"Justice is what love looks like in public." - Cornell West

Thursday night as the northwest wind blew across the Delaware Valley with a sad fierce voice, Jonathan Schmidt passed away in Drexel Hill, PA surrounded by his family. Jonathan was 36 years old and for the past 17 months had been courageously battling cancer.

Jonathan was the founder of the First Suburbs Project, an organization I have been honored to work for since September. The First Suburbs Project is a regional coalition of churches, non-profits, and municipalities from the inner ring suburbs outside of Philadelphia. We work together to affect policies that will lead to the revitalization of towns such as Upper Darby, Norristown, Chester and Bristol, which face similar problems of diminishing economic investment, racial and economic segregation, declining infrastructure, concentrated levels of poverty, and struggling school districts.

It is one of the most powerful and diverse organizations I have ever been a part of. And it was all started by this young man just three years ago.

My first interaction with Jonathan was over the phone - he called just before 10pm on a weeknight to interview me for my current position. It turned out to be quite a challenging conversation, and one that would stick with me. After a brief review of my resume Jonathan quickly pressed into me with very pointed and personal questions....he wanted to know why I was doing this work, why I had decided to take this path. I became frustrated with myself - I knew the point he was trying to make but I did not have an easy and clear answer to his important questions. I was somewhat disappointed in myself for not being brave and honest - as I cautiously uttered a few safe cliched phrases.

I realized later that I had misplaced a key and sustaining part of engaging in work for justice - to hold close to the surface your heart, your journey, and your story because it is this - more than anything else - that ties you,full spirit, to the work. It is what will sustain you. It is what will help you maintain a critical transformative edge when you face forces that do not necessarily want to see your communities survive. And it is how you will build trust with those that will be your allies and partners in this work.

I believe Jonathan understood this well and it was a part of what made him so effective.

In the very brief few months that I have known Jonathan I have been very moved by his gentle manner, brilliant mind, sincere positivity, and deep commitment to the work.

I wanted to share this with you because in Jonathan's untimely death we can find inspiration in his life. The First Suburbs Project, with deep humility, will continue our work, continue this struggle that we have openly taken our place in. We will try to turn and act in hope, missing this good man, and knowing we are lucky to be a part of this precious world we seek to wrap our arms around, to protect, to nourish, to challenge, and to build.

More information on Jonathan's life and his memorial celebration - which will be held this Saturday in Upper Darby - can be found in today's Daily News obituary: http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/85797402.html

- - Danielle Redden