Common Good Collective

Reader

This Reader is an expression of Common Good Collective, a vision for an alternative way, rooted in the act of eliminating economic isolation, the significance of place, and the structure of belonging. Whether you come at this from a place of economics, social good, or faith, we hope these reflections help orient your day in fresh, provocative, courageous ways. And most importantly, we hope these lead you into the sharing of gifts in particular communities—into co-creating a common good.

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Reader, Structure Of Belonging, Wilderness: Sharing and Reorientation Permalink

“When you break democracy, you break it for everyone”

Today marks 151 years since the passage of the 15th Amendment, which gave all men the right to vote regardless of race. We are now in our third battle as a nation to defend this inalienable right — to raise our collective voice to make change for the common good. Organizer Stacey Abrams explains to journalist Sam Levine what the stakes are this time around.

Stacey Abrams on Republican voter suppression: ‘They are doing what the insurrectionists sought’
by Sam Levine

The ‘coordinated onslaught’ of bills touts the big lie of voter fraud that fueled the 6 January insurrection, says the former Georgia candidate for governor

There may be no politician better suited for a moment when democracy is under attack than Stacey Abrams. A decade ago, when few saw any chance of Georgia becoming a Democratic state, Abrams pushed to invest in turning out Black, Latino and Asian American voters, who had long been overlooked by politicians campaigning in the state.

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Until the Dancing Begins Again

Yesterday was the beginning of Holy Week for many Christians around the world. While the United States is seeing thousands of adults vaccinated every day and the number of COVID-19 cases stabilizing, many of our global siblings are still in crisis. Even though Walter penned this message for last year’s Holy Week, the call for “tenacious solidarity” is relevant today and everyday.

Until the Dancing Begins Again
by Walter Brueggemann

I have been noticing (as we all have) that graduations are being cancelled, and weddings are being postponed. During the spread of COVID-19, this is not a time for such assemblages of joyous celebration.

Ironically, during a time of disaster in ancient Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah noticed some similar circumstances. Three times he observes that weddings had been cancelled in Jerusalem, because it was no time to celebrate and not a time to bet on the future. The correlation with what many of us are facing due to COVID-19 is haunting.

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 Covenant: Moving from Contract to Commitment, Reader, Structure Of Belonging Permalink

Acting In Common

In 1979, the United Nations General Assembly declared fourth week in March the “Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling against Racism and Racial Discrimination”. In light of the heinous acts of violence that have taken place in Atlanta, Georgia and Boulder, Colorado, voter suppression efforts across the United States, and more, it is becoming clearer than ever that solidarity is essential to justice. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. says, “All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” Solidarity is, at its very essence, acting in common for the good of all.

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A Litany for Survival

Survival is at the forefront of the American consciousness as we cope in the wake of two mass shootings. Audre Lorde paints the picture of the hold fear attempts to have over our lives, and the challenge that we collectively face — speaking out for justice and restoration in the face of the unspeakable.

A Litany for Survival
by Audre Lorde

For those of us who live at the shoreline
standing upon the constant edges of decision
crucial and alone
for those of us who cannot indulge
the passing dreams of choice
who love in doorways coming and going
in the hours between dawns
looking inward and outward
at once before and after
seeking a now that can breed
futures
like bread in our children’s mouths
so their dreams will not reflect
the death of ours;

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C. T. Vivian: Devoted to Justice

One of the questions posed by Du Bois — as featured in last week’s Reader — is “How does virtue meet brute force?”. There are few better examples of this than the life and work of C. T. Vivian. As the American community is facing unspeakable brutality, we pause to reflect on this ancestor’s life.

C.T. Vivian Recounts a Life Devoted to Justice and Nonviolence
by Aram Goudsouzian

Imagine a punch to your face.

Imagine that it is 1965, and you have led a march from Brown Chapel to the Dallas County Courthouse in Selma, Ala., with the intention of registering 40 African Americans to vote. Imagine that you are met by Sheriff Jim Clark, a notoriously violent enforcer of the white supremacist order. He denies you entry. You challenge his principles. He clubs you with his meaty left fist, and you tumble down the courthouse steps.

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