Local and national interfaith leaders gathered for a rally to promote the We All Belong campaign at the Zelazo Center on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's campus Sunday afternoon.
The We All Belong campaign is led by MICAH, the Milwaukee Inner-City Congregations Allied for Hope, and was launched nearly one year ago. The campaign was influenced by one reverend’s warning during a religious conference about white Christian nationalism and its threat to democracy.
The three goals of We All Belong are to protect democracy, reject white Christian nationalism and build the Beloved Community.
Here’s Reverend Joseph Jackson Jr., co-chair of the We All Belong campaign: "Our statement is we all — all of us belong. And we espouse the teachings and the practices of Jesus. And our intent is to continue to build on — building because it’s always an effort and process building a beloved community. But we want to message that this nation belongs to everybody. No one in, no one out. And that message needs to be heard."
The Beloved Community is a principle championed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It envisions a society where all people are valued and respected, and prejudice is replaced with goodwill.
White Christian nationalism is a major concern for the people who attended the We All Belong rally Sunday afternoon. The white Christian nationalism movement is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as one that thinks “the U.S. occupies a special and privileged place in the world — with the belief that God is the source of all American liberties and prosperity.”
The SPLC says white Christian nationalism considers large segments of the country’s population to be un-American. And the SPLC adds that the movement often paints civil rights advocates as “Marxists, communists and even pedophiles.”
Amanda Tyler spoke at the Sunday rally. She’s lead organizer for Christians Against Christian Nationalism, and the executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.
Tyler gave a presentation to better explain what white Christian nationalism is and said, "White Christian nationalism replaces this central idea of the Christian faith that is a gospel of love and replaces it with a false idol of power. White Christian nationalism is gross distortion of the teachings of Jesus. Jesus who is always on the side of the marginalized and the oppressed. Who bears no relationship at all to this false gospel of white Christian nationalism."
One of the rally attendees, Paula Penebaker, thinks there are parallels between the Republican Party and white Christian nationalism. She’s a retired president and CEO of the YWCA of Southeast Wisconsin and describes herself as a social justice advocate.
"I think there’s so much talk among the party about Christian national — well they don’t know it as Christian nationalism — but about Christianity and all of the business about the Bible in public education and all those things. I think it’s ironic that this would be scheduled at the same time as the RNC. But it creates a challenge because a lot of people are doing very evil things in the name of Christianity," she said.
Penebaker said the rally strengthened what she already believes. She hopes it encourages others to fight for their rights.
