At the Wild Goose Festival in Charlotte, NC two weeks ago, I presented a workshop called “Who Killed Demouria Hogg: On race, faith and not seeking the ‘perfect victim.'” I talked about the respectability politics of the church that stops the church from publicly mourning losses that are complicated.
I only know Demouria Hogg through what family shared during the press conference and through news coverage. Colleagues involved in the protests of his death noted that in articles about his death, the fact that he was a good father to his three children came as an afterthought, almost as if it were surprising, since they led with his having violated parole and being found in possession of a firearm, an additional violation of his parole. What strikes me is how during the press conference when Demouria jr’s mother was speaking about him being a good father, Demouria, Jr jumped in and said, “He loved to play basketball.”
During the discussion part of the workshop, a man said, “I go to a progressive UCC church. We know how to talk about this. Our consciousness is raised. What do we DO as a church?” And a litany poured out of me.
I shared some of that litany at the Disciples of Christ General Assembly on Sunday afternoon during a workshop on my book and the issue of intersectionality, and someone said, “I want to use that litany in church. Can you share it with us?” And I said that it poured out of me due to the spirit, not from a script. He kept looking at me until I said, “but clearly I’ll be writing a blog post recreating it.” So here it is. Please add other suggestions to this litany. I have not addressed them all, but all of them are things almost any church can do.
Demouria Hogg, African American father of 3, age 30, was killed by Oakland police on Saturday morning, June 6, because he could not be woken up while asleep in his car. The church sometimes feels overwhelmed by how to end police brutality. But the church has a role, and the church has a responsibility, and the church has the opportunity to participate in resurrection.
When the church helps its school board provide support for young Black and Brown children instead of expelling them at rates much higher than White children for the same behaviors, when the church disrupts the school-to-prison pipeline,
the church resurrects Demouria Hogg.
When the church works with its police department to address implicit bias on the police force,
the church resurrects Demouria Hogg.
When the church supports mental health services and homeless services instead of outsourcing those issues to the police,
the church resurrects Demouria Hogg.
When the church works with new White community members to build relationships with longtime community members of color rather than calling the police out of fear of their neighbors,
the church resurrects Demouria Hogg.
When the church creates job opportunities and housing for returned citizens / previously incarcerated people whose opportunities are almost nonexistent,
the church resurrects Demouria Hogg.
When the church brings restorative and transformative justice practices into the community so there are alternatives to the culture of retribution that is bound up invisibly but inextricably in racism,
the church resurrects Demouria Hogg.
When the church unapologetically claims that all lives will matter WHEN Black lives matter,
the church resurrects Demouria Hogg.
When the church, in all of these ways, plays a role in honoring the dignity of Black lives before they are faced with Black deaths,
the church resurrects Demouria Hogg, and in so doing, resurrects the body of Christ.
Amen.
Sandhya Rani Jha 