May has sucked. Yes, the pandemic, but that’s not really why. It’s because racial injustice in America is having some kind of day.
Ahmaud Arbery.
Breonna Taylor.
George Floyd.
How was this all in one month? All these stories out for the world to know about in four short weeks?
Not only is it horrific, exhausting, maddening, sad, and awful, but the silence of so many, especially fellow believers, is deafening.
DEAFENING.
Not one lament.
Not one tweet.
Not even a thought or a prayer.
(Yes, I know there are people who care, who aren’t or don’t post on social media. Of course I know that.)
Yet, when the pushback came, many of these same silent people had plenty to say about the riots that broke out. No one wants riots, but what does this tell me? They care more about inanimate things than human life.
I have plenty of more thoughts on this, but I’ll stick with someone y’all may have heard of:
Please stop asking for “more context.” Please stop the whataboutisms or black on black crime. Please stop making excuses. Please stop saying “well, I have a Black friend.” Please stop. Just stop.
Weep and mourn with your fellow brothers and sisters. Then be moved to action.
Until the hard work of looking inside and looking at the history of America and race is done, people cannot fully understand all the dynamics of the protests or the “isolated” incidents that actually happen all the time, and change will never happen. It’s not a partisan issue.
Yes, pray. Pray, pray, pray, pray. Pray God changes hearts and that people’s eyes would open. But also do the work. Hard issues will never change without people doing the hard work. MLK Jr. (who was hated when he was alive by many in the church) and so many others absolutely prayed, but they also did work.
Read books.
Watch movies.
Follow voices of people who don’t look like you.
But please stop making excuses or ignoring the truth. Humans who are made in God’s image are dying because of racism.
That alone should be reason enough to stop, listen, and learn.
If you are wondering where to start, here’s a list of books and movies.
The Musings of Jamie 
It makes me deathly afraid of the future of my kids – adopted son and foster daughter – who are half brother and sister and african american. Dr. King mentioned the myth of time and how people time is supposed to “solve the problem of racial injustice”. We’ll here we are 2020(!!!) and what has time solved? Only that it is not the answer. You’re right, Ms. Jamie, we can’t be passive about this. And I can do my best to educate my kids about the horrors of racism, but it takes two, you know? It takes me educating my kids and it takes institutions like the police department to educate their officers properly – since, as Dr. King said, our destinies are tied together.
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Yep! My prayer is that as people listen and learn, other parts of their life will change (from voting to awareness and speaking up more).
And yes, it is such a scary time. God be with us!
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