I recently moved to Los Angeles, where I live and work close to Skid Row, one of the largest concentrations of homeless, or un-housed, people in the U.S. Black men make up the largest population in Skid Row (though the number of women and children are growing). AS I've been spending some time in Skid Row, I wonder: in this area that where daily living challenges are so apparent, how does #BlackLivesMatter fit in? I've been asking some of the people I've been meeting, how can I stand on the side of love with you? One of the most important things I have heard is the imperative for people who live on Skid Row to feel heard, in their own voices. Suzette Shaw identifies as a poet, a feminist, and a resident of Skid Row, who is becoming increasingly involved in the Black Lives Matter movement. Below she shares poetry and a call to action with us.

Etched in my memory on a daily basis these days are the Black men who have been killed over the last several months by people whose task it was to protect and serve them. As a black, queer trans-identified male, who is also aware of the violence too often inflicted upon queer and Trans bodies by people in authority, I carry a fear for my own life that is real. If there is any good news in this, it is that I don’t have to shoulder this reality or my fears alone. I have family and friends who love me and understand the broader issues involved, and I can speak plainly about these things at church.

When the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown shooting was announced, community members of First Parish Cambridge rallied. Along with organizing a group to travel together to a protest of that decision the next evening, plans were set in motion to hold a community conversation after worship that Sunday to talk about how folks were feeling and what we could do. Our Senior Minister, Rev. Fred Small, even changed his sermon to address the harsh realities of racism and white supremacy, and the harm that systems of oppression do to all of us.