Jail Time and Activism

Dear Friends and Family,

I write this 7 days after being arrested and spending 10 hours in the Fulton County Jail for protesting the stand your ground law of Georgia. Now trust me I realize that 10 hours is a small price to pay for being arrested. Many will spend days, weeks, months, even years locked up. But I will come back to the actual experience of being in jail. First I would like to tell you why I was arrested, and what led me to willingly put my freedom at risk. I will answer these questions simply by telling the story.

On Sunday the 9th Rev. McDonald (our pastor) announced that he would be participating in an act of civil disobedience the next day, and he asked if anyone would like to join him. To be honest I didn't actual realize that meant that we were going to get arrested, but I wanted to stand against the stand your ground act. It has already taken too many lives, and I didn't want it taking more. So the next day I showed up at the church everyone was meeting for a nonviolent instructional on how the arrest would take place. I walked up to the door, and asked "Is Rev. McDonald here? I'm looking for the meeting." The two folks that answered the door greeted me by asking, "Are you here to be arrested with him?" I was a little shocked at first, but then I felt an overwhelming calm as I responded with a yes.

I was invited into a room where there were probably already fifteen or so people, and everyone was sharing their names. So I sat, and shared my name. We were filled in on how everything would work including bail and a lawyer. As I sat there I began to think of the heroes and heroins that were arrested in the Civil Rights movement. I couldn't help but to feel that many of them would have been sitting in that room with us.  The plan was in place and all that was left was to carry it out.

We left the church and headed for the legislative building where we would all crowd into Senator Stone's office requesting the repeal of the stand your ground law. But we were fully aware that there was zero chance that the law would be repealed that day. I was not fully sure what to expect as we went into the office, but what took place was a little bit of a surprise. Senator Stone refused to meet with the group, or with media present. His best offer was that 2 of the twenty-four protesters go into his office with no cameras. We were unwilling to compromise on that issue. Therefore the police were called in on the situation. At this point we were singing This Little Light of Mine, and as the cops came in the music was frustrating to them so one cop (the biggest and I'm assuming they figured the meanest) came in and yelled "SHUT UP!! SHUT UP!!!". The singing became louder. As the song ended Rev. McDonald began to speak to give us a practical pointer about the protest. The cop then tried to silence Reverend. Notice I say tried. It was almost a modern day David and Goliath. Reverend told the police officer, that we would not be intimidated, nor would we be treated or talked to like children. I was empowered by his courage and bravery. We then began to sing This Little Light of Mine again. I was once again reminded of those arrested in the Civil Rights Movement. As the song came to an end, the officers informed us that anyone that remained in the room would be arrested. We refused to leave until the law was repealed, and since we refused we were cuffed. It was a surreal experience to have the cold hard metal of hand cuffs on my wrist. We were then escorted to a conference room where the police took everyone's name and date of birth. Twenty-four names later we were then taken to the two paddy wagons and two police cars that waited to take us to the Fulton County Jail.

See David and Goliath: click here

The Jail Birds 

I was put into the back of a police car with two other men. I assume that most of my readers have never been in a police car. Let me tell you that there is not much room for two people of average height much less three men, two of which are over six feet tall. There is roughly a three inch gap between the back seat, and the metal keeping the inmate from the cop. My hands went numb on the ride over to the jail, and as I rode I realized that I was only getting a small taste of what millions go through, some multiple times because they are trapped in a broken system. We arrived at the jail around 5:30. The protest had started at 4. When we arrived at the jail we were taken into the entry room where they removed our hand cuffs and patted us down. At that point we were allowed to sit in an open room with around 100 plastic chairs in it. They gave us wrist bands for identification, and the booking process began. We were in the jail from 5:30 p.m. until 4 a.m. Our experience seemed a lot more smooth than the experiences of some of the other inmates. (but I'll tell a few of those stories in a second.) At 1:30 a.m. I was finally finger printed and my mug shot was taken with only one stop left. I believed that we would be leaving soon. Around this time the jail served a meal; we were not given any food because we were supposed to be getting processed out within the next thirty minutes or so. Instead we were escorted to a cell where we waited until 3:30 a.m. to be released. As we sat waiting for the final steps of the process to take place Reverend was reminded of a sermon he had just preached on Paul and Silas in prison, and how God had caused the doors to open so they could be free. At that point we were becoming frustrated with how long we had been kept in the final stages, and decided to gather and pray. It was a powerful experience. The nine men in the cell came together and held hands. Reverend led us in a prayer. Not even 60 seconds later the doors opened and we were freed. The last step only took about 15 minutes for all nine guys.

