A Madison-area church has had its “Black Lives Matter” sign vandalized for the second time.
Members of the First Unitarian Society in Shorewood Hills believe someone tore down the congregation’s “Black Lives Matter” sign, which has been featured prominently outside the church on University Bay Drive.
“We do not know who did it on this particular occasion,” said Michael Schuler, senior minister of the congregation.
Schuler said the incident was reported to Shorewood Hills police, who also alerted UW-Madison police. Shorewood Hills police could not be reached for comment Saturday.
“I don’t know that they’re able to do anything to ascertain who might have committed this act of vandalism, but it was reported,” Schuler said.
Schuler said the Black Lives Matter message has been important to the church for the past few years. He said the vandalism shows the need for dialogue about race in Madison.
“It certainly alerts me to the fact that even in a progressive community like Madison, it’s a polarizing issue,” Schuler said. “That’s something we need to be sensitive to. It’s something that we can’t overlook.
“There is the ongoing record that people of color in this country are devalued in a way that white people never are,” he added. “We are immune to issues that daily affect the lives of black people. That’s why it matters to us.”
Schuler said the First Unitarian Society regularly hosts dialogue about these issues.
“Because we realize that people have strong feelings, we actually do have open conversations in our congregation that invite people who have reservations about the Black Lives Matter issue to share their feelings,” Schuler said.
Schuler said he would like to have a conversation with the person or people who committed the latest act of vandalism.
“Rather than just simply tearing down a message that you find offensive, I would like for you to be in conversation with us,” Schuler said. “That’s what a faith community is all about. It’s about having conversations honoring people’s difference of opinion and trying to find some common ground between our two perspectives.”
Schuler said the recent act of vandalism won’t stop his church from spreading its message and fostering dialogue about race issues.
“Churches have not been immune to violence, to vandalism, there’s no doubt about that, so we try to be vigilant about those things, we’re not naive,” he said. “On the other hand, we’re not going to go into a defensive crouch with respect to the larger community. We don’t think that’s going to be very effective, or very meaningful, or very much in the spirit of what we’re trying to do.”
The church will continue to stand with Madison’s black community, Schuler said.
“Obviously passions are high, and we don’t want to feed into those passions,” he said. “But on the other hand, we want people of color in this community to know we stand with them.”
