Rev. Darcy Roake, Planned Parenthood Board Member, at Anti-Kavanaugh Protest: We’re ‘Full of Holy Rage’

EXCERPT:

ROAKE: “And I must say also, though, that Louisiana is a state of wonder that I am very proud of. It is a generative place where things grow in the lush bayou, where people come together in diverse traditions and cultures, especially in my adopted hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana. And where the reproductive justice movement led by women of color is strong and fierce and beautiful. And I will tell you this, it is full of holy love and it is full of holy rage. And let me tell you what I mean by holy rage. I do not mean the rage that allows men and other people to assault women and other individuals using their power in cruel and horrific ways and not be accountable for it. Holy rage is using our God-given emotions and channeling them to create connections, to build community, to ask white women like myself to be accountable for our actions, to get our people. And holy rage stops elevator doors and asks people to look at us, to look at all people. We will not be invisible. And in this, too, I will tell you two small part of my own holy rage. One is that my congregants and my fellow citizens in Louisiana may not be able to access health care. And that makes me angry. But also, and truly, my holy rage comes from the fact that my husband and I worked so very hard to teach our young white son that kindness is a virtue, that respect for others is the greatest virtue of all. And now the culture is telling him as a white boy that he should not be accountable for what he does if he does something, that he should use and wield his power in enormously horrific ways. That is not what I’m teaching in my church, that is not what I’m teaching in my home.“