Now for some of the injustice and dehumanizing stories from the Fulton County Jail:

• While waiting to be processed a young man was shot with a stun gun. I did not see what led to him being stunned, but I did see that he was on the ground while the taser was still going. I felt that the continuation of the stunning was unnecessary, and the situation could have been approached differently.

• A young woman locked in one of the holding cells that surrounded the room had her hair used as a steering wheel after an altercation with some officers. An officer entered her cell, and I did not hear the conversation that took place between the two, but the young woman was not happy as the officer left the cell. The young woman was pretty verbal, and the officer was very sarcastic. The officer then asked the young woman to step out of the cell, and the woman very loudly refused. The cop then entered the cell trying to place the woman in handcuffs, and the woman physically responded pushing at the cop, which was met by two other officers coming and forcefully handcuffing the woman (which may have been necessary). The officer brought the young woman out of the cell by her hair and handcuffs. I was very saddened by this situation, both for the young woman and the officer.

• As dinner was being served I began to count the number of men in one cell. Mind you a cell is approximately 4 ft x 10 ft. and 3 of the ten is a restroom. I counted 15 men in one cell. There were two empty cells at that time. 

• My last story, There was an Asian man that had been arrested at the capital while trying to pay his water bill. He was then taken to jail, and kept for nearly 8 hours. He arrived and was told after about 5 hrs that he could post bail soon. Two hours later a shift change took place. The man was very upset (understandably). So when he was put back in a cell after he had been told he could post bail soon he tried to get an officers attention from the cell. The cop establishing his dominance in "his house" began to verbally assault and ultimately threaten to physically assault the Asian man. I would write what he said but it has quite a few expletives in it. So I'll summarize it. Not a direct quote: This is my house, and you will shut up or I'll lock you up for as long as I can. If you don't quiet down I'll come into that cell and make you. (to another officer) open the door, open the door. I'm going to take him down. Luckily the other officers refused to open the cell, and they helped to deescalate the situation. 

I wanted to share these stories because I don't believe many people know what goes on inside the jails. People are no longer people. Their humanity is stripped at the door and is replaced with a blue jumpsuit and a wrist band. They no longer have a name they become a "hey you" or You in the such and such clothing. The slightest misstep or the wrong question can issue a verbal assault or a sarcastic comment.

In the end my arrest was one of the biggest learning experiences of my life. I do not believe that this will be my last act of civil disobedience. As long as there is something to stand for, then I will stand. I believe that is what Jesus would have me do, and that has been the example of modern day prophets like Martin Luther King, Jr. It is my desire to continue to pursue his dream.

The I have a Dream Speech: Click Here

I hope that this has given you a little insight into why I was arrested and what my experience was like.

Shalom,
Adam

Welcome to the Tool Bank

Wow, what a week it has been! I officially started my new volunteer site this week at the Atlanta Tool Bank!  It is a really awesome non-profit organization that provides all kinds of different tools to other local non-profits and even for profit companies non-profit sectors that are doing volunteer work (ex. Home Depot Foundation) for their projects. Here are some ideas of what you can do with tools from the Tool Bank. Do you need to bust down a wall rent a sledge hammer, do you have some wood that needs to be cut rent a circular saw, do you need to sweep up your mess from cutting the wood rent a push broom or a sweeping broom with a few dust pans, does your project require you to mow grass rent a lawn mower. There are a ton of other tools that are available. This is just an idea of what the Tool Bank does.

This is Shirley. The Tool Bank mascot.

My job will be multifaceted. The Tool Bank just recently moved to a new location, and they will be doing construction over the next year tearing down walls and preparing their new warehouse. So I will be helping with that project, and I can't tell you how pumped I am to bust down some walls! I will also be doing paper work and working closely with their computer system called the Elephant. I will also be helping fill the orders that come in which means that I will be meeting a lot of local organization leaders and their employees. I'm really excited about this opportunity! My first week  was amazing I enjoyed meeting folks, and filling a ton of tool orders.

So, just a little about the staff. The Tool Bank Atlanta is ran by three awesome women, Gina, C.J., and Patty! They have welcomed me with open arms, and have been very helpful in teaching me about what I will be doing over the year. I have to mention Super Volunteer Brock as well, and he is there 4 days a week. We worked together this week filling the orders, and he was a great help in my learning the tools and how to fill the orders. I'm very excited about my partnership with the Tool Bank, and ask that you continue to pray for me in the building of relationships and in the work that the Tool Bank is doing.

