Angela Wilson-Turnbull, WIN Strategy Team member, St. Augustine Catholic Church

In recent weeks, Washington Interfaith Network (WIN), its member institutions, and its leaders have appeared in local and national press in response to police violence, the national uprisings that have followed, and the use of force against protesters outside of the White House last week.

On Friday, June 5th, WIN leaders held a press conference outside the historical Metropolitan AME Church to stand in solidarity with Black families and communities that have lost loved ones to police violence, and with protesters in D.C. and around the country. WIN leaders made clear that racist policing is but one of many manifestations of systemic racism in our city and country's political and economic landscape.

WIN Strategy Team member and pastor of Metropolitan AME Church William H. Lamar IV

The same systems that enabled and encouraged the violent removal of Black protesters from space outside of the White House are those that have enabled and encouraged the violent displacement of over 20,000 Black Washingtonians from their homes over the past 20 years. As Rev. William H. Lamar IV of Metropolitan AME Church said last Friday, "Any flourishing people is inextricable from an understanding of the people’s relationship to the land. For far too long this country has resisted the right of Black and Brown people to live peaceably upon the land." At our press conference, we publicly claimed the 250 acres at Reservation 13 and RFK stadium to create a cornerstone development that will provide space for affordable homes, living wage jobs, and community-owned businesses.
 
WIN has strove for racial and economic justice since its inception in 1996. To build power behind our demands, WIN is embarking on a Reimagine DC campaign with the goal of building a base of 25,000 people within a year behind a bold agenda that confronts systemic racism in D.C.’s budget and allocation of land, jobs, and housing.
 
Read more about our press conference and WIN leaders in the media below:

• June 8, 2020: “Mayor Bowser is besting Trump in tug of war over what ‘law and order’ means in D.C,” The Washington Post — WIN Strategy Team member and pastor of Metropolitan AME Church William H. Lamar IV is quoted in an opinion piece on protests and policing in D.C.
• June 5, 2020: “Her father’s beating by police launched a life of faith and advocacy,” The Washington Post — Profile of WIN leader and Strategy Team member Angela Wilson-Turnbull of St. Augustine Catholic Church, and report on WIN’s June 5 press conference.
• June 3, 2020: “Trump’s stunt at St. John’s is the result of American churches bowing to power,” NBC News — An opinion piece written by WIN Strategy Team member and pastor of Metropolitan AME Church William H. Lamar IV, calling out American Christianity’s complicity in systems of oppression and American empire.
• June 3, 2020: “Rev. Edmonds: President Trump tried to pilfer the gospel,” CNN — An interview of WIN Strategy Team member and pastor of Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church by CNN’s Don Lemon in response to the President’s authorization of force and photo-op.
• June 3, 2020: “#Bunkerboy’s Photo-Op War,” The New Yorker — Rev. Michael Wilker of Lutheran Church of the Reformation is quoted condemning the President’s authorization of force and photo-op.
• May 28, 2020: “Connecticut churches, nonprofits band together on electricity purchases,” Energy News Network — Temple Sinai, a WIN member institution, is referenced in an article about CONECT’s efforts to emulate the Community Purchasing Alliance’s success with collective energy purchasing.
• May 22, 2020: “Caring for creation is a work of faith, speakers say in virtual symposium,” Catholic Standard — WIN leader and Strategy Team member Angela Wilson-Turnbull of St. Augustine Catholic Church is quoted talking about WIN’s DC Water local jobs campaign, which received praise from Washington Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory.