Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:7-8 (ESV)
I did not intend to do a part two. But due to the “second pandemic”(racial injustice, as it’s being called), I felt I must.
I had conversations recently with non-black friends who state: “but don’t all lives matter?” To which I state, of course, they do!! But unfortunately, the other races and ethnic groups do not get, nor see the constant police brutality/death, the constant hostility/threats, the hangings, the inequality in salaries despite having more education/experience, etc. Anyone can research and see the levels of the documented events (and there are thousands more that are undocumented), which is dramatically out of proportion to the other races. Do the other races have some of the above problems, absolutely!! Just not even near, the same magnitude of all incidents reported. And to note here, there are a lot of incidents where no wrong was being done, and no crimes were being committed; yet the unfortunate outcome.
Some say stop the peaceful protesting. However, what is to be expected if it stops? Go back to “business as usual”? No, no, no. Enough is definitely enough.
I read a recent article of an African American gentleman who wears dreads and works as an inspector, in Minnesota. On his schedule, he needed to go into a trailer park in order to complete his inspections for that day. Prior to beginning, he called the local police department, to let them know where he was and what he would be doing. One of the police officers who talked with him said, he was sad that this gentleman felt he had to call, to tell them. Eventually, this officer came out there at the request of this gentleman, and they walked the area and talked. It ended up they had a friend in common and they hit it off, really well. Now some may say, oh he really didn’t need to call the police prior, he would have been fine. But looking at what’s happening currently in our country (not to mention the rest of the world), there is a good chance the authorities would have been called. We would like to believe that everything would have been fine with this large/tall African American man who happens to wear dreads. Some may also say, he should cut his hair and dress/style in a more Eurocentric fashion. That would have been enough to stop people from calling the police. But do you really think so? And a question here, why should he “have” to dress/style this way?
I guess we will never really know what the outcome would have been. I’m personally glad he had the foresight to call into the police department, just in case. I would have hated to see this married father of two, end up as a police brutality statistic. All because of how God made him.
In the previous post, I had asked if those who do not feel comfortable stepping outside of their sphere of influence, to hold race conversations within your own sphere. But now based on everything that has transpired up to this point, I’m asking those same individuals to reach out to others who are not of the same racial persuasion as yourself. Look to make friends, to get to know neighbors, coworkers, people in your church, people you go to school with, cashiers at your local grocery store, post office, etc. Get to know people from another race, and really see who they are. Not what you were told or brought up to think. Or even what you may see in the news media, the movies, or any other marketing platform. Learn that they are just like you in so many ways. They are human beings that experience hurt/healing, joy/sorrow, and laughter/pain.
God is watching all of us, and how we are interacting with each other. How we are treating one another, as well as how we’re treating the world He created. And at this moment, I can imagine His heart is breaking. However, being His children we can go out and make a difference. We can begin to understand and love each other, as true Brothers and Sisters.
Begin the conversation. Begin the growth…together. Begin the healing.
Blessings, Angélique~
Feel to reach me at: angelique@21stcenturygodlyliving.com
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