Back to the City

Wow it is hard to believe that it has been over a year since I moved to Atlanta for Mission Year! After a month back in Tennessee I moved back to the ATL for another year of service as an alum intern for Mission Year. I'm very excited about this opportunity. I moved in to Glencastle apartments last Wednesday after a week long orientation in Houston, TX. I'm living with six folks from all over the world, and we are hoping that we will have one more person join the team if they can get their visa worked out. To find out more about the team check out my Facebook page for my first newsletter as an alum. 

A couple Friday's ago we had a scavenger hunt on the MARTA transit system. You may remember reading about it last year. I had a lot of fun this year. It was really cool to actually know where most everything was on the hunt, and it was great seeing my team work together to find all the different places. Now this is a competition with the two other teams in Atlanta, so I'm hoping that we made it to more places so we can win, but even if we didn't make it to the most places we still have a chance to win with the presentation of MARTA day! I look forward to telling y'all how we choose to present our day.

Here are a few pics from MARTA day...

Krispy Kreme at the West End

Zoo Atlanta in Grant Park

Turner Field: home of the best team in the MLB

MLK Historic Site

First African-American Firehouse in ATL

 Thanks for reading,
Shalom,
Adam Q

A Day of Remembrance

  In many ways this post may not seem like it should be a Mission Year blog, but for me it has everything to do with my year here in Atlanta.

  A year ago today Granddad passed away. This was one of the hardest moments of my life. I didn't believe that I would ever have to say goodbye. He was my hero. It didn't matter what I got into he was there for me. Now sometimes that meant that he wasn't happy with my actions, and he wasn't afraid to tell me that. I always loved that about him. He was honest, but he was gentle and loving with his honesty. I was able to grow from all that he was telling me.

   When I think back to when I was just a kid some of my fondest memories are sitting in his recliner (where he always had on the news or the Braves game) reading a Bernstein Bears book. Or as I got older learning how to play checkers. I hardly ever won, but I learned how to loose gracefully. I learned how to love the Braves sitting in his basement. These details are nothing compared to what he did for my spiritual life. I remember saying when I was younger I want to be a preacher just like Granddad. I don't think that dream was lost. I look back to my life starting in the church, and it starts in the front pew at Rural Hill listening to my Granddad sing every song with everything he had. I learned to love God because he loved God. He baptized me when I was twelve. I can still feel his hands clasp behind my back as I came out of the water.

  As I continued to grow, he continued to teach. He taught me many practical life skills like how to change a lawn mower blade, which he helped me with until a few months before he passed away. He was a wonderful example of a husband and father. He was a leader. And he loved everyone.

    After I made poor life decisions, he and Grandma were there. Offering me a place to live and sleep. I cherish those times that I was living with them. He continued to teach me until he passed, even when I was 22. The lessons kept on coming. We talked about financial establishment, and how to take care of funds. How important it was for me to keep my word. He was always asking me if I had paid my bills. I'm so grateful for all the lessons that I was able to learn from him.

    I don't know if he ever knew this, but he is one of the biggest reasons I'm in Atlanta. His life showed me that God was his love, and from his love for God he loved me. I can't begin to explain how special that is to me. There have been many times since I have gotten here in Atlanta that I have wanted to call him up, and tell him how things are going here. To tell him how much he has influenced my life and my decisions. I don't know that he ever knew that he is one of the biggest reasons I am a Christian. If you asked me why I'm in Atlanta I would have to say because my Granddad lived out Jesus calling to love God and love others, and I want to be like him. I want to love God and others like he did.

My Granddad was a great man. He was a father. He was a husband. He was a Granddad. He was a friend. He was a lover of God. He was a teacher and a leader. He was a lover of people. He was MY Granddad!

Granddad, I love and miss you! I can't wait to see you again. I know you are watching over me. Thanks for everything that you did for me! Love you!

Grace and Peace.

 

It is spring time in the ATL

I have been trying to think about what I wanted my first blog of this trimester to be about and sorry it has taken me two weeks to write it. There has been a lot going on since I got back from spring break. We only have one more week of the s.a.y yes program before we take three weeks to plan a killer summer program! I'm really excited about getting to be involved with the kids during the summer. There are some great things planned. Every Thursday we will be going on a field trip, and four of the students are going to North Carolina for a Bible Camp. I can't wait to see the kids growth over the summer.

