“If we wish to serve God and love our neighbor well, we must manifest our joy in the service we render to Him and them” St. Katherine Drexel
On Monday, the nation celebrated Indigenous People’s Day to honor the original caretakers of this land, and acknowledge our continued occupancy in their home. This is also a celebratory day as I am reminded that even with all the historical tragedy, many Native American communities are still here, just as I, a descendent of enslaved Americans, am still here and so are you. It is learning from our history of resiliency that we must focus on to guide our pursuit of human liberation.
Since graduating from Xavier in 1994, I have pursued a vocation in the field of homelessness services and policy, rising from frontline staff to senior advisor to elected officials in major cities including Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Los Angeles, California, my hometown. Through this tenure, I have developed front-hand knowledge of the intersection of homelessness and systemic racism in the creation of the phenomenon of Black and Native American people experiencing homelessness.
Homelessness experienced by Black and Native American people today is a compounded effect of centuries of serial displacement, racial discrimination, and applications of social control including the use of law enforcement and criminalization of Blackness. Today in Los Angeles, for instance, 34% of the nearly 70,000 people experiencing homelessness are African American, yet Black people only make up 8% of our region’s total population. While American Indians represent only 1% of Los Angeles’ total homeless population, 91% experience homelessness unsheltered, living on the streets and in other places not meant for human habitation.
Yet, despite these grime statistics, I maintain hope. For one, we are finally talking about racism as a contributing factor of homelessness instead of just blaming individuals and judging personal choices.
Second, my experience at Xavier taught me that you never give up. You always strive for excellence in whatever you do. Our Founder, Saint Katherine Drexel is a great example. In her founding of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, Mother Drexel embodied an unapologetic commitment to the upliftment and liberation of Black and Native American people. Perhaps it was a call by God who one night whispered this mission into her ear, for she stubbornly developed the conviction to illuminate her own path through the dark violence of Jim Crow in pursuit of justice. She used her racial privilege and platform to mitigate racial harm through the provision of safe spaces where Black and Native American children could not only learn and thrive, but where they had a place to belong, and where their lives mattered. Her efforts created opportunity for each of us, generations later.
The disruption of the global Coronavirus pandemic has brought our nation to the cusp of significant, transformational change. COVID-19 has not only surfaced systemic causes of underlying health conditions – including homelessness – that continue to place Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities at risk of severe infection and death, it has also unearthed deep racial divides that had been glossed over in the safeguard of a post-racial, colorblind nation. No more. The awakening of our racial consciousness has created an opportunity for social change and healing justice. It has created an opportunity to leave a legacy behind. Are we ready to take the baton of our ancestors and lead forward?
So Xavierites, why were you born when you were to be here now, as a witness to this moment? What purpose has God whispered into your ear, and are you pursuing it with the unwavering conviction of Mother Drexel? How will you apply your skills, gifts, and talents in crafting the rebirth of our nation to create a fairer, just, and sustainable world as our legacy for the generations to come?
Repost from “On the Human Spirit” – a newsletter of The Center for Equity, Justice & the Human Spirit at Xavier University of Louisiana – https://mailchi.mp/8150ea10d7b4/welcome-to-on-the-human-spirit-5849545?fbclid=IwAR2UfJNJuqGw46p8uhj2DXhS2lWV2wEvI4EFJoecLlHG7Ykeu0jq4l5Cj-M
Alisa's thoughts on Beloved Communities 