United Women in Faith: Deployment of National Guard Shouldn’t be Embraced 

For Immediate Release

Contact: press@spotlightpr.org

NEW YORK – The nation’s largest denominational organization for women today lamented the administration’s decision to deploy the National Guard to 19 states and the District of Columbia. It also took issue with efforts to forcibly remove encampments for the unhoused. The organization issued the following statement, which can be attributed to Emily Jones, Executive for Racial Justice at United Women in Faith:

“As women of faith, we spend our time thinking about how to put God’s faith, hope, and love in action. In existence for 154 years, our legacy reflects sober-minded, practical, and dependable leadership. We believe we have a responsibility to raise our voices when we believe the rights of innocent people are being trampled.

“We have grave concerns about the proliferation of a police state as evidenced by the deployment of the National Guard to American cities during times of peace. The National Guard should not be weaponized against its own people. With increased law enforcement presence, we may see more racial profiling, more arrests, and more complaints of police use of excessive force. People of color, persons who are unhoused, immigrants, and persons with mental health conditions are uniquely vulnerable.

“At a time of overall angst over the direction of the country, the administration should work to create calm, not pandemonium. It is not acceptable to walk down the street and see men in military fatigues toting deadly weapons. It is not acceptable for military-grade vehicles to roam American streets. The deployment of the National Guard to American cities is deeply troubling, and we are equally alarmed by this administration’s ongoing assault on racial progress, including the executive order reviewing bail reform measures and threatening actions that could disproportionately harm Black and Brown communities.

“We want our sisters in faith and the broader community to know that no one should embrace silence in pursuit of peace. Now is the time to raise our voices in dissent, to work together across lines of difference to fight back against the criminalization of communities of color, and to try our best to protect the people most victimized by the current state of affairs.”

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United Women in Faith is a sisterhood acting in faith to tackle the hard work of the world without hesitation.