Earth Justice Ministries has, from our founding in 1996, been committed to working for racial justice and an end to discrimination of all kinds. We support and join in this moment of popular uprising against white supremacy and police brutality against African American men, and call for an end to the racism that pervades our social, economic, and political institutions and systems of power. We commit ourselves to doing everything we can to further this movement, to work in solidarity with those who are most impacted, and to bring whatever resources we can to this struggle.
On July 20, we joined workers across the country in the Strike for Black Lives. We work closely with two local racial justice organizations: Color Me Human, whose founder and primary director is Tracy Pepper, an Earth Justice Ministries board member, and Creating Communities Beyond Bias (CCBB), which has Earth Justice Ministries director Guarionex Delgado on its board. Find out more about these groups at their websites or at our Associated Groups page.
After participating in local Black Lives Matter demonstrations with the local Racial Justice Coalition for several months, after the killing of George Floyd, several members of Earth Justice Ministries were present when a group of white nationalists attacked a peaceful racial justice march on Broad Street in Nevada City. See Sharon Delgado’s reflections on that march in her commentary Love Wins.
On October 4, Earth Justice Ministries and the Peace and Justice Center of Nevada County organized a March for Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Peace, also on Broad Street in Nevada City, and coordinated outreach to local faith communities and nonprofits to cosponsor and participate in the march. Because violent white nationalists had disrupted a previous racial justice march on Broad Street on August 9, we worked with a “people’s security” team. We offered several nonviolence and de-escalation trainings, including some that we organized locally. See Sharon Delgado’s video on Why Nonviolent Direct Action here.
The march was peaceful, with over 500 people participating. See a video of the beginning of the march here.
We will be adding resources and links to this page as we continue this work and as the struggle develops. Meanwhile, read our Earth Justice Ministries initial commentary, posted in the Grass Valley Union: George Floyd: Say His Name. Also, watch and listen to Sharon Delgado’s sermon on the topic: The Things that Make for Peace (If You Want Peace, Work for Justice). Finally, Sharon’s Op Ed from the Union on the August 9th disruption to the racial justice march.