When a racist lie transformed Springfield, Ohio into a national flashpoint, this story reveals how a local network fought back not with outrage, but by asking a radical, actionable question: What does it mean to ‘Love Your Neighbor’ when the neighbor is a stranger being hunted by the state?
Last fall, the presidential campaign took a nasty turn. Ohio Senator J.D. Vance told a false story about Haitian immigrants in Springfield that was just as repulsive in content as it was in contempt. Within hours, presidential candidate Donald Trump retold the fake story during the presidential debate. It went viral. Almost immediately, hate spewed onto a sleepy rust-belt city that was re-emerging and growing, thanks in part to its immigrant workforce. Bomb threats, doxing, extremists, shutdowns of schools and hospitals, vitriol toward city leaders… Police responded, cameras went up, and the press descended. Springfield had suddenly become the meme for anti-immigrant, racist hatred.
In the height of political trashing that was harmful to so many, a resiliency network in Ohio was asked a question:
“If you could do anything, what would you do?”
More than anything, I wished people would get back to basics: Love Your Neighbor. In one sense, it sounded so simple, so Sunday-schoolish. But I couldn’t let go of it. Can’t we all just get along? My conversations were always engaging, and I walked away with even more respect for who they are and had to swallow my heart listening to their stories of migration. My life – and Springfield – are better for their presence.
Too often, we understand Love Your Neighbor as being about the people next door or the people who look and live like us. It is an exclusive and tribal version of gazing at one’s own reflection. The Good Samaritan story serves as the ultimate neighbor story, with a twist. The story centers on one person, a Samaritan, who helped a neighbor in need. Not just any neighbor, but a stranger who had been robbed and left for dead on a roadside. A priest and a Levite, both religious leaders, had already passed by, ignoring the stranger. The good Samaritan, from the hated “other” land of Samaria, was traveling for business. Upon seeing the wounded stranger, he tended to the immediate needs and then paid for his care and lodging – with an open tab until he could return in a few days to pay any additional charges. Loving Your Neighbor turns out to be “other”-centric, especially in times of need. No questions, documentation, or paperwork required. No “others.” Just humans helping fellow humans.
The follow up question to my Love Your Neighbor wish was, “what would it look like to make it actionable?”
To think about what it would mean for Springfield, I knew I needed to bring more people in to brainstorm and to eventually scale for impact. At the time, I was the Ohio Organizing Manager for Faith in Public Life. I took the idea to FPL, and we brought in a Haitian leader in Springfield and a local faith leader who had close relationships in the Haitian community. Many ideas were put forward supporting the Love Your Neighbor theme. The question was, how do we bring a lofty command down to the everyday? How do we make it about Springfield?
We decided on billboards to be erected as soon as possible and run through the heated election season. I had already created a Love Your Neighbor design that easily adapted to billboard dimensions. The simple black and white background was overlaid with old-school typewriter font to evoke “grandmother wisdom.” The low-key red quote marks were a subtle nod to the Biblical red-letter words of Jesus that spoke to the conservative demographic of Springfield. We still needed something else. What would make the message compelling for the times?
Ideas for tag lines to appear below the headline, “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself,” included “Vote like it matters” (potentially seen as too partisan), “Support•Connect•Act” (meh), and, the winner, “Make it Local.” An immediate request was made for funding, reserve billboard space, and to print 300 t-shirts. In what seemed like lightning speed, three billboards went up within a few weeks of the original “If you could do anything…” question. The billboard near downtown remained live for just over 30 days and the two located further out at commuter intersections, are still active.
We’ve received positive feedback from the billboards. At a meeting with city leaders months later, a city manager’s representative was almost in tears when he asked if anyone in this group was responsible for the billboards. From his heart he spoke about how meaningful it was for him and other city leaders and employees to drive by and see the billboards. It reminded them of why they do the work they do. At a rally, a mom told me of driving her daughter to school and seeing the billboard, prompting discussions of values and what it means to live into them.
The t-shirts were given out for a march and vigil on behalf of our Haitian and immigrant neighbors. Hundreds marched, including Haitians, who joined the one-mile march to a downtown park. Haitian clergy and local leaders spoke and led us in song. This happened soon after the billboards had been erected. The atmosphere was still hot with threats and press. The t-shirts were clear. The Love Your Neighbor billboard design was on the front, and a dot-matrix map of Ohio was on the back with a red star for Springfield. The copy read “Springfield makes it Local.”
