When is it worth venturing out during the age of the coronavirus, if one does not serve on the frontlines?  Over the past almost three months, my immediate family has mostly stayed at home, connecting to the outside world through our computers and phones.  I have taken an occasional distance walk with a friend and made a visit to the grocery store about every 2 weeks.  Most days, my primary trip outside is a solo walk to refresh my spirit, during which I open to the beauty of a flower, a puddle, or a fallen branch.  For the time being, this is our new normal.

Yet today, I was moved to venture a little further from home and show up to a racial justice protest in Centre City Philadelphia, sponsored by POWER Live Free, an organization which focuses on ending police violence and mass incarceration. Philadelphia is one of the cities that has experienced rioting and looting and we have been under 6PM-6AM curfew the past several nights.  The National Guard was called in earlier this week.  Our neighborhood, 20 minutes away, has been mostly quiet, although local businesses were broken into Saturday night.  

It was important for me to witness the homeless men resting in the heat of the day as I parked my car, a visceral reminder of the impact of racism and extreme poverty. It was important for me to witness the National Guard stationed in riot gear next to City Hall and to feel the anger, fear, and confusion that this aroused.  It was important to be present at the protest, which took place on the southwest corner of City Hall at the Octavius Catto Memorial, a Memorial erected in 2017 to honor the memory of an influential 19th century African American educator and civil rights leader.  Due to a helicopter whirring above us, I could not hear the words spoken during the protest , and I mostly stayed on the edges of the group to minimize possible exposure to COVID-19; however, I could feel the powerful energy arising from this group of people of faith who gathered together to call for justice.  When it was time, I took a knee, along with everyone else, and then was moved to bow my head to the ground in humility, in atonement, and in gratitude for life.