Day 18: Queen Latifah

Queen Latifah
Principato Young Entertainment
9465 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 900
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

Dear Queen Latifah,

My name is Emmett Eldred. I am one of many youth and young adults who belong to an active, passionate movement within the Church of the Brethren to better reflect the love and teachings of Jesus in our everyday lives. I am writing to you as part of a series of over 1000 letters that I will write to public figures over the next year about the Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN), the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria.

Months ago, you used the #BringBackOurGirls campaign on your show to express solidarity for the 276 schoolgirls from northern Nigeria who were kidnapped by Boko Haram. Since then, the media attention has waned. However, the violence in Nigeria continues, and many of those girls are still missing. Roughly three-fourths of those girls belong to the EYN, and overall few groups have suffered as severely from the violence in Nigeria as the EYN.

However, it is not just the suffering of the EYN that makes their story so important for you and your viewers to hear. It is also the courageous, inspiring way that they have responded to their suffering. The Church of the Brethren, including the EYN, is a historic peace church. The EYN has been inspiring and faithful in remaining resolved to peace, despite their horrific trials.

In the face of great hatred, fear, and division, the EYN continues to respond with far greater love, courage, and community. They understand that they must be beacons of love in a climate darkened by hate. As leaders, they use nonviolence to pursue peaceful, sustainable restoration of community, dialogue, and the dignity of all Nigerians, even when it means sacrifice.

These people fill me with hope, and I will never stop advocating for them.

I hope you will learn more about the EYN and share their story with their viewers. It is important for the American public to once again remember all the victims of violence in Nigeria, especially since the violence has escalated in recent weeks. However, it is also important for the public to see the spark of hope that the EYN provides. With hope comes action, and with action can come a sustainable peace. That is what the EYN represent. Please join me in sharing their story and advocating for aid for their safety and investments in their ministry.

With thanks and the love of Christ,

Emmett Eldred
Carnegie Mellon University SMC# 2046
Pittsburgh, PA 15289
eeldred@andrew.cmu.edu
814-502-8349