We, the members of Reclaiming’s Racial and Gender Justice Circle, stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement to end police brutality, murder, and targeting of people of color.  We are people of different races, genders, ethnic backgrounds, and diversity, who are drawn to the ancient, pre-Christian, earth-based spirituality with roots in Europe and the Middle East, and we identify with the Witches who were murdered with impunity throughout centuries of oppression.  When any group can be victimized, none of us are safe.  We acknowledge the Goddess--the sacred being of every person--and the value of every person’s life.  

We also acknowledge that people of color, and in particular black people, are being especially targeted today, and still bear the brunt of a long history of dehumanization and exploitation, from the genocide against native peoples to the long years of slavery, from the exploitation of migrant workers to the era of lynching and segregation.   These same communities have also furnished us all with a roster of heras and heros who inspire us all, and have led proud struggles for liberation just as they rightly step into the forefront of this struggle today.  We are proud to lend our support to all who are calling for accountability, safety for communities of color, and justice.

Because we are a decentralized tradition, we have no mechanism for Reclaiming as a whole to issue statements such as this one.  However, we believe that this expression of solidarity has wide support in our community, and we invite individuals and groups to sign on in the comments section below.

(And feel free to share this post widely!)

*Note: the date of this blog entry was changed from Jan 19 to Jan 20 to keep it at the top of the page.*

A diverse crowd gathered in Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood to honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr with calls for justice, equality - and a strong message of support for Black Lives Matter and campaigns to end police and state violence.

Many Reclaiming and kindred folks were involved in the march, continuing a burst of activism going back to the Occupy movement in 2011.

More photos and features at RQ: http://reclaimingquarterly.org/web/mlk15/