Original post date: 06/3/2020
Edited: 08/28/2024
As a blogger, I feel the responsibility to use my blog as a platform to address the world’s most recent events surrounding the movement for justice for all black peoples. As a young African American, I am appalled by the insensitivity for human life. George Floyd was a man who lost his life because the color of his skin was dark. What can we as black people do when the skin we’re in is a weapon that people fear? How did we get catapulted back into the 60’s? No one hit the rewind button, but as I recently heard, “Racism isn’t getting worse, it’s getting filmed.”
God clearly said in his Word that there is nothing new under the sun, but where does that leave us as believers? What should our stance be and what actions can we take? Are we allowed to be angry, too? Actually, we should be outraged at the injustices taking place today and angry at those that are past. We should take our righteous indignation to energize and propel us to doing something good. Here is what we can do:
1. Lament/Pray
As believers in Jesus Christ, this should be our first action. Praying to the God who knows all and is in total control. We can trust Him and must lean on Him during times like these. Like stated before, there is nothing new under the sun and this does not surprise Him. What may surprise you, though, is that it’s okay to ask God, “Why? Why is this happening?” In the bible, this is called lamenting. The definition of lamenting is to “express regret or disappointment over something considered unsatisfactory, unreasonable, or unfair.” God wants us to come to Him about these things. He is concerned about everything that concerns us. It is good to let Him in on the things stirring in our hearts.
Still, one thing we should not do is blame God. We should always keep a good opinion of Him. He is a good God and rejoices in giving us good gifts. However, we live in a fallen world where God has given all of us the gift of free will. Some of us use that free will for good and some for evil. My pastor reminded our church of something this past Sunday. He reminded us that just like coldness exists because there is an absence of heat and darkness exists because of an absence of light, evil exists because there is an absence of God. God is not present in the hearts of murderers and those who do evil. We should pray for those who do evil because they are lost and deceived by the adversary. We should pray that God send witnesses their way to speak to them about the good news of Jesus Christ. God’s desire is that none would perish, but all be saved.
2. Stand for Justice
I’ve seen several social media posts that have said if you remain silent then you are compliant. I would have to agree with this statement. If people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks remained silent, then the success we have accomplished as black people would have never occurred. I do believe that God raises up certain people of influence to speak on others’ behalf, but I do think that we all have a part to play. The fact of the matter is you don’t have to be a person of influence to do it. We all have a platform and it’s called social media. Those with white privilege can use your voice to stand up for the minority. Those with online businesses can make a statement against racism. We can sign petitions and donate for the cause. We can all take a stand. The black community is not asking you to pick a side. We’re asking you to stand for justice, whoever or wherever you are.
3. Get Educated
Let’s educate ourselves! In today’s world, there is no excuse—google it. The murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin didn’t just start in the street that day. There had already been 12 police brutality complaints against him, all listed as “closed”, “non-public”, and “no discipline”. In 2008 he shot an unarmed black 21-year-old man and in 2011 he was put on leave for an inappropriate police shooting of an Alaskan Native American. So, how in the world did this man still have a job? I guess it took his actions being filmed on camera to finally terminate him, which is absolutely ridiculous. My first thought is who was in charge? Who had the authority to end this man’s career before he killed someone? The more important question is what can we do to change all this? The answer: We live in America and this is a democracy! Our voice can be heard through our INFORMED vote. Notice the word informed in all caps. Every year during an election, there are so many people who tell us, “Go vote to make a difference!” But how does our vote make a difference if we’re just hitting random buttons in the voting booth? We know nothing about the candidate’s policies or listed amendments, but vote for them only because we see their billboards driving home, or because our parents told us who to vote for, or because they have a familiar name. The people we vote into office are the ones helping to make the big decisions in the world, like firing officers with 12 police brutality complaints. So, before we vote just to post our “I voted” sticker on Facebook and Instagram, let’s get informed about those people who are on the ballet. Find out what policies they stand for and what laws they voted against. I believe that is the next huge step we can take in changing the injustices we are experiencing today.
Also, as an educator myself, I desire to see more faces like mine in places of authority and influence, like owning our own businesses, becoming the next innovative leaders, or fighting for new reforms in legislation. There are some of us out there, but we’re still underrepresented. My prayer is that God put a strong desire in this next generation of young black people (or anyone who is for the advancement of our people) to become educators, prolific thinkers, lawyers, prosecutors, judges, governors, house representatives, police officers, and police chiefs just to name a few.
Black lives do and still matter, and so does your voice. Let’s use prayer, our influence, and education to make a difference. Let’s stand for Jesus and justice.
