As it is the practice of our faith to affirm the inherent worth and dignity of all people, we the First Universalist Church of Yarmouth decry the racist vandalism perpetrated on the Littlejohn Causeway in November.
We support the Yarmouth High School Black Student Alliance and are prepared to amplify their calls for action and restoration regarding this hateful incident and the just demands they make on behalf of their safety and the safety of all Black, Indigenous, people of color in the region. We look to the BSA as leaders in our work to dismantle racism in our region and within ourselves.
We commend the actions of the Yarmouth Police Department for admitting a mistake in their initial review, reviewing the case further and seeking justice for those harmed. We support and hold them accountable, as we hold ourselves accountable, in the ongoing work of affirming Black lives and undoing white supremacy.
The justice we seek for the harmful actions taken by those who wrote a racist slur on the causeway is restorative. We seek a justice that enlightens misunderstandings, empowers the disempowered, breaks barriers of fear and ignorance and unties the restrictive knots of bigotry. We urge the district attorney to address this act of vandalism with restorative justice rather than with retributive punishment through the criminal justice system.
We look to the work of the Restorative Justice Institute of Maine as we continue our long path toward building a just, anti-racist world where all can thrive.
Rev. Hillary Collins-Gilpatrick and Board of Trustees
First Universalist Church of Yarmouth
Yarmouth
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