A Prophetic Cry: We Will Not Be Erased

“Woe to those who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, to turn aside the needy from justice”
— Isaiah 10:1–2

Beloved,
Let us tell the truth, plain and clear: what we are witnessing is not merely policy. It is an exorcism attempt — meant to purge this nation of the stories, identities, and truths that refuse to conform to white supremacist lies. We name it for what it is: spiritual violence, political genocide, and historical amnesia.

The Trump administration’s return has resurrected not only authoritarian cruelty but colonial delusions. Within weeks, more than 8,000 government web pages and 3,000 data sets have vanished—erasing critical truths about gender justice, racial equity, HIV/AIDS, environmental survival, and the bodies of trans and disabled kin. This is not bureaucratic housekeeping. It is systemic silencing.

And now—hear this—this administration has dared to question the birthright citizenship of Indigenous peoples. It claims that our “first allegiance” to Tribal Nations somehow disqualifies our existence as citizens of this land. What bitter irony: the settler denies citizenship to the first inhabitants. This is empire in full regalia, cloaking conquest in the language of legalism.

ICE agents are already patrolling these lies. A number of tribal citizens from many tribal nations have been stopped and temporarily detained since the beginning of the current administration. Let that sink in. Sovereign people, on sovereign land, treated as foreigners on stolen soil. We will not be silent while our relatives are surveilled, detained, and rendered stateless in the eyes of the empire.

COREM proclaims: This is a moment for moral clarity. A nation that erases its people’s truths cannot call itself just. A government that denies the image of God in its citizens is a government in moral crisis. But our faith tells us—truth rises and justice sings. The people will not be moved.

Let the church declare: We will hold sacred what the state seeks to destroy. We will preserve memory, protect the persecuted, and proclaim justice with every breath. We will walk in the tradition of prophets, ancestors, water protectors, and freedom fighters.

We are the story the empire cannot erase.

—The Council of Racial and Ethnic Ministries (COREM) Call to Action: Speak boldly. Demand the restoration of public data. Denounce the assault on Indigenous sovereignty. Refuse the lie of erasure. Let every sermon, every statement, every sacred act bear witness to the truth:

We belong. We resist. We rise.

April 10, 2025