Friends,
This past weekend, Delaware County Sheriff Siddiq Kamara was the target of a racist and violent threat.
Let’s call it what it is. This wasn’t just an attack on one person. It was an attempt to send a message: Stay in your place. Be quiet. Don’t lead.
But we’ve seen this before.
Throughout our history, people have used fear, threats, and violence to try to stop movements for justice. They have tried to intimidate organizers, elected officials, clergy, and everyday people who dared to believe our communities could be more just than they are today.
As people of faith, we reject that lie.
Our scriptures teach us that every person bears the image of God. Racism is an assault on that sacred truth. Violence and intimidation are tools of oppression, and we refuse to accept them as normal.
We pray for Sheriff Kamara, his family, and everyone in the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office. We also pray that those responsible are held accountable.
But prayer alone is not enough.
Our response must also be to continue building the kind of communities where people are free to lead, free to serve, and free to speak the truth without fear of racist intimidation.
That is the work of POWER Interfaith. It is the work we have always done. And it is the work we will continue to do together.
In faith and hope,
Rev. Dr. Gregory Edwards
Executive Director
POWER Interfaith
