right now. adrienne maree brown says “not only are we the ones we have been waiting for, but this is the exact moment we have been shaped for.” Ase.

BLUU has been engaged in a Week of Action for #BabiesAndBailouts 2020. We want to invite you, our clergy colleagues, to get involved in justice-making. We are inviting you, and your communities, to “drop a flag” for liberation and abolition. We are inviting you to the project of liberation.

Below, please find some suggestions for year-round and targeted #BabiesAndBailouts 2020 actions. You are invited to meet our clergy challenge of $100 per clergy member. Please give here (bit.ly/faithinnbo).

Comrades, thank you. Thank you for your support. Thank you for being active. Thank you for taking time to share space with us. Remember: breathe in, breathe out.

Yours in this Project,

Team Sankofa

P.S. — As people who are called to justice-making and proclaiming the prophetic word of liberation, we have a responsibility to be active in freeing Black Mamas and caregivers from cages.

Whether you’re clergy or not, here are some things you can do right now!

• Let BLUU take over your social media!
• Invite guests to share content on your profile (curated list from Team Sankofa, etc.)
• Host a Watch Party of the Babies and Bailouts 2020 panel
• Share information to your Facebook groups
• Preach about Babies and Bailouts
• Dedicate your full sermon to Babies and Bailouts or mention Babies and Bailouts
• Share the plate for Babies and Bailouts
• Invite your congregation to adopt a bailout
• Use your discretionary and/or personal funds to match your congregational donations for the bailout
• Play one of the #BabiesAndBailouts videos during your Sunday service.
• Highlight the story of a Black family that you will be working with this year.
• Create liturgy around #BabiesAndBailouts, abolition, and participating in the project of liberation
• Host a Watch Party of a video addressing decarceration, abolition, transformative justice, etc.
• Host a “Liberation Hour” on your favorite social platform answering questions about abolition, providing some context, and using our talking points and stats
• Let us know how you’re participating and participate in our “Black Flags for Abolition” campaign. We’ll drop a flag on your congregation’s location to show all the folks participating in this year’s #BabiesAndBailouts.
• Contact 5 folx for a 15-minute conversation on how this work can look in your congregation
• Ask your mentor and mentees to get involved and adopt a Bailout
• Ask your ministry colleagues to post on their walls and adopt a Bailout
• Tag 5 of your friends in a preaching contest for #BabiesAndBailouts