The following was delivered during last Sunday’s service at Unity Temple in Oak Park:
A prayer
The sound of whistles
Rode across the winds
Chirping like migratory birds
Laid by hardened hands
Liberation lives in the creases of a fold
Held in place by a day laborer
The fold flutters as it’s laid opened like the wings of monarchs
For we are one rhythmic cycle
Waiting to return
My name is Janelle Miller and I am a resident of Broadview. For those still unfamiliar,
Broadview is a small village with a majority Black and Brown population, with about 8,000 residents to call it home, a village living discreetly amongst more well-known neighbors like here in Oak Park. Yet a deep shadow has been held over us, rivaling those caste by skyscrapers. Living right alongside us since 2006, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility has been operating within Broadview’s industrial corridor. Just like me, most residents were unaware of ICE’s presence here until recent news was brought to our doorsteps. This shadow looms large, not just directly for our community, not just here in Chicagoland, but now upon the nation and beyond.
When you hear the words Broadview people go, “Ohhh …” Many of those concerned ask me, “How does it feels to live here? What do residents think? What is your mayor like?” The lack of voices and perspectives creates an incomplete picture of our realities here.
I can’t speak for everyone, but here today I can say that this resident is ashamed that there is free speech with curfew hours, that chemical agents and bullets rain down not just on protests but residents, that we are now center stage for this administration’s ills. Things done for the perceived protection of our residents and citizens are directly causing violence and panic to our neighbors in surrounding communities. Nothing about this facility being in our community creates safety — not back in 2006 when the doors opened, not during Operation Midway Blitz, not when BP and DHS leaves our community, not now, not ever.
I tell them I feel unsafe as the buzzing sounds of helicopters permeate the walls of our home, as 70 percent of our police force is utilized to control protesters, as state police act aggressively toward those advocating for us all, as kidnapped people are kept in inhumane conditions without due process. No matter their status, people deserve dignity.
These are the building blocks of history, and time has proven that it won’t look favorably on those standing in silence. I ask us all, “Is this our legacy?” We are now at a juncture, having to reckon with Broadview’s name linked with some of the greatest failures of this nation’s history.
I am here today to stand with my siblings in this fight. I’m here to tell you that the Broadview story is not set in stone, that residents do care! I’m here speaking today to stand in solidarity not just with those here in Oak Park, Broadview, and Chicago but in the world to say, “No, not in our name!” We will not be fast-tracked into compliance, into authoritarianism, into hopelessness. That we believe we can build a more generous and thoughtful world. That we will usher in the winds of change and plant the seeds here for the seventh generation, for each other in the present, that coalition building is possible and a more courageous world lies ahead!
I stand in solidarity with all my brothers and sisters who are undocumented, and for those who have mixed-status families, for those facing discrimination and who are vulnerable. You are a part of my family. We see you and are here for you!
As a resident of Broadview we don’t want a detention center in any place, any way and in any where.
Janelle Miller is a concerned resident of Broadview.