Blog Posts
Images of Love, Hope, and Unity Surround Kenosha
'Love is the answer' painted on plywood walls in Kenosha, Wisconsin, photographed by Veronica King.
Ugly tan plywood appeared on windows around the city of Kenosha in the aftermath of the shooting of Jacob Blake on August 23, as the city braced for protests and potential damage to property. In response, a group called Kenosha Creative Space came up with the idea of encouraging residents of the city to paint the plywood with the themes of Love, Hope, and Unity, and soon, what was an idea became a reflection of a city grappling with violence responding in a way that did not diminish the pain, but insisted on a better future.
Veronica King was one Kenosha resident who loved the result. As King drove around the city, she noticed how many of the images contained scripture passages and she began to photograph them and share them on Facebook as part of her work with Congregations to Serve Humanity (CUSH), an Interfaith organization in Kenosha where she is Vice President. “This is one way to help begin the healing of our community,” says King, describing the messages and images of hope.
Another part of healing came through an Interfaith prayers service held at Second Baptist Church of Kenosha on Sunday afternoon outside of one of the churches that is a member of CUSH. On a sunny, warm afternoon, religious leaders from Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Episcopal Baptist, and other traditions gathered outdoors at a safe social distance to offer prayers of hope and show interfaith solidarity in this difficult time in their community.
CUSH is focused on love and healing but also on acknowledging the persistence of racism that afflicts the city. In a statement on their website they also insist that prayers are not enough and the time is now to act:
We know that hopes and prayers are not enough to stop a speeding bullet or to counteract centuries’ worth of systemic racism and the calculated oppression of our siblings of color so ubiquitous in this nation’s history that many of the privileged among us still do not recognize it even exists. We know that in addition to the hope of our hearts and the prayers of our souls we must act.
“We can live peacefully and safely if we work together, to work through our differences, get rid of systemic racism and have a strategic plan to move forward,” King further explained, emphasizing that CUSH is working with the Mayor’s office along with the Chief of Police and other community leaders to help bring the faith voice, and increased diversity to the committees that are being formed to address racism and to heal the city.
Veronica King brings her own history as a community leader to the effort as the former local NAACP chapter president, as well as her history as a social worker, a profession she decided upon when she was 10 years old and had a dedicated social worker who would check on her monthly at her foster home. King’s work with faith communities started with her own foster parents who were active in their church who offered her “Footing and my grounding."
Even as people come from the outside, eager to disrupt with a rhetoric of division and acts of violence, Veronica King and so many other residents in the Interfaith and artistic communities are working hard to fight against racial injustice and heal Kenosha with hope, love, and unity.
This post originally appeared on IFYC.org, September 1, 2020, and is used with permission.
Religious leaders of diverse faiths offer prayers and reflections at the CUSH Interfaith prayer service held at the Second Baptist Church of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Messages of peace painted on walls around Kenosha, Wisconsin
Messages of hope painted on walls around Kenosha, Wisconsin
#KenoshaStrong painted on a banner hangs over the ruins of a building, and another painted wall portrays a message from scriptures.
An MLK quote and messages of peace and love are painted on walls around Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Scriptures quoted on walls around Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Scripture quotes and message of strength and resilience painted around Kenosha, Wisconsin
Paintings of Love, Unity, Justice, painted on brick walls around Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Paintings of love and hope around Kenosha, Wisconsin
Black Lives Matter and messages of unity painted on plywood walls around Kenosha, Wisconsin
Paintings of love and peace around Kenosha, Wisconsin
Paintings of love and equality on plywood walls around Kenosha, Wisconsin
Messages of the power of love painted on plywood walls across Kenosha, Wisconsin
Paul Raushenbush
Paul Raushenbush is Senior Advisor for Public Affairs and Innovation at IFYC (Interfaith Youth Core) promoting a narrative of positive pluralism in America, while researching and developing cutting edge interfaith leadership. He is the Editor of Interfaith America.
Facebook | @raushenbush
Twitter | @raushenbush
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.
Policing and the Church: an Interview with an Officer
In part two of Church Anew’s series on policing and the church, we interview a police officer serving a community near Minneapolis on the intersections of his job, faith, and current events. Read part one of our series here.
Why did you become a police officer?
Growing up in the late ‘60s and ‘70s in a mid-size community, I was a part of a family that had a strong sense of service. My father was a college professor and a veteran of the Korean War. My grandfathers both served in WWI. They all were committed to making their country better and helping others through involvement in the community. This had a tremendous impact on my life and choices. Also when I was a young person, I loved watching TV shows on policing, such as Adam 12 and Columbo. I liked the activity and action of policing, helping others and holding people accountable. Even as a child, I had a strong sense of right and wrong.
How does your faith influence your work as a police officer?
My grandfather was a minister as was his father and his father before him. I grew up in the church and have been an active member my entire life. In policing, I try to apply what I have learned from my faith over the years, for example how I interact with people, the decisions I have to make, how I carry myself, how I want others to see me and how hard I work. My faith is an important part of my life.
Christians often talk about vocations as callings from God. Do you see your work as a calling from God? How so?
Yes, as I think about it, I do see my work as a calling. I have been blessed with a strong family that had a moral compass and was involved in community service. Many of the gifts God has given me that led to policing came through what I learned in my family: my heart for and desire to help others, my courage, the healthy body I have which is important in law enforcement. Everything that is a part of “my wheelhouse,” all these things that work together and fit for me in serving as a police officer are gifts from God. Over the years, I have fine-tuned these gifts and built upon them. I appreciate what I have been given and want to use these gifts for better. I do not want to squander them.
One of the things police sometimes say is they see people on their worst or hardest days. How do you live out your calling in serving the community and helping others during these difficult moments?
I came into law enforcement at age 22. Looking back, I think I had some strengths and a desire to help others and do the best I could. But honestly at 22, I didn’t have a lot of life experience. I have learned a lot over time with the experiences I’ve had in policing. This has caused me to do some honest introspection about what I am good at and not good at. I’ve become better at listening, understanding, being patient, bringing wisdom to difficult situations, and showing self-control.
Many police departments across the country have condemned the killing of Mr. George Floyd, both in public statements and personal conversations. How has the death of George Floyd impacted your daily work and life as a police officer since May?
Initially, our immediate focus as police officers was supporting our community in a time of unrest. We adjusted our schedules and put more officers on the street to be proactive in serving and protecting those who depend upon us. After the first few days when things calmed down, there were more peaceful protests and gatherings addressing what happened to George Floyd.
The initial turn of events made it hard for officers, both seeing the death of George Floyd and the grief of his family but also what happened to long-time businesses being burned down in Minneapolis, for instance, and the struggles these businesses’ owners were facing.
Since May, there has been a lot of discussions between officers and the citizens of our city. We have engaged in conversations about what happened to George Floyd. There has been pushback from some in our community about police brutality. There also has been support from our citizens. Some brought in food for us and said, “We are with you.”
As a police department, we’ve spent time discussing the future. The death of George Floyd has been very significant. We ask ourselves, “What does this mean for us?” There already have been some changes in laws regarding police training and our licensing. We are licensed based on many factors, one being how many hours of training we receive. The number of training hours have increased, such as in crisis intervention and autism training. The use of a chokehold has been limited, but our department did not use this tactic before. We have never done that.
After what happened in Minneapolis this spring, some people look at all of us differently and skeptically. While we are human and make mistakes, it is not possible for us to be accountable for the actions of every police officer, just like in any other profession.
There is an ongoing concern in the general public about what some view as a pattern of unfair treatment by police, often based on race. The latest example is a police shooting of a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, this week. You have been trained in crisis intervention, de-escalation, use of force, and implicit bias. Would you share a bit about the training you've received around implicit bias and race relations?
Our department requires implicit bias training and many hours have been devoted to it. Our most recent training was led by a facilitator who encouraged us to talk about the issues of bias and race relations in particular in small groups with one another. He gave us the space to bring forward issues of implicit bias in a way we could discuss openly. Those who walked away from that training left with a lot of food for thought and introspection on our own lives and how we bring equity and fairness to our daily work and interactions. Our city also offers training on implicit bias and provides great resources to us. The community we serve represents a rich variety of cultural backgrounds and many different races. Our police department is also very diverse so we learn a lot from each other.
As a police officer and person of faith, how do you live out your commitment to equity, fairness, justice, and inclusion for all people?
I consciously practice what I have learned, been taught, and developed over the years as a police officer committed to equity, fairness, justice, and inclusion. It starts with the oath I took, what I’ve been taught through my faith walk, talking with others, reading a fair amount, listening to others’ views, and always trying to grow. There is a lot to learn. For example, 15 years ago there was a week-long crisis intervention training with an emphasis on working with individuals who are experiencing mental health challenges. I wish that training existed early on across our society, because it was an eye-opener for me. It made me understand the spectrum of mental health and that those who are experiencing difficulties are God’s children and need to be treated with the utmost respect. They are humans who should never be labeled in some way. This training was transformative for me and changed the way I dealt with all people.
What would you like your pastor and community of faith to know about your vocation and how we might work together, perhaps in a new and different way?
Officers in general are truly wanting to help and do what is best for the individual but also the city and society. Many police officers are very talented and caring people in a difficult job with our society asking more and more of us every day. We need prayers especially in these times. I believe prayers make a difference. If someone you are talking with has questions about police brutality, reach out to your local police department to discuss these concerns. As a pastor, when someone in your congregation is struggling with questions about police activity, connect them with a cop to sit down and discuss together. Many people do not know a police officer personally or do not have access to police. Faith communities are a great place to bring together police and citizens to talk over questions and concerns with one another.
Church Anew is dedicated to igniting faithful imagination and sustaining inspired innovation by offering transformative learning opportunities for church leaders and faithful people.
As an ecumenical and inclusive ministry of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, the content of each Church Anew blog represents the voice of the individual writer and does not necessarily reflect the position of Church Anew or St. Andrew Lutheran Church on any specific topic.