The past few days I have read numerous social media posts and have had many conversations about the Black Lives Matter movement and the violence that has occurred. I have heard people dismiss the importance of the movement, people who are pro-cop so somehow they can't be pro black, people who are pro black so can't be pro cop, and people who throw statistics around to try and prove whatever their point is. I have come to a place where I have evaluated my position and have come to some conclusions.
Racism exists…..
I’ve experienced it in casual, seemingly harmless conversations. Sitting in a café with fellow females (anywhere from friends to acquaintances), they see me crane my neck to get a better look at a guy walking by. “Ooo you got jungle fever?” they ask, as the fine looking black man continues walking out of the restaurant. I laugh, and I simply respond, “I like attractive men.” A conversation then ensues about how grandparents or even some parents would react if we brought home a black man for Christmas. Wait, hold up. That’s directly speaking to the fact that racism exists; that some relative would possibly have an issue with interracial relationships. And yet some of the same people I’ve had this conversation with will deny that racism exists. I can’t even count the number of times I have had this conversation. When I was looking at colleges a few years back, one of the Facebook pages for prospective students had a post by a black guy asking if race plays a factor into the students' attraction. The conversation continued and my jaw fell to the ground. Immediately, the girls who liked black guys were labeled as “easy,” and “wild.” A lot of the white boys would, in subtle ways, say that they would never date girls "like that." It was if being nondiscriminatory in relationships made us less attractive. I was six years old when I told my momma I was going to “marry a black boy” so I could “go to black church” (A comment I now realize speaks to cultural appropriation). Years later, I continued saying that and adding “so I can have a black baby” because I thought they were the cutest babies out there. My parents never told me I shouldn’t think about marrying a black boy, they smiled and agreed with how cute babies are; it was a normal conversation. And yet, when I tell that story to some people, I get mixed reactions. Some people are horrified that I thought that way at six. Some people start judging my parents for not correcting me. I can see it in their face. Their opinion of me changes. It’s subtle, but it is there. Racism exists.
The black lives matter movement is not about black vs white and who matters more. Just as the feminist movement is not about women being better than men. We don’t need to say all lives matter because society affirms us verbally and non-verbally every day that we (white people) matter. Meanwhile, our black brothers and sisters are degraded verbally and non-verbally every day. They are being told they are dangerous, deadly, and dim, actually demoralizing them to keep them in the pit they have worked so hard to climb out of. The pit that we dug, that we threw them in. It is like that common middle school tease of the one kid grabbing the other kid’s hand and uses it to punch the kid. “Why you hitting yourself? Why you hitting yourself?” He taunts. No one would dare blame the kid being bullied, only the cruel would say “just work harder to pull away.” Because we know it is much more effective to correct the bully than the bullied. Translated to now, we are pushing our black neighbors back in the pit daily and yet we ask, “Why can’t they just overcome it like the rest of us?” We point to Ben Carson, Obama, and Oprah, who have overcome so much by "sheer willpower and hard work." We are obsessed with statistics, we use them to justify things every day. If someone has a 1% chance of succeeding in the music industry we don't say that everyone can become Beyoncé. So then why when less than 1% of the 37 million African Americans in the United States make it big we think that every person of color can? Just because one person out of millions can overcome, does not mean that injustice does not exist and changes do not need to be made. People even speak of grandparents, coming to this country with one penny and now look at what they have achieved! But we fail to see the harsh reality that is the African American life; to see that our grandparents had a better chance just because of their skin color. I’m not saying it is easy to grasp. It is hard to step back and say, “If my skin color was not white, how would I be treated differently in this situation?” That’s hard, it hurts. It’s easier to just say, “I’m colorblind, I see everyone the same, we are all the same.” I’ve been guilty of this in the past. But the reality is, to say that everyone is equal is diminishing the daily trials and struggles that others face. It doesn’t destroy racism to say that there are no differences between the black and white life, it promotes it. It is a different form of racism. It says, “These struggles you think you are experiencing? They aren’t real. You are the same as me. We have the same opportunities” Meanwhile, the literacy rate, poverty rate, and jail population of one group is drastically higher. Numbers do not lie. We have created a society that perpetuates the system that is killing our neighbors. These numbers are high because we haven't reached out a hand to pull them out of the pit.
There are those who are starved for a cause to fight for. I applaud you. But do not let your activism stay in the comfort of your couch, on the busyness of your Facebook wall. If you truly believe that black lives matter, if you truly believe that change is to be had, then do something. Speak up. If you are a teacher, teach in schools that "decent white folk” wouldn’t dare enter. If you are a new college grad, do Teach for America, teach those no one dares to teach for two years. Education is what will empower and change what has become the status quo. If you are a nurse, enter communities that need you; those "unsafe" neighborhoods are suffering from limited access to health care. If you are in politics, use your position to stand for those whose voice has been silenced. Privilege is not a sin if it is used to bring justice to the world. Do not apologize for your privilege and sit down. Speak. Speak loud, speak clear, speak up for the cries that we silence with the white hand. And to quote Jesse Williams, “If you have no interest in equal rights of black people, then do not make suggestions for those who do. Sit down. I will never be able to understand the trials that my friends experience, but I can listen to them, love on them, cry with them, and pray with them for change and hope that I can even begin to understand.
....BUT violence, not racism, is the bigger issue.
White on black violence is not the only tragedy we are facing today.
is a culture of violence in our nation. We can march, we can rally, but until hearts have been changed, the violence will continue.
The church needs to rise and start spreading the gospel more fervently than every before. We need to teach that love and sacrifice is the way to live instead of hate and aggression. Black lives matter, and everyone, black and white, needs to know and grasp that. Sin has created disunity among us. We need to unite, but people are tough to keep together. The only thing that can truly unite people is the gospel of Christ.
I'm not surprised by the happenings this week, but my heart is broken as it reminds me that we live in a broken world where sin and evil runs rampant. But instead of being cynical, I am hopeful; Christ changes everything and one day we will not have to worry about violence or racism. I am hopeful we will see a revival during this time; that we will see another Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. AND Martin Luther rise and take this nation by storm. The world today makes me draw closer to the gospel truth that Christ is coming. There is an enemy, but it is not the white nor the black man, it is Satan prowling a broken world. The only cure is the gospel. We cannot expect the presence of peace without the Prince of Peace.
Teach for America: http://www.teachforamerica.org
P.S. You can be pro-cop and pro-black, watch this from the Daily Show:
