Human Dignity and "I AM A MAN."

Human Dignity and “I AM A MAN.”

“I AM A MAN.”  This was the simple statement on the signs sanitation workers and their supporters carried during their 1968 strike here in Memphis.  The assertion had to be made because Mayor Henry Loeb and the white political and economic leadership in the city regarded Memphis as their plantation.  Though slavery was over, Jim Crow segregation, economic exploitation, and violent intimidation (often by the still mostly white police force) was the norm. 

Two years before, in 1966, the 100^th anniversary of the Memphis Race Riot in which white rioters killed nearly 50 Blacks, raped Black women, and burned and looted Black owned homes, schools, and churches, passed without any official civic recognition.  2016 will be the 150^th anniversary of this atrocity, and even now there is no historical marker anywhere in the city indicating this race riot even took place.  (Likewise there are no historical markers for Nathan Bedford Forrest's slave market which was near the current City Hall, or Isaac Bolton's slave market,  which currently houses the Memphis Convention and Visitors Center).

            Manna House opened this morning with a prayer of thanksgiving for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was killed while he was in Memphis supporting the sanitation workers’ strike.  We also prayed in thanksgiving for other leaders in the freedom struggle.  And we prayed that we might continue to work for justice and peace in the spirit of Dr. King and all of those other leaders and people involved in the Movement.

            At our time of reflection, at the end of the morning, Reggie shared about being a Black man and standing out on the front yard with the mostly Black men who were gathered there.  “I listened,” Reggie said, “I heard them planning their day.  They were making sure to take care of each other.  I didn’t have to say much.  It’s important for the men to be treated like men.” 

            “I AM A MAN.”  The legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, and years of economic exploitation is visible each morning as most of the men who come to Manna House for hospitality are African American.  The legacy is also visible in the police harassment of these men that is ongoing, and the ways in which criminal records, even from years ago, continue to prevent these men from getting work or access to government aid that could lift them from the streets.  The legacy is undeniable in the poverty most of these men have known for all or most of their lives.

            “I AM A MAN.” Basic to Christian faith is that each human being is made in the image of God.  This fundamental human dignity is to be affirmed and enshrined in our personal, political, and economic lives without regard for race, class, gender, or sexual orientation. It is a claim as simple as the “I AM A MAN” sign, and it has been denied over and over again in our society. 

Race was created in the U.S. to help justify the enslavement of African Americans, and it has continued to justify the white supremacy system evident in our political and economic systems.  We need to move toward a society that will come closer to embracing human dignity for all, and we cannot do that as long as our society is structured by white supremacy.  In the spirit of affirming human dignity and rejecting white supremacy, I am suggesting a small starting point (especially important for white folks) on this Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.  Read and prayerfully reflect on this article by Ta-Nehisi Coates,  “The Case for Reparations,” which appeared in the June 2014 edition of “The Atlantic”:

http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/05/the-case-for-reparations/361631/

The Invisible Helpers at Manna House

The Invisible Helpers at Manna House

A question I often hear from new volunteers is, “Why isn’t Manna House open on other days?” It is a good question. We’re open three mornings a week, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. People are on the streets and in need of a place of hospitality for showers, clothing, coffee, sanctuary, all seven days of the week.
My answer usually goes like this, “We’re all volunteers, so we all have other responsibilities that we have to do on other days. And, really, for each day that we are open, we need another day to set up, do maintenance, do laundry, keep the books, shop for things like underwear, and coffee, and creamer, and sugar. So that’s three additional days right there. And then we all need one day of Sabbath.” That seems to satisfy the questioner, and we move on.
But that question, and that answer only get to the visible practices of hospitality at Manna House. There’s a whole set of invisible helpers that make Manna House possible, and here I want to salute them.
I’m going to start with the people who pray for Manna House, for the guests and volunteers. Kathleen’s first response to the question, “What do you all need at Manna House?” is always, “Prayers.” A biblical scholar by the name of Walter Wink will tell you that prayer is part of the ongoing battle between God and the principalities and powers, the forces of evil in the world. Prayer enters into the fray and says, “We’re committing to the good, to love, to justice, to compassion, to the power of God in the world.” When people pray for Manna House, God’s Spirit of sanctuary, of love, of welcome, is encouraged and enters into the hospitality offered. So all who you pray for Manna House, you’re our first set of invisible helpers. We couldn’t do this work without you. Pray on!
A second group of invisible helpers are all those who support Manna House with donations. Since we rely completely upon donations, and don’t seek or accept any government funding, we wouldn’t get very far in the work of hospitality without our donors. We have a very faithful group of donors. Some give every month. Some give quarterly. Some give yearly. Some have been giving since we opened. Some are more recent. All are deeply appreciated. Some leave donations of clothing or coffee or other goods on my porch (or Kathleen's) and I never ever see them or even know who they are. They are truly invisible. Care for the poor is central in the Bible and is key in the Scriptures of every world religion. Our donors live out that call to care for the poor. We couldn’t do this work without their consistent care for those on the streets, and the other folks who are poor who come to Manna House.
A third group of invisible helpers are those who donate their time and talents to various tasks Manna House needs to get done that don’t take place during our regular hours. We have a person who keeps track of all the monetary donations made, and she sends out a thank you note to every donor. She’d probably be mad or embarrassed if I mentioned her by name, so I won’t do that; but I will say her work is crucial, and I’m grateful. We have persons who prepare the More on Monday meals, but are never able to actually be there to serve the meal. We have people who do the same for the monthly foot clinic meal. They all contribute hugely to the work, but they do it behind the scenes.
These are all our invisible helpers. They usually don’t get much recognition, since how can you recognize people you don’t see? But without them the visible work of hospitality would not take place. So, here’s to all of you who make Manna House possible, even if what you do isn’t immediately visible. Manna House salutes you!

A Christmas Jubilee

A Christmas Jubilee

           

For Manna House it has been a good Christmas.  Christmas is a time many people think about those who like Jesus, are poor and on the streets.  Much of our yearly budget depends upon the donations we receive in the few weeks leading up to Christmas.  This Christmas, we had many donors who were very generous, and for that I am most grateful.

            This good Christmas meant that today we could take Penny (not her real name) to the MLGW office on Summer and pay her old utility bill.  Penny, a long time guest of Manna House, was able to move into an apartment a few weeks ago.  But she’s been living without power because of her past MLGW debt.  No lights.  No heat.  No hot water. 

“I’ve been about to freeze up” Penny has told us.  She has been praying hard to get her power restored, and she’s been seeking out ways to get out from under that debt.  But no agency that she turned to seemed able to help.  Yesterday, Reggie talked with a variety of people at MLGW, and we finally got to the bottom of what she owed and what it would take to get her power on.

            In a sense, Penny was locked up in a debtor’s prison.  I’ve never quite understood a debtor’s prison.  How is a person in prison supposed to get the money to pay the debt owed?

            In the Old Testament, the Jewish law provided for a “jubilee year” in which all debts would be forgiven, so people could start over fresh (Leviticus 25:8-13, Deuteronomy 15:1-2).  With debts forgiven they could get the lights turned back on, and get heat, and hot water.

            Jesus, as a good Jewish prophet, actually begins his public life with an announcement of jubilee that he takes from the prophet Isaiah (61:1-2).  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free” (Luke 4:18).  According to biblical scholars, it is that last line that refers to Jubilee, and it may be translated “to release those who have been crushed,”(CJB), or “to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Philips).

            It was a jubilee moment at MGLW this morning.  Sharon, one of the MLGW account managers efficiently and kindly led us through the process.  Penny told Sharon that she needed help to get her power on, “or else I’ll freeze up like an icicle, you know how hard an icicle gets; that would be me.”  Sharon smiled and said she sure didn’t want Penny to be freezing like an icicle.  Penny watched closely as Sharon expertly filled out various documents, and Penny told her, “You sure do have nice handwriting.” 

Penny’s own signature, which was required on several forms, was carefully written out in beautiful cursive.  When another MLGW employee walked by, Penny told her, “You sure do look pretty in that dress.”  This elicited another broad smile.  Penny sure was adept at creating a jubilee spirit.  She began to describe what she was going to cook tonight since she’ll have power.  “I’m gonna get some chicken and smother it in barbecue sauce and onions, and make me some cornbread.”  Sharon was delighted and told her, “That sure sounds good to me.”

            The whole process went so smoothly that Kathleen wanted to make sure Sharon was properly recognized for her help.  So, she asked Sharon if there was some way to have her commended for how well she had helped Penny this morning.  Sharon handed Kathleen a form, and Penny quickly asked, “What’s that?”  Kathleen read from the top of the form saying, “It’s a complaint form.”  Penny immediately scrunched up her face, and plaintively asked, “What did she do wrong?”  “Nothing,” we assured her.  Sharon laughed and said, “I guess I gave you the wrong form.”   

            When we left (now with the right form in hand), Penny asked if we could drive her to her apartment.  “I want to be there when the heat comes on.  I can’t wait to do the dishes with hot water and cook.”       

            There was good news for Penny today.  There was jubilee.  She was released from captivity to her debt.  I’m filled with gratitude for the Spirit of the Lord that moved people to make the resources available for us to take Penny to MLGW this morning.

A few glimpses from the morning at Manna House

A few glimpses from the morning at Manna House.

