A050 Support collaborative efforts with Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) to place historical markers
Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring,
That this 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church (“TEC”) hereby encourage participation in the Equal Justice Initiative (“EJI”) efforts to place Historical Markers at key sites throughout the United States (U.S.) that honor the lives and work of persons of color who suffered or were killed due to the historical effects of White Supremacy; and be it further
Resolved, That, each province, diocese, parish, and institution conduct research and collaborate with the EJI in these efforts to place Historical Markers. TEC may, as its schedule, programming and budget and human resources permit, initiate its own efforts to place Historical Markers at key sites where People of Color, particularly Indigenous people and people of the African Diaspora, suffered or were martyred due to the historical effects of White supremacy; and be it further
Resolved, That the sum of $25,000 be set aside for carrying out this work, to include costs per marker, cost of conducting research, cost of consulting experts, cost of paying stipends to interns, and cost of promoting and hosting the Marker Installation event.
Explanation
Joshua 4:4-7 “So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; and Joshua said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
Then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
As early as 1619, and perhaps before, Africans were brought to the U.S. to work as slaves, which was an occupation which wrought great suffering on the enslaved and frequently resulted in brutal and/or untimely death. Further, due to the Doctrine of Discovery, European immigrants to the U.S pursuing a principle of White superiority persecuted, displaced, and killed Indigenous people in order to claim their land and convert it to the use of Europeans. Much of this brutal and genocidal history has remained hidden, and the majority of Africans and Indigenous who struggled, suffered, and died in these ways have never been recognized or honored. Supporting the EJI effort to place these Historical Markers, or choosing to place such markers on its own, would cause TEC to live into its covenants to “seek and serve Christ in all people” and to “strive for justice and peace among all people respect the dignity of every human being.”