Today’s Front Line Hero is Lemuel Cartman, intern at Lutheran Services in America, who is promoting racial justice and equity in his community.
Lem will be a junior this fall at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, IN, and is doing a summer internship with Lutheran Services in America. Due to the spread of coronavirus, Lem is completing his internship remotely from his home on the south side of Chicago. Lem is majoring in Nursing, and has worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant, as well as for numerous community service organizations. He serves on the executive board of his school’s service fraternity, and hopes to one day start a non-profit to address health disparities in his community in Chicago.
As police brutality and injustices committed against African Americans have received greater public attention over the past weeks, Lem has stepped up to be a leader in his community. Lem believes strongly that this moment is ripe for positive social change, and he is taking peaceful action to further that change. From cleaning up his community after riots, to protesting peacefully, to having respectful conversations with community members, Lem is making his voice heard. He made a public statement on behalf of the service fraternity he leads at Valparaiso University, saying that the brothers stand in solidarity against injustice and systemic racism to bring about change that is long overdue. He writes that this is a moral issue, and that we have a moral obligation to stand in the name of justice to “combat the forces of hate that plague our society.” Lem also posted about racial justice to the Lutheran Services in America blog page here.
Lutheran Services in America is honored to have Lem on board this summer, and proud to recognize him as Today’s Front Line Hero for his ongoing commitment to racial justice and equity!