We started new Wednesday night Bible studies. I am going to one that is about the post resurrection appearances of Jesus. We started with his appearance to the disciples while they were fishing, then studied Jesus' appearance on the Emmaus road, and last week we look at his appearance to the twelve in the upper room. It has been awesome looking at the power in his resurrection, and talking about what that means for us today.

It has been great being in the community for the past couple weeks. With the weather it seems like the neighborhood is coming more alive. There is the smell of bbqing, horseshoes clanking, and laughing. I'm pumped for the summer, and ready to see what it is going to bring.

This is the community garden.

Speaking of bbqing, a couple weeks ago one of the guys in our church threw us a bbq cookout in the churches garden. It was great! It was a lot of fun to get to hang out with neighbors and folks that go to the church. The food and fellowship was an awesome welcome back from spring break! Tomorrow night in the garden we are having a community movie night. This is following our weekly community dinner. I'm hoping that there will be a good community turnout.

Sorry that this post was so jumpy there are just a lot of great things going on. Continue to be in prayer for Atlanta, the English Ave community, and my mission year team! Thanks for all you do.

May grace be up on you.

Shalom,
Adam

Celebrating Holy Week

The whole lent season leads up to this Holy Week. I have never celebrated lent before, but have really appreciated the beauty and intimacy that lent holds. It has been amazing to walk with Christ through fasting for forty five days. Sunday marks the end of the season with the celebration of Christ ressurection (aka Easter).

Holy week actually started last Sunday with Palm Sunday. The celebration of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey. The church service was beautiful, and we celebrated with fellowship and food after service. The church service included the presenting of Holy Week symbols, folks reading scripture, and a wonderful sermon about Jesus entering the city (or triumphant entry ). It was a great time of reflection, and a new experience of celebrating the triumphant entry.

On Wednesday we reflected with a prayer walk around our neighborhood. We joined with Jesus lamenting over the city when he wept. We went to different areas in the community starting with an area that had been used for a tire dump, then went to a school that has been closed and boarded up, following that we walked to an abandoned house that someone is trying to flip for profit, and ended at an abandoned jump start building. We prayed over all the areas asking God to intervene and  reflecting on all the hardships of the community. We prayed for the families in the community, and for all the folks that are sitting on property instead of selling it. (There is a whole lot of frustration that comes with that...I will blog about that soon.) This was a hard night, but it was good to lift all those cares to Christ.

Us praying at the old tire dump

Unfortunately I was unable to be a part of the maundy service. The church celebrated the Passover by breaking bread, feet washing, and ended in our community garden.

Tonight we have the Good Friday service. I believe that it will be a powerful experience reflecting on Jesus being hung on the cross. And walking through it with fellow brothers and sisters.

But all of this leads to the big day! A day when death was defeated forever and Jesus brought his Kingdom to Earth. On the third day he rose, and death lost its power! I'm looking forward to a 7:30 am sunrise service followed by activities for the kids, finally leading into an Easter service. Praise God that Jesus rose and the grave could not contain him!

I have truly enjoyed the celebration of Holy Week. God is good and has shown himself to me throughout this lent season and my year here in Atlanta! Thanks for reading.

May grace and peace be upon you.

Shalom,

 Adam Q

Spring Ahead

Atlanta has taken a literal meaning to spring ahead, and I am loving it! The weather went from lower to mid forties up to lower to mid sixties it seems overnight. Since the weather is getting nicer it means more people are out and about. I expect that the smell of barbequing will fill the air in English Avenue here shortly. And I have to admit I can't wait!  I am really excited for the next few weeks and months.

The past few weeks have been great! I got to take part in a few games of horseshoes with Horrace, Reggie, and Tony last Saturday. It was Reggie and myself versus Horrace and Tony. Reggie and I won two of two. It was a blast! I have to give the credit to Reggie he carried us to victory. I don't think the winter helped my horseshoe game any. I'm looking forward to bonding over more friendly games of horseshoes.

One of the awesome things about more people being out means that there is a real chance to build new relationships. I'm praying that God will bless me with some new relationships, and I ask that you pray for me in this area as well. At the same time I am really excited to see what the summer means for the relationships that I already have. I look forward to being able to sit on the front porch with the Rouse family. Front porches are a wonderful time of getting to know others, and allow them to get to know me.

I think God for the ways he has already blessed my year here! And I can't wait to see the ways he continues to bless my year as the seasons change. Thanks for reading!

May grace and Peace fall upon you.

Shalom,
Adam Q