This week ICE and Homeland Security chose Charlotte, NC as the most recent target for their heinous and heartless campagin of arrest, detention, and deportation of immigrants. Adding further insult to their shameful actions , they chose “Charlotte’s Web” as the name for the campaign. The title of a beloved children’s book suddenly became a synonym for racial profiling, terror, and brutality. The first video posted below features masked agents breaking the window of an innocent man’s vehicle. He turned out to be a US citizen who was racially profiled for being Latino. This was just one incident among many that resulted in numerous arrests mostly of immigrants with no criminal records.
In response to the invasion of their city, thousands of Charlotte citizens turned out to protest. Hundreds attended nonviolent direct action training sessions in preparation for confronting the abusive actions of masked agents and standing up for their targeted neighbors. The second video posted below is a report on one of those trainings held at a local United Methodist Church. The people of Charlotte are reclaiming the phrase “Charlotte’s Web” by forming a “web” of love and justice in contrast to the federal government’s “web” of terror and brutality. Similar “webs” sprang up in Chicago and other targeted cities. These examples of faith based nonviolent direct action build on the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and are essential for this moment in our nation’s history. For any of us who identify as followers of Jesus, it is time to join and/or support the “web” of love and justice as an essential aspect of our discipleship.