The billboard and t-shirt tactics met with huge success. People asked “How can I help?” and “Can I get a t-shirt? I want to show my values.” As interest grew, the Love Your Neighbor campaign gained speed. With the “temporary protected status” (TPS) end date looming, time became a crucial factor, and leaders met to determine next steps.
The hot edge of hatred was cooling but still simmering. The local pastor knew something else was needed. He talked with a few leaders after the election and in January, he held an interest meeting. Springfield Neighbors United officially launched. The volunteer group was faith centered but quickly grew to include others. A steering team was formed with four sub-teams: advocacy, aiding, equipping, and rapid response. Leaders meet online each week while the teams set their own schedule. Advocacy hosted events such as movies and celebrations that lifted immigrants and their stories, pop-up Love Your Neighbor selfie opportunities, and diaper drives to help the 1200+ Haitian babies/toddlers in Springfield. The aiding team held Know Your Rights trainings, handed out hundreds of red cards, and continue to help obtain passports for newborns. The equipping team was charged with helping congregations organize but did not get off the ground. The rapid response team helped with transportation and safety concerns.
By April, with the clock ticking toward the initial TPS end date of August 2nd, we knew we needed specific focus on what might happen. Springfield Neighbors United split off a group called Springfield G92 to focus on the very real possibility of ICE raids and the responsibility of churches to live into their values. Everyone knew Springfield would be a headline raid for the administration due to the intensity of the campaign rhetoric. Springfield continued to be singled out in enforcement discussions and presidential speeches.
Springfield G92 brought in other organizations for consultation and collaboration. As discussion of sanctuary or refuge churches entered the conversation, a seriousness and determination filled many with the intensity of conviction that this is what Love Your Neighbor means. These were careful debates of how to help our Haitian neighbors under threats of ICE raids and deportation. Trainings were held on Zoom and more than 120 people attended an in-person 3-day organizing meeting with training, including de-escalation. From tactics of resistance to how to organize to build power, these trainings elevated the strengths of working together.
TPS’s end date shifted to Sept. 3rd when the administration issued a required 60-day notice. The pressure lightened, but no one stopped holding their breath. In the meantime, employers, fearful of ICE raids, began terminating Haitian immigrants, who were by many accounts among the most dedicated workers. Thus began a humanitarian crisis. A court case won by a group of Haitian pastors in New York pushed the TPS end date to its original Biden-era date of February 3rd, 2026. However, employers were either slow or refused to re-hire Haitian workers. The work permit fees also sharply increased. Once prompt payers of rent and mortgages, without a paycheck, many began to fall behind. Food insecurity also began rising.
Springfield Neighbors United continues to grow with energy to help our neighbors, especially the children. Passports applications are still being submitted; food drives, vigils, and other events are still being planned. Paperwork for emergency care of children is also being addressed. Calls to action are listed in weekly newsletters, including regular meetings with city leaders and a presence at commissioner’s meetings. Throughout all of this, we are in conversation with Haitian leaders and neighbors, many of whom help us plan and participate.
What is next?
Love Your Neighbor has been a consistent theme running throughout Springfield G92 and Springfield Neighbors United. Each group is trying to catch its collective breath from the breakneck speed of summer events and preparations. A joint meeting was held recently to look at each group’s mission statements and structure. Springfield G92 will remain tightly focused on advocacy and rapid response in defending the dignity and safety of our Haitian and immigrant neighbors. Springfield Neighbors United is broadening its reach to include everyone who holds Love Your Neighbor values. Through advocacy, aiding, and education, its focus will be on helping individuals, families, and children thrive. Both groups will be open to co-sponsoring events and look for opportunities to collaborate.
Exploration is underway to extend the Springfield Neighbors United model to other areas in the state. This would be a Love Your Neighbor coalition composed of a multitude of local Neighbors groups. Just as there is power in organizing on a local level, organizing beyond local is powerful too. When people power is multiplied, it gets amplified far beyond individual voices. In this time, the strength of all of us working together is urgent.
Long term, we all hope for sensible immigration policy. We love our immigrant neighbors and recognize the immense value they bring to our communities and culture. For Haitians and others, we made a promise and are now breaking it. And we are doing it in the ugliest and meanest ways possible. That says a lot about us. In this time, moral messaging can cut through the rhetoric. Love Your Neighbor is a back-to-basic values approach that holds the possibility of bringing us all back to our center. Afterall, we are someone’s neighbor too.