Interfaith leaders in the city’s Uptown neighborhood gathered in the parking lot of the Buddhist Temple of Chicago, 1151 W. Leland Ave., for a rally against racism and violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) on May 2. About 75 people joined the faith leaders for the rally, which was organized by the Uptown Clergy Group, an informal gathering of leaders from several religious traditions in the neighborhood. At the start of the event, Rev. Patti Nakai of the Buddhist Temple of Chicago, a third-generation Japanese American, remembered those killed in recent mass shootings, particularly members of the AAPI community. Sixteen of America’s largest cities saw attacks on Asians rise by an unprecedented 164% during the first quarter of 2021, according to police data compiled by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. “They were not killed by just a lone gunman out of the blue,” Nakai said. “They were made targets by something larger and that is our society, our culture, especially the media and entertainment industry, and by the twisted narration of American history.” She encouraged the participants to change the forces that make Asian Americans a target and seem like “others.” “We do belong here. We’re not others. We’re not foreigners. We’re here as fellow Americans,” Nakai said. During the rally, each leader rang the bell outside the temple, bells being significant in the Buddhist tradition. Among those attending the rally were members of St. Mary of the Lake Church, 4220 N. Sheridan Road, including Loyda Vida, who is Filipino, “I am really concerned with what is going on because we are kind of timid and still we experience the harsh judgment that they are inflicting on us,” Vida said. “It is very nice to be here and be together because we are all one. We are all connected with each other.” Parishioner Margaret Furlong attended the rally to show her support for Asian Americans. “We’re trying to do something about racism,” Furlong said. “It’s the right thing to do. It’s what Jesus would do.” Vida added that it is also the just thing to do. “We have a moral responsibility to act the way the Lord wants us to. That’s basic catechesis that we teach the children in grade school,” she said. “It’s a moral choice.” Father Manuel Dorantes, pastor of St. Mary of the Lake Parish, joined his fellow religious leaders at the rally. “Many people are being hurt in our community,” he said following the rally. “And when anyone hurts — when a single person hurts in the community — the entire community is hurt.” He pointed to several incidents in the Uptown community recently where Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders were assaulted because of the color of their skin or heritage. “That is unacceptable. As Catholics we believe that every single human life has dignity regardless of who they are or where they come from,” Dorantes said. “I am here simply as a minister of the church to unite myself with the rest of the faith leaders of the community to tell people that everyone has dignity.” The group of faith leaders hopes to hold more events in the future to raise awareness of racism, Nakai said. “To change the minds, that’s where it starts. This kind of gathering, just being together is a start,” Nakai said. “I feel seen.” Cardinal Cupich has also spoken out against racism against Asian Americans. Following the killing of eight Asian women in an Atlanta spa on March 16, he said in a statement, “We pray for all who suffer racist violence and hate speech. There can be no place for either in our society, and it is incumbent on all of us to resist language, culture and acts that denigrate Asian Americans and all people of color — because they have deadly consequences. We must be ever vigilant against words that inspire acts of hate — this responsibility is even greater for elected officials. “When people make racist comments or jokes, it normalizes bigotry, reinforces racism and risks encouraging those who would commit hate crimes,” he said. “It is incumbent on all Christians, all Americans, to resist subtle and overt acts of bigotry, to build up the common good through acts of love for all our neighbors, near and far.”
Church leaders urged to be trailblazers in addressing systemic racism When deadly, racially motivated violence erupted in a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, a Pittsburgh synagogue, a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and most recently in Buffalo, New York, Catholic Church leaders have responded.
Statement of Cardinal Cupich on the racist mass shooting in Buffalo, New York On Saturday, May 14, a gunman used an AR-15, high-capacity assault weapon to murder 10 Black Americans at a Buffalo grocery store, wounding two bystanders. Many of his victims were near or beyond retirement age, including Pearl Young, 77, a grandmother of eight who taught Sunday school, and Katherine Massey, 72, a civil-rights advocate who had written in favor of stronger gun-safety laws.
Deacon shares memories of schoolmate Emmett Till, an 'unwilling martyr' "He wasn't special. He was just a little boy." Deacon Arthur Miller, of the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, shared this memory of Emmett Till, his boyhood neighbor and schoolmate, in a recent talk hosted by the Diocese of Springfield at the Bishop Marshall Center.