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Repairing historic wrongs: Restoration, redemption and reparations in Lansing, Michigan

Gregg Brekke writes about restoration, redemption and reparations in Lansing, Michigan.

A pair of shackles from the time of slavery.

First Presbyterian Church of Lansing seems an unlikely place for the convergence of racial reconciliation and the movement for reparations. The mostly White Michigan congregation had long participated in justice activities, but as COVID’s disproportionate effects on the African American community compounded and the turmoil following the murder of George Floyd in 2020 affected the community, church member Willye Bryan felt more action was required.

Steeped in community activism and having a heart for raising the consciences of her neighbors, Bryan, who served as the moderator of the Race and Gender Justice committee for General Assembly 225 in 2022, felt the time was right to introduce her fellow church members to the history and legacy of racism in America.

The first education session with the church took place in February of 2021, where Bryan presented the foundations for the Justice League of Greater Lansing, laying out the inequities faced by African American people starting with slavery and culminating with a call for reparations.

“Churches, and especially the Presbyterian Church, had been complicit in slavery,” said Byran. “I was comparing the rich churches to the churches who have not had those kinds of opportunities. And it breaks down to, how did they get that way? Many of these churches gained this wealth through owning and selling of human beings, and they were complicit in the slave market, the slave trade.

“So I thought, maybe they want to be a part of the solution.”

Confronted with this history and the financial implications of racial inequalities, congregants asked Bryan what they could do. She asked them if they “wanted to be part of the solution and part of that healing and making the entire community whole?” She explained her vision for the Justice League that involved creating an endowment fund, building a leadership team from within the African American community and focusing its restorative work in the areas of education, housing and entrepreneurship.

The response of the congregation was overwhelming: What can we do? How can we affect any change?

Stanley Jensen, senior minister at First Presbyterian Church of Lansing, said a big realization for many White members was that they had been born into a system they did not create but from which they benefit and profit.

“We’re not talking about racists sitting in a backroom twisting their villainous mustaches,” he said. “We’re talking about a demonic system and, in terms of us not owning slaves, it doesn’t mean we’re not part of the system.”

From these initial discussions, the Justice League of Greater Lansing has grown to include partnerships with nine churches. The all-volunteer organization incorporated in Michigan in 2022 and received non-profit status in 2023. In this short 2½ year span, the League’s endowment fund has grown to nearly $500,000 — all from reparations payments.

Rather than soliciting individual donors, Bryan’s plan for reparations involves tapping into the results of accumulated generational wealth in congregations — their endowments. Asking congregations to allocate a portion of their endowment, or a portion of the annual proceeds from their investments, for the reparations fund has been the largest source of contributions to the Justice League.

“It was a natural fit,” said Bryan. “You go to churches to talk about forgiveness and healing and reconciliation and repair and they understand.”

Beyond the education sessions and reparations work, the Justice League is actively engaged in connecting White churches to the Black community and churches. It’s an effort Prince Solace, president of the Justice League, takes to heart. He grew up in Lansing and sees the organization’s potential to “unlock people.”

“Everyone has something that makes them tick,” he said. “Everyone wants to be a part of something that’s greater than themselves, but they are waiting for the opportunity. And when we take a macro look at the Justice League, there’s people from all different walks of life … What I keep in mind is how do we get people involved and take this further than we could ever imagine, and that will be a part of a legacy.”

Owing to Bryan’s work and leadership at the 225th General Assembly, and the passage of RGJ-08 “On Offering an Apology to African Americans for the Sin of Slavery and Its Legacy,” First Presbyterian Church and other Lansing churches have offered this amends in their community.

“It is a matter of spiritual health, truth telling — it’s an opportunity to correct some things that have been broken. And to tell the truth, the truth that will set you free,” said Jensen. “What we did in the city of Lansing was we got together with just under 100 clergy and members of predominantly White churches to give the apology to local churches — black churches in our area, primarily Pentecostal churches, and it was transformative.

“The response, the graciousness of those accepting the apology was just astonishing.”

All the hard work has paid off. The Justice League awarded $50,000 in scholarships – $5,000 each to 10 students – in August. And plans are underway to make investments in home ownership and business startups, the other two pillars of the group’s reparations efforts.

Solace said the group is eager to work with others around the country to see how they can implement the Justice League of Greater Lansing’s principles in their communities.

“This is a dream come true for someone like myself, in terms of all that we’ve been able to do and how the community feels about something that may have been deemed impossible by their parents,” he said. “But to also be able to be a consultant and talk about our work with people around the country.”

As the group’s founder, Bryan has a sense of mission and the support of those who have seen the results of their work in the community, its organizations and in individuals.

“This work is guided by the Holy Spirit, it is the work of the church that we’re doing,” said Bryan.

“We’re reaching out and we’re including folk and we’re inspiring folk and we’re working really hard to bring healing.”

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