March 31, 2020
This past Friday (3/27/20), during a weekly Zoom-video prayer call in response to the COVID-19 crisis, The Impact Movement’s staff and students’ prayers were interrupted by a racist, sexually explicit “zoombomb.” The hackers repeatedly called those on the line “n–gg–s” and commandeered the screen with a video of someone entering a sanctuary and shooting parishioners in prayer with assault weapons. We understand that this is not an isolated incident, and that there have been increased incidents of white supremacist laden videobombing. We take such harassment seriously and have reported the incident to Zoom and the proper authorities.
As you can imagine, this has been incredibly upsetting to our staff and students. They were in the middle of praying for our country – those suffering with COVID-19, first-responders and healthcare workers on the front lines and those in leadership during this crisis. Despite the attackers’ loud and hateful proclamation that “God is dead,” we continue to believe in the power of prayer and we stand together with the larger faith community, continuing always in prayer. We hold to this commitment and invite you to join with us in prayer (Fridays at 12 noon on Zoom) and in our work towards that end. While we are greatly alarmed by the call, the interruption has not deterred us but rather steadied our resolve to continue the life-changing work to which we have been called.
Impact remains dedicated to equipping Black college students to integrate their faith into every aspect of their lives. Over the years we have worked hard to underscore the fact that the gospel of Jesus Christ leaves no room for hate, nor violence, whether enacted individually or systemically, and we train our staff and students to live this truth boldly in the face of racial tension.
We were able to retrieve a small recording of the “zoombomb” while it occurred. We wanted to share this video with our community in hopes to bring awareness to the issue and bring the perpetrators to justice. Though the attack was meant to terrorize and diminish the work Impact is doing, we will not be silenced.
Please continue to pray for our country, as well as our staff, students and volunteers during this trying time in which we all face so many unknowns. We simply could not do this work without you. Thank you for your partnership.
Watch the video here: https://vimeo.com/402665951
