FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Lauren Zehyoue
Email: lauren@kairoscenter.org
Phone: 214-356-0313
New York, NY— Today, the Kairos Center, co-anchor organization of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, is honoring Indigenous People’s Day and will continue to stand in solidarity with indigenous people domestically and abroad.
As Kairos Center Director Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis explains, “Today, we are reminded of the horrific genocide that took place at the inception of this nation and has continued as indigenous people have been relegated to reservations that are under resourced, face significant voter suppression, and even more systemic disenfranchisement. Here in New York, the Shinneocock nation is facing challenges from outsiders on their own land as a sovereign nation. In Arizona, the Apache people are fighting in court now to maintain their sovereignty as corporations want to exploit their sacred land for resources. We will continue to fight to ensure these lands remain sovereign and that our indigenous citizens are offered the same level of citizenship and equality as others.”
Today, October 11 at 6:00pm ET, Kairos will co-host Landback and the Third Reconstruction alongside the Shinneocock nation, the New York Labor and Religion Coalition, and New York Poor People’s Campaign and Repairers of the Breach, featuring the testimonies of impacted indigenous people speaking directly to the intersecting evils of poverty, systemic racism, environmental devastation, militarism/colonialism, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis and Rev. Dr. William Barber II are both speaking at the event.
This weekend, Kairos staff also joined the Apache Stronghold Spiritual Convoy to the 9th Circuit Court, a two week journey from Arizona to the Bay Area in California, in order to fight against corporations attempting to exploit their holy land. This journey will continue until October 22, 2022 when they arrive in the Bay Area for a ‘Hearing on a Spiritual Convoy’. On Wednesday, October 20, Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis will join the convoy for a day of prayer and action in San Francisco.
In Kairos’ newest book, We Cry Justice: Reading the Bible with the Poor People’s Campaign, Religions Coordinator Adam Barnes outlines the sacred struggles of the Apache people and all indigenous people to have their holy ground and rights recognized. He writes, “In these times, we must confront these systems that covet land and seek God-like power over life and death. And to do this we will need to continue to look for leadership in those places where the rejected live and fight. If we are to win, we must listen to, learn from, and unite our struggle with Wendsler [Nosie, former chair of the San Carlos Apache and leader of the Apache Stronghold], the Apache, and the many other prophetic leaders and communities across the country and world fighting to defend that which is sacred.”
Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 12, Kairos will host a hybrid in-person and online book launch for We Cry Justice: Reading the Bible with the Poor People’s Campaign at 7 pm ET at the People’s Forum in New York City and live on Kairos’ Facebook and website. We Cry Justice is a devotional with more than thirty contributors spanning across race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and other identities committed to reading sacred texts through the lens of liberation for the poor and dispossessed. The event is open to the public in-person and online.
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The Kairos Center, housed at Union Theological Seminary (UTS), is a national organization committed to building a movement to end poverty, led by the poor. Drawing on the power of religions and human rights, we are a center for movement strategy, coordination, and education among the poor across all lines of division. Among other projects, we co-anchor the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival (PPC).