A Statement From CLUE
Regarding the Election of the President
Approved by Board, November 13, 2016
“By Your light do we see light.”
– Psalms 36:10
“Zion will be redeemed by justice; her repentant ones by righteousness.”
-Isaiah 1:27
In the aftermath of last week’s presidential election results, as we grapple with the disbelief, pain, and fear being experienced by so many communities, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) calls on all people of faith and conscience to powerfully reaffirm our core belief that all religions believe in justice.
At this difficult time, we must celebrate the positive election results which demonstrate significant progress in California and Los Angeles with the passage of a number of ballot measures that will address the homelessness crisis, reform the criminal justice system to some degree, preserve public education, lift the ban on bilingual education, and continue to fund important services. Moreover, a racist and xenophobic sheriff in Arizona was ousted from office, and the number of women of color elected to the United States Senate quadrupled.
At the same time, less than half of the voters in the nation elected to the presidency a man whose campaign was based on overt and implicit racism, xenophobia, anti-Muslim bigotry, mocking disabled persons, sexism, transphobia, and antisemitism. Disparaging subgroups also sets the stage for possible scapegoating of other nations, creating the real potential for a new unwarranted war that will divert attention from sorely needed services for our communities.
Our Request:
CLUE asks that you join us in declaring that we will not give any quarter to hatred of any type. We will not waver in our commitment to protect undocumented immigrants who are now at greater risk of deportation to places of grave danger. We join our Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) friends and neighbors whose humanity and civil liberties are being undermined. We are forever allied with our LGBTQ siblings for whom the progress made under the Obama Administration is at peril of being rolled back. We continue to demonstrate ongoing respect for women, demanding equity and the abolition of sexism and misogyny. We will remain committed to the struggle of those with mental and physical disabilities, and will not tolerate any efforts to diminish their inherent worth and dignity. With all people of color we call out and resist deeply embedded and increasingly overt racism and bigotry, both toward those in our nation and also globally. And as a worker justice organization, we are driven to protect workers, especially those who are making minimum wage and are fighting for collective bargaining rights, and are demanding to be treated with dignity and respect.
Our Demand:
We demand that President-elect Trump not do anything which will roll back the hard won rights of workers, immigrants, AMEMSA community members, LGBTQ individuals, women, and people of color. We demand that he not cancel DACA (which would impact 200,000 people in California alone and more than 700,000 nationwide). We also demand that he speak out against the horrifying and rising number of hate crimes and incidents that have occurred across the country since the election, with many perpetrators invoking his name. The President-elect should remember that a majority of the voters in this country did not vote for him. Any steps to target immigrant, AMEMSA, women, LGBTQ, persons with disabilities, People of Color, and other vulnerable communities, will be met with powerful, soulful, nonviolent civil resistance.
We will not cede the territory of freedom and liberty and dignity that was won with the blood, sweat, and tears of our ancestors, colleagues, friends and neighbors.
Shareable Link: ClueJustice.Org/Blog_Board_Election