Advocating for People of Color – Statement from U.S.A. SNDdeN Anti-Racism Team

A statement from the U.S.A. SNDdeN Anti-Racism Team

We, the members of the U.S.A. Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Anti-Racism Team, are compelled to issue the following statement to you our Sisters, Associates, and Partners in Mission:

Written in the genetic makeup of American culture is a deep-seated belief of white superiority and entitlement. It makes up our genetic code and at various times in history, it rears its ugly head. This is one of those times.

Contrary to human decency, viciousness is paraded as virtue. Hate, retaliation, and revenge are held up as ideals. Creating chaos and breeding fear are seen as legitimate uses of power. All of these re-enact the Jim Crow laws (1877-1962). These laws stated that People of Color were not human. They were depicted as apes and never offered an apology.

Across this country, we are witnessing interconnected threats that endanger the safety, dignity and democratic rights of People of Color:

• Voter intimidation, including the presence or threat of ICE at or near polling places, suppresses participation and undermines the fundamental right to vote. Re-districting in many states has closed polls in communities of color, thereby limiting their ability to vote.
• Coercion of Indigenous nations, through pressure and threats aimed at forcing tribal communities to allow ICE activity on sovereign land, violates tribal sovereignty and self-determination.
• Violence towards and the deaths of People of Color in ICE custody or during ICE operations represent a continued failure to protect human life and ensure accountability.
• Reported cases of the kidnapping of children, like Liam Conejo Ramos, intensify fear among immigrant and mixed – status families. Such actions highlight the trauma inflicted when enforcement is conducted without transparency, accountability, or humanity.
• People of Color living in the United States are forced to carry proof of citizenship because their physical characteristics are looked upon as suspicious and threatening.
• The erasure of Black and Native American history is evidenced by the disassembling or destruction of displays at national parks, monuments, and museums.
• The constant attack on Black Women in professional and public service is yet another example of the denigration experienced by Women of C

When leaders and families of communities of color are publicly maligned, it sends a chilling message: that no amount of status, service, or visibility offers protection. This is how fear is manufactured and how silence is enforced.

We reject this climate of intimidation. We stand in solidarity with every community living under the threat of state violence. We call upon our Sisters, Associates, and Partners in Mission to name these harms, to see the interconnectedness of these injustices rooted in systemic racism, and to act decisively in defense of the human dignity and rights of our communities of color and our democracy.

Saint Julie reminds us that “we need to have courageous souls in the century in which we live.” This is our legacy.

Sister Linda Bessom, SNDdeN
Sister Kathryn Camacho, SNDdeN
Sister Patricia Chappell, SNDdeN
Aulani Cler, AND
Sister Martin de Porres Coleman, SNDdeN
Sabrina Harper, AND
Sister Kathryn Keenan, SNDdeN
Sister Anne-Louise Nadeau, SNDdeN
Sister Marilyn Pechillo, SNDdeN
Teresa Phillips
Sister Carmen Silva, SNDdeN
Sister Elizabeth Smoyer, SNDdeN
Lydia Wahab, AND
Sister Maureen White, SNDdeN