*Sent on Friday, August 7, 2015 To the Honorable Garnet Coleman, On August 1, 2015 around 10am, Joseph Hutcheson parked his truck on the curb at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in Dallas County and hysterically ran inside. Upon entering, Hutcheson screamed, “Don’t hurt me, I just need some help.” The deputies tackled him. According to the Dallas Morning News, as Hutcheson screamed that he couldn’t breathe, a witness described one deputy restraining Hutcheson with “a knee on his... Read more
Desperate for help, Joseph Sheldon Hutcheson parked his truck on the curb of the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in Dallas and ran inside. Upon entering, Hutcheson screamed, “Don’t hurt me, I just need some help.” The deputies tackled him. As Hutcheson screamed that he couldn’t breathe, a witness described one deputy restraining Hutcheson with “a knee on his back” and another deputy restraining him “with a knee on his throat.” Hutcheson’s face turned from white to blue. Around 11:30am,... Read more
Joseph Sheldon Hutcheson Dies in the Custody of the Dallas Sheriff Desperate for help, Joseph Sheldon Hutcheson parked his truck on the curb of the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in Dallas and ran inside. Upon entering, Hutcheson screamed, “Don’t hurt me, I just need some help.” The deputies tackled him. As Hutcheson screamed that he couldn’t breathe, a witness described one deputy restraining Hutcheson with “a knee on his back” and another deputy restraining him “with a knee on... Read more
Thou found me. I didn’t know you were looking. Thou knew me. I didn’t know I could be known. Thou pulled me. I didn’t know where to go. Thou lifted me. I didn’t know that I was down. Thou transformed me. I didn’t know I could change. Thou loved me. I didn’t know I could be loved. Thou held me. I didn’t know I could be held. I & Thou. Thou knew. I didn’t. I do now. I believe... Read more
*This is a conversation that took place on July 30, 2015 between Kristin Kelly, Christian Parks and I on our return home from an immersion experience on the US/Mexico border focused on queer theology. K: How has your perspective of God changed? J: Sitting on the hill overlooking the border, I saw people on the other side. Sometimes I had the chance to wave, sometimes I had the chance to make eye contact and once I had... Read more
*This is a conversation that took place on July 27, 2015 between Kristin Kelly, Christian Parks and I on our journey to an immersion experience on the US/Mexico border focused on queer theology. J: Who is God at the juxtaposition of our borders? K: God is borderless. God is the immigrant coming to find new possibilities. God is embodied in the struggle of the journey. God dies with those who don’t make it. God never denies wellness,... Read more
When I was a child, I never thought my parents would leave me. I always felt God would. Fundamentalism and hopelessness are irreparably fused together. When I stumbled upon piles of clothes in our house, I knew for sure that God took my parents and left me. On multiple occasions, I wept. We started the hike behind a house. The desert is treacherous. Over and over, I felt the thorns press into my flesh. Pushing through, I was... Read more
The terrain looked fuzzy. Heat has a way of altering our perceptions. The wall was enormous. The square poles made of scrap steel filled with concrete were placed one after the other for miles and miles. The dust grew thicker. People on the other side waved. The ropes used by migrants to scale the wall flowed in the breeze. Shoes littered the landscape. Roadrunners and jackrabbits ran freely back and forth through the barrier. The border between the United... Read more
Traveling on the campus of the University of Cincinnati, Samuel Dubose saw the lights flashing behind him and pulled over. After numerous encounters with police, Dubose was trying to avert more trouble. When Officer Ray Tensing approached the car, Dubose handed him an open container of alcohol. The situation escalated into a physical altercation. When Dubose took his foot off the brake during the struggle, the car began to roll. Officer Tensing was knocked to the ground and fired... Read more
*This is a story used with permission and based on the experiences of an undocumented immigrant. Jesus said, “I was a stranger and you didn’t welcome me in…” Unable to care for him, Jesus’ parents left. What is a child to do with no parents? For a few years, Jesus found refuge with his grandparents. When they found out he was gay, their kindness ran out. Jesus went to the busiest street he could find and started... Read more
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