8th Day Center Statement on the 2016 Election

“Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.” – St. Augustine

8th Day Center for Justice would like to thank its many partners who have written inspiring, grounded, and passionate words in the aftermath of last week’s elections.

We honor and echo calls for action and witness and offer our deepest thanks to the many that continuously organize, struggle, and build. Daily we are blessed with the brave and clarion actions for change which so many communities and individuals engage year round.

On Tuesday November 8th, many Americans, in particular white Americans, elected a man who explicitly proclaims values of dominance and white supremacy. There are many reasons why people may have voted for Donald Trump: Exclusion by establishment politicians, concerns over the economic future of the country, concerns over the Supreme Court, etc. However, whatever drew a voter to Trump cannot be separated from also voting for an explicitly racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic, and misogynistic candidate and his policies.

In light of this moment 8th Day Center or Justice commits:

We commit to memory. We stand on the shoulders of those who have come before us. Some of the legacy of our ancestry holds the roots of the ruptures that require mourning and repair. Some of the legacy of our ancestry holds the roots of the creative resistance and courage that inspires and teaches. May we express complexity in the stories we tell, the lives we uphold, and the lessons we draw as we bridge old and new wounds and wisdoms.

We commit to responsive responsibility. We cannot create change on our own. We need to listen across boundaries and divisions so that our actions are responsible to our values and responsive to the needs of those most impacted. May we choose humility as a path toward understanding and authentic presence.

We commit to transformation. There is no place of compromise for racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia or misogyny. We commit to seeking actions and partnerships that transform oppression. May we not dread challenging thresholds, but seek them in the good faith that they are where we are meant to be.

We commit to love. We choose the generous and resilient extravagance of love over fear in the daily labor of protecting and constructing inclusive communities. May we be known by our love, may we be known by our actions, may our love and actions never be separate.

We commit to hope. We choose the bounty of hope to nourish our imagination, which may struggle beneath the weight of what we face. May we create spaces for vision, ingenuity and collaboration toward another world.