As theologian Dietrich Bonhoffer reminded us, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.”

Dear Neighbor, 

When my grandmother died in 1960, I grieved her death. I had spent many weekends at my grandparent’s upstairs apartment and enjoyed their company as well as learning about their previous life in Lithuania. My grief was miniscule compared to my grandfather’s. For one year after her death, this kind man wore a black armband. His grief was on his sleeve every day. As a young person I was impressed with his public, but quiet display of affection and loss.

Recently I ordered 18 black armbands for myself, my wife and friends. The deaths we mourn are not relatives, but patriots Renee Good and Alex Pretti, the Americans murdered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Minneapolis. Their unjust deaths were a tipping point for me and many Americans. Good and Pretti were not criminals or dangerous individuals. They were protesting our country’s slide toward dictatorship and Fascism.

I intend to wear the black armband at all protests and in public. The armband speaks without using words. Wearing it is a symbolic public act of non-violence in line with methods championed by Dr. Martin Luthur King, Jr. Waving an American flag, carrying portraits of deceased patriots, and holding high handmade signs are all meant to carry the same message as the black armband. They are symbolic acts of remembering.

If you would like to join in our grief, come to the next Salisbury protest and I’ll give you an armband or you can order or make your own. When you wear it, you are speaking symbolically and loudly. As theologian Dietrich Bonhoffer reminded us, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.”

“Dear Neighbor” authors are united in a belief that civility and passion can coexist. We believe curiosity and conversation make us a better community.