Drew Downs
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Four Dead in Ohio
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1 min read
“Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Kent state was nearly a decade before I was born, but ever since I was in college, I found a deep attachment to this moment. It could be any campus, and really was: Kent State (May 4, 1970), its twin event at Jackson State (May 15, 1970), and the…
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Je Suis Baltimore?
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4 min read
It has been a week. A week since peaceful protests were transformed into an uprising. A week since the eyes of the world descended on the city to watch images that, since the dystopian experience of those living the protest and militarized police response in Ferguson, MO last year, have become increasingly familiar: flames, destruction…
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Living in the midst of death
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7 min read
Jesus’s vine image and the challenge of abiding in him Easter 5B | John 15:1-8 A Green Thumb My Mom is a gardener. When we moved up to Alpena from southeast of Detroit, we were moving into a rectory: a two-story beauty with a side porch and slightly sloping lawn. Big, mature trees next…
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Grace in the streets of Baltimore
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1 min read
We might think it strange that the most significant image of grace and protection is shown by the uniting factions of rival gangs. We might think that these purveyors of violence would never be our example, our witness to grace. Of course, we’d be ignorant of what gangs hope for. Ignorant of what the people need.…
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How to blame youth for injustice
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6 min read
So you want to learn how to blame youth for injustice in your city? Well, you’ve come to the right place. I think the way Baltimore’s Freddie Gray protests have been handled can serve as a great template for assigning blame to a defenseless population. First you have to start with a simmering kettle that is…
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A Poem for Freddie Gray, Baltimore, and all of us
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2 min read
GUILT When the preacher said “I’m absolutely convinced that a riot merely intensifies the fears of the white community while relieving the guilt.” My white ears hear the condemnation and the righteous call for peace. My poet ears hear the economy of language and concern. My pastor ears hear the prophetic reminding us our guilt…