Radical Hospitality: Interfaith and Interracial Solidarity in the Sanctuary Movement

Document Type

Contribution to Book

Publication Date

2024

Publisher

University of Illinois Press

Source Publication

Strangers No Longer

Source ISSN

978-0252045844

Original Item ID

DOI: 10.5622/illinois/9780252045844.003.0007

Abstract

This chapter examines the 1980s sanctuary movement in Wisconsin. In 1982, southeastern Wisconsinites opened the first public Catholic and Latino sanctuary sites as places of refuge for Central Americans fleeing civil war and political persecution. Consisting of interfaith, interracial, and cross-class coalitions, the movement became a source for both humanitarian aid and political mobilization throughout the decade. Heeding a call to welcome the stranger, churches and synagogues joined together to open their doors as places of sanctuary for refugees, often in defiance of federal immigration law. By practicing radical hospitality, congregations argued that a moral standard of “welcoming the stranger” should guide the nation’s asylum practices, and challenged other Americans to recognize the intrinsically political nature of churches as social institutions.

Comments

"Radical Hospitality: Interfaith and Interracial Solidarity in the Sanctuary Movement," in Strangers No Longer. Ed. Sergio González. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2024: 172-202. DOI.

 

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