“If, going forward, we can channel our justifiable anger into peaceful, sustained, and effective action, then this moment can be a real turning point in our nation’s long journey to live up to our highest ideals.” – Barack Obama
The more I reflect on the state of our country, the more I realize that at its heart, prejudice is a failure to recognize that we are inextricably connected. That we are all actually born of one mind and one soul and one Creator. Imago dei. Christ in us. That one mother grieving is all of our mothers grieving.
Now this is a problem with regular citizens like you and me because when someone is killed by the very people supposed to protect us, our false sense of separateness makes it feel like it’s not our problem. Even if it happens over and over again, when the person doesn’t look like us or any of our closest friends, it can seem like another media headline aimed at getting ratings.
When you combine this prejudice with power – the very definition of racism – things like slavery, Jim Crowe, redlining, unfair lending policies, internment camps, factory raids, and the like are born.
If you are not convinced of the problem of racism in our country, you need look no further than the tears of the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters of every unarmed black American who has been killed by the police in just the last few years. This isn’t a new phenomenon – it’s simply being captured by camera phones and spread through social media, both fairly new inventions.
If you’re still not convinced there is a real issue, would you be happy to receive the same treatment in our country as our black and brown neighbors? (Thanks for that question, Jane Elliott.)
What about this…
- Are you afraid to leave your house, jog down the street, or sleep in your own bed in your own house?
- Do you teach your kids how to act, what to say, and where to place their hands if pulled over for a traffic violation.
- Have you ever been looked over for a job because of the color of your skin?
If you use one black person’s video or opinion as cause to believe this is all untrue instead of listening to the multitude and majority of black voices pleading for justice, you are looking for ways to ignore the problem and exemplifying the very definition of privilege.
The violence against our black brothers and sisters is just a microcosm – albeit, a deadly one – of the larger narrative of a nation that repeatedly fails to acknowledge that we were founded on and continue to be run by power-over politics.
Prejudice is an issue from the bottom up. It’s in every conversation around a dinner table or water cooler where a POC has been disregarded, insulted, unfairly represented, and talked about as the other.
Racism in America is, and always has been, from the top down. And today, it comes from the very top.
It’s in the orders of a President who Tweeted that he would have his own citizens shot by the military they fund.
Who time and time again incites violence as a way to deal with people who disagree with him (this has been happening since his campaign rallies in 2016 and not much has changed).
Whose harmful policies against Hispanics and immigrants have created a generation of traumatized children.
Who most recently ordered tear gas and rubber bullets to clear a peaceful protest in order to take this photo opp.
To be clear – and I’m talking to you, my Christian friends – Trump stood in front of a church holding a Bible as a PR stunt, not because of his piety.
He is simply appealing to you, his most ardent supporters, by pretending to ascribe to a faith he has only rarely quoted in carefully manufactured speeches and never actually embodies in action.
The facts are that he has a long history of associating with white nationalist leaders like David Duke, a poor record of how he’s treated minority employees and tenants, and his own publicly stated opinions which are the most indicting in the issues of race. I’m pretty sure he does NOT wear a WWJD bracelet.
Prejudice allowed someone like Trump to get elected. Racism keeps him in office.
Fighting both prejudice and racism is the responsibility of each of us. Not just when unarmed black people get murdered and it’s filmed. Not just when kids are torn from the arms of their immigrant parents. Not just when it’s convenient or doesn’t make us uncomfortable. Long past the social media hashtags. Every. Day. Until and even after we see change.
For what it’s worth, I do have hope that things will improve. It’s clear that our collective consciousness is finally being raised. We are standing together and kneeling together. This time, let’s not get distracted.
This time, I believe we can rise together to create the nation that finally lives up to our own motto: liberty and justice for all. Liberty and justice, not for him or her, or you or me, but for US.
So, use your voice now to silence every prejudice you encounter. Use your voice to demand justice from our public officials. And use your voice come election time.
RESOURCES
Donate
Call: 202-902-7660 to speak to your elected officials to the Path to Justice Pledge
“The elected officials who matter most in reforming police departments and the criminal justice system work at the state and local levels.” – Barack Obama (read full article here)
Email: police@minneapolismn.gov to demand justice for George Floyd
Attend: Prayer vigils, peaceful protests, neighborhood cleanups
Educate yourself: here’s a short list of resources I put together for a Be the Bridge group I led a few years ago
Start a conversation or community: Start a Be the Bridge group
[Top photo credit: Trevor Hughes, USA Today]