My Name is not "Those People"

By poet, singer, prophet, social activist Julia Dinsmore

I posted about her book My Name is Child of God...Not Those People previously.

The title poem was written after Julia's encounter with a church committee. A group of people had gone to a rather large congregation, asking them to partner with some homeless people to buy a home. The congregation's group said "No," and one of the committee members said to them, "Those people don't need homes. We give them turkeys at Thanksgiving."

Julia's poem has become very well-known, and has been recited in many different venues, often without attribution or Julia receiving any remuneration. I'm glad she's finally getting some recognition for her work.

Christ the King

So this weekend is Christ the King Sunday, time to contemplate, among other things, what Christ the King looks like. Our youth went to an event a couple of weeks ago called "Celebration of Confirmation" where they sang, worshiped, saw skits and heard about the issue of youth homelessness. Julia Dinsmore, a local poet and activist, was also there. I hear in my mind some of the words of her poem, "My Name is Not 'Those People'":

...My name is not "ignorant, Dumb or Uneducated." I

lived with an income of $621 with $169 in food

stamps. Rent is $585, that leaves $38 a month to

live on. I am such a genius at surviving that I could

balance the state budget in an hour.

....

The wind will stop before I let my children become

a statistic. Before you give in to the urge to blame

me, the blame that lets us go blind and unknowing

into the isolation that disconnects us, take another

look. Don't go away.

For I am not the problem, but the solution.

And... my name is not "Those People."

Lord, when have we see you?

picture by Kristie Bretzke, local artist