Supporting Excluded Workers: a Matter of Dignity
2 April 2021 - Friday in Passover, and Good Friday
I was honored by the invitation to join a vigil organized by the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement in favor of essential workers who continue to be excluded from government financial stimuli during the pandemic. Here are the words I shared:
Today many remember the story of a man that was arrested, submitted to a mock trial, humiliated, and executed for various reasons:
because his dark-skinned Palestinian self was not what the Empire was built to privilege
because he spoke words and encouraged actions of solidarity, dignity, mutual reliance, health, restoration of social standing, freedom of movement, of salvation now, not later
because in speaking those words, he challenged the empire, one of the wealthiest states of its time. The problem was never money, it was political will
and those words were spoken with an accent that was foreign, foreign to those in power.
The Worker Bailout Fund, NYS A5421/S4543
Today, the followers of Jesus remember his execution... But that is not the end of the story.
Today Jews continue in the Passover journey... We are still not at the end of that story either.
Today we gather together, peoples of goodwill, at the time NYS legislators and the governor are negotiating what many of us hope will be a significant act of support and recognition of the dignity of thousands of working New Yorkers who were excluded from federal financial assistance - especially migrant workers, folks recently released from incarceration, and cash economy workers.
And that story is not over yet. The negotiations happening about the state budget in the Executive Mansion and the Capitol is not about whether there is money. New York State is one of the wealthiest economies in the world. The budget negotiations happening around the Worker Bailout Fund are about political will.
A dark-skinned Palestinian Jew was executed a day like today, but Christians believe that was not the end of that story. Christians believe Jesus overcame death itself.
The story of the Passover speaks of some of the longest nights a marginalized people ever experienced. But Jews believe that was not the end of the story. Their ancestors might have begun with short steps, but that journey sure led to liberation.
We gather here today to remember those stories because, even when are not privy to the political maneuverings of the empire, we journey in the hope and conviction that life, dignity, and liberation are the right of every human. Yet again, the story is not over. I believe we will overcome!