wfn.org | Agency urges end to ethnic profiling

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

March 7, 2002      News media contact: Joretta Purdue7(202)
546-87227Washington     10-21-34-71B{088}

NOTE: For related coverage, see UMNS story #089. 

By Joretta Purdue*

SEATTLE (UMNS) - The United Methodist agency that monitors racial issues for
the denomination has called upon the U.S. government to "stop the
exploitation of civil liberties" of citizens and immigrants in the name of
national security.

The churchwide Commission on Religion and Race is calling on the government
to "stop the cycle of violence, racial profiling, interrogating and
wiretapping (of) individuals based on their religion, ethnicity or national
origin." The commission also is asking that the government not target
immigrants for deportation based on ethnicity, and that the government
protect the moral and constitutional rights of all people. The requests were
contained in a resolution adopted during the commission's March 1-3 meeting.

The resolution also called on Congress to defeat any bill that would weaken
civil rights, human rights and privacy rights, and to "pass legislation that
re-institutes any and all civil rights and liberties that have been modified
pursuant to executive orders issued since Sept. 11, 2001."

In another resolution, the commission members expressed support for the
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, which has urged the
Washington franchise of the National Football League to change its name from
Washington Redskins.

The United Methodist Church opposes sports teams' names and mascots that
demean racial minority and ethnic groups, the commission stated. The
resolution also noted that the term "redskins" dates to a time when bounty
hunters were paid for the murder of Native Americans as evidenced by scalps
called "redskins."

The commission affirmed its decision to avoid holding meetings in the
Washington metropolitan area as long as the franchise is known as the
Redskins. The members agreed to communicate this policy to the council, news
media and others in the area.

Concerned about cases of racial discrimination and threats against Native
Americans, the commission directed staff to look into the agency's processes
for investigating and dealing with such cases, to see if such situations can
be made into teaching moments for the church and to tell how the commission
members can support staff members in the work of confronting racism.

In other business, the commission authorized 17 grants from the Minority
Group Self-Determination Fund, worth a total of $318,180. Nine of the grants
totaling $145,430 were given to local churches; three grants totaling
$100,000 were awarded to national or regional groups; and five grants adding
up to $72,750 went to group ministries or community partnerships.

Grants of $18,000 each were awarded to local churches for the Grands Program
- Strengthening 21st Century Families in Little Rock, Ark.; Poder Para
Triunfar (Empowering Future Generations) in Tucson, Ariz.; the Korean
American Christian Cultural Center in Hartford, Conn.; and the First L.A.P.
Inc. in Honolulu.

Other grants to local church programs included $17,000 to the B.T. Webb
Outreach Ministry in Gadsden, Ala.; $12,000 to the Cambodian Community
Outreach in Santa Ana, Calif.; $17,000 to Hermandad, a ministry for
Hispanics in Keyport, N.J.; $15,430 to Not Home Alone in Dallas; and $12,000
to the After School Achievement Club in Jackson Heights, N.Y.

Grants for serving a larger community through cooperative efforts included
$18,000 awards to Jefferson County Methodist Faith & Family Mentoring
Program Inc. in Pine Bluff, Ark., and Derechos Humanos/Indigenous Alliance
in Tucson, Ariz. Others in this category are $14,750 for the SRO Organizing
Project in San Francisco; $10,000 to Solidarity c/o FLOC in Toledo, Ohio;
and $12,000 to Money Management for Indian Families in Rapid City, S.D.

Two awards were given to national caucuses: $35,000 for the Los Angeles
office of the executive director of the Pacific Islander National Caucus of
United Methodists and $60,000 to the Black Methodists for Church Renewal for
administrative and program support related to its Dayton, Ohio,
headquarters. The Southeast Native American Advocacy Project in Raleigh,
N.C., was also given a grant of $5,000.

The commission decided to create and give "Diversity at Work" awards to
general agencies of the church, and it endorsed a multicultural convocation
that the Southeastern Jurisdiction is planning to hold in August 2003. Also
related to the Southeastern Jurisdiction, the commission decided to seek a
follow-up report on the 16 recommendations for inclusiveness made during the
commission's review of the jurisdiction in 1994 and to seek more information
about the Work Place Discipleship Program.

A proposal to reduce the number of commission meetings was defeated. Because
the commission's September 2001 meeting was cancelled following the events
of Sept. 11, the proposal would have eliminated only the gathering that is
scheduled for February preceding General Conference in 2004. 

Bishop Elias Galvan of the church's Seattle Area both presided over the
meeting and welcomed the commission members to the Northwest. The Rev.
Chester R. Jones, the commission's top executive, called the members to a
covenant relationship to fulfill their call to leadership.

The next meeting of the commission is scheduled for Sept. 18-22 at Gulfside
Assembly in Mississippi.
# # #
*Purdue is news director of United Methodist News Service's Washington
office.

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United Methodist News Service
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