I was talking with a guest about the weather today. It was a bit warmer than last week, but still there was drizzle and a chill in the air. His response, “I don’t mind the rain. You can find a place to stand out of the rain. You can get out of the rain. You can’t get out of the cold.”
A guest has been praying for several weeks for her “heat to get cut on.” Last week, when the temperatures were plummeting, she found refuge one night at Room in the Inn. But on several other nights there wasn’t enough room at Room in the Inn, and it looked like she wouldn’t have a place to stay. Turns out she did find a place to stay.
She said today, “I sure do like vegan food.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I stayed at that vegan place [Imagine Vegan Café] and they fed us real good.”
Then I heard that when the guests were at Imagine Vegan Café the good people there, Adam and Kristie, had the guests sit at the regular restaurant tables and simply order off of the menu. Whatever the guests ordered they were served. Wonderful hospitality!
Today Reggie patiently worked with this guest, and with MLGW, trying to get to the bottom of why she can’t get her heat cut on. After several phone calls and being transferred around from one “customer service” person to another, Reggie finally got a solid answer. Tomorrow we’ll take this guest to MLGW downtown and get her back bill paid so her heat can get cut on.
We had another volunteer step up last week to get guests sheltered from the cold. Bob told us he had a farm about an hour from Memphis. “I can take six or eight people there for a couple of nights.”
After some conversations with some guests, a small group formed and went with Bob.
On Thursday morning one of the guests who had gone for those two days said to me, “It was really good. We ate and we slept and we didn’t have to get up and go anywhere." Bob, for his part, reported that they all chipped in to prepare the meals, and clean up. When the pipes froze no one complained, he told me, they just melted ice to make water for the coffee.
A guest came in late in the morning and needed a new skull cap.
“This one’s all torn up.”
I found him one which he liked, which he put on. But then I found another, a fancy hat with faux fur ear flaps. He tried it on. “It’s too big. I’ll stay with the other one.”
Another guest standing by saw the one with the ear flaps. “Can I have that one? I don’t have a hat.”
“Yup.”
He left the house ready for the cold to come tonight.

Epiphany and a Whirlpool of Hurt

Epiphany and a Whirlpool of Hurt

Poverty, prison, and racism form a whirlpool of hurt.  At Manna House, we see that whirlpool in action.   If you haven’t read Michelle Alexander’s book, “The New Jim Crow” take the time to do so.  It gives the clear story of how the rise of the prison industrial complex in the United States (where we imprison a higher percentage of our population than any other nation in the world) is tied in with the economic exclusion and the denigration of African Americans in our society.  It is all too easy to see these larger social forces pulling down our guests at Manna House, most of whom are African American.

One such guest called me aside on Monday morning.  I’ll call him “Timothy.” He’s been on and off the streets depending upon the vagaries of work.  He’s also been in and out of jail, usually for “public nuisance” kind of charges like panhandling, or “criminal trespass” for sleeping in an abandoned building, but also sometimes related to use of alcohol, other times for use of drugs.  He grew up in poverty and has never been able to escape from poverty.

“I need to ask you a favor,” Timothy said to me.  “It’s something you might not be able to do, but I’d really appreciate it.”

“What do you need?”

“I’m turning myself in on Wednesday, and I need some white long underwear, top and bottom.  I’m going to be in for a long time, at least a couple of years.”

“I’ll see what I can do.  I’ll bring them to you on Tuesday.”

If you’re not familiar with how things work in prison these days, you might be wondering why someone going into prison needs long underwear.  The clothes that are issued to the inmates hang loosely, almost like hospital scrubs, and it is usually cold in prison.  Drafty clothes in a drafty place make for feeling a constant chill if you don’t have those undergarments.  And those undergarments either go in with you or you have to buy them through the commissary at inflated prices (and that’s assuming you have money “on your book” that family or friends provided).                  
So today, I brought the long underwear to Timothy.  At the end of the morning he made sure to say his goodbyes.  And we made plans for writing letters, for us to visit him, and also, importantly to put money on his “book” so he will be able to make purchases from the commissary. 

Then the mail came.  There was a letter from another Manna House guest.  He’s also African American.  I’ll call him “Marvin.”  We hadn’t seen him for a while, and we had wondered how he was doing.  His letter included his return address with his prison number.  A probation violation had landed him behind bars.  

Marvin asked how things were going at Manna House.  “I miss coming to the Manna House” he wrote.  He asked about a person I’ve visited on death row, someone with whom he had grown up and gone to school.  He also wrote that he had just found out about the death of Sara, one of our beloved guests.  She had died a year ago December.   “She was a good woman to me,” he wrote, “when I heard about her death, my heart was broken down.”  He reflected on his birthday coming up and said, “For myself, I’m trying to get my life with God and be a better person.”  And near the end of the letter he wrote, “If there is anyway you can put some money on my book, I don’t have nobody to do anything for me.”

While Marvin wrote from within the whirlpool of hurt, Timothy was being pulled in deeper.

Meanwhile, today was also the Feast of Epiphany (from the Greek “Epiphaneia” meaning “manifestation”) that commemorates the Three Kings coming to pay homage to the newborn Jesus, and also celebrates the revelation of God in the incarnation, God entering into our humanity in Jesus. 

God enters human life that is in a whirlpool of hurt.  God enters human life as a person in poverty, a person of a despised and denigrated people, and one under a brutally violent legal system.  Jesus identifies with Timothy and Marvin.  And in this setting, Jesus comes to announce, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free” (Luke 4:18-19).  In other words, Jesus calls those who will follow him to stand in resistance to and seek to end the whirlpool of hurt.  I think we have our work cut out for us.