Michaels At The Center Of A Reading Discussion

Born in Chicago, raised in North Carolina, and educated in California, Jamie Michaels never planned on being at the center of Reading's response to swastikas and racism.

The Senior Pastor at the Old South United Methodist Church is breaking the mold in more than a few ways. Her title may say "Senior" though at 31 years old she's anything but. When the Reading Clergy Association was approached by Town Manager Bob LeLacheur following a second swastika incident this past spring, the group needed a leader, although she disputes the title.

"We talked amongst ourselves about who had the time and space to take this on, and put it on our plates," said Michaels from her Salem Street office, complete with a desk top that screamed "busy" and a bed on the floor for her dogs Ellie and Chai. "This is part of things that have been in my portfolio before and I said ya, I'd be glad to take this on."

On Tuesday, Reading will hold a Community Forum hosted by Reading Embraces Diversity in the High School Performing Arts Center to discuss the recent incidents, just steps from where racist graffiti was found written on one of the columns of the school's third floor on Sept. 13. Michaels may downplay her role in the two-hour event, but she's a perfect fit as a facilitator/chairwoman/leader.

She graduated from Brevard College in North Carolina with a major in Integrated Studies and earned her masters from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkley, Calif. In between, she spent two years in Washington D.C. working for the United Methodist Church doing public policy and advocacy. She was appointed to Reading and the Old South United Methodist Church and has been on the job 15 months. In recent years her focus has been where, "faith meets the world," a phrase that seems a perfect fit for what's going on in Reading these days.

Since the appearance of the first swastika in a RMHS foreign language classroom in early May, Reading leaders have talked of "teachable moments," while responding in numerous ways. There have been grade level assemblies, A World of Difference Club, help from the Anti-Defamation League, and even an MVP grant in partnership with the New England Patriots and the District Attorney’s Office that provides training to student leaders to promote anti-violence." And still the racist graffiti appeared less than two weeks ago.

No one suggests the Oct. 3 event will cure what ails Reading, whether it's a group spreading hate or a couple students with a sharpie and the desire for attention.

"This is not something that can be solved in two hours," said Michaels, who is engaged and will be married next August. "It's something that will take the cooperation and participation of the whole town, for a long time. It's about relation building."

Michaels hopes Oct. 3 is one of many "culture change events, some things that might really get at, why are these things happening, why are people feeling compelled to write these symbols of hate to begin with. And what can we do to really get at the heart of encouraging people to touch their deepest place of compassion and kindness, rather than their place of fear and hatred. That's going to be something that's much longer term work."

But if it's just two kids with a sharpie, should that change the town's thought process?

"No, the holocaust memorial in Boston was desecrated twice this year. We've seen a rise in anti-semitic incidents in Massachusetts, I think it's a rise of over 50 percent since November of last year. And we're seeing incidents similar to this in towns in our area, so regardless of who is writing these things, this is happening, and it's making people in our town feel unsafe. A lot of the times we talk about intent vs impact. Whether or not I intend to harm someone, if the impact is harm, then harm happened and we have to do something to mitigate that harm.

"What we know is that white supremacy is insidious. It is at the root of anti-semitism and at the root of racism. If we remain silent about it, even when we believe that people are only doing it to be funny, it grows. Because we are giving it permission to grow. If it's making people feel unsafe, than I'm willing to say it's not ok. And if it's true that it's a couple kids we should say that it's wrong. If it's not true that it's a couple of kids we should say that it's wrong. Regardless, we should say that it's wrong."

The Forum will start at 7 p.m. with a presentation by Dr. Anna Ornstein, a child psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor. There will an update on town, police, and clergy responses to these incidents and a time for community questions during a panel discussion. There will be music from local choirs, and opportunities for people to sign up for future events.

Who does Michael hope attends?

"I hope that parents of kids at the high school, especially kids who have been impacted by a lot of these events [attend]. I hope that anybody who cares and is invested in Reading being a safe town for all its residents will come. When I heard first about these incidents what impacted me most was the feeling of our Jewish residents that this was not a safe place. Not knowing who wrote this graffiti means it could be person next to you or the person next to them or the person next to them. Which means the town doesn't feel safe anymore. I hope anybody who has a vested interest in this town being safe for them and for their neighbor, and their neighbor's neighbor will come and be a part of this."

And at the end of the night ... ?

"I hope that people leave feeling heard. I have heard all summer that folks have really been feeling like they want the town to respond. Especially folks in the Jewish community have really wanted some kind of response to what happened. We've really been trying to listen to that. Especially as somebody who's not Jewish, it's really important to me to listen to folks who have been marginalized or have been hurt in ways that I haven't been hurt. And let them lead. I really hope this event will do that."

The "facilitator" says her group is "relatively structureless still." So don't go looking for bumper stickers, signs, or anything fancy Oct. 3. Discussions don't need any of that.

"Some of this is a little new to me," admitted Michaels. "I am looking forward to it. At the heart of it, I really believe that everybody involved in this effort wants to come together to say that Reading should be a safe community for everybody who wants to live here. I really truly believe that folks who are participating in this event are trying to say that. I'm excited about that."

Jamie Michaels, Senior Pastor of the Old South United Methodist Church beside a sign painted by students at the Christian Cooperative Preschool. Photo by Bob Holmes.