Lessons I’m learning as a white man…
BLM is both an organization and a declaration. I can endorse one without supporting the other. When I say “black lives matter” I am not endorsing or supporting BLM as an organization. Don’t be trapped by the false choice of endorsing both the organization and the declaration OR rejecting both the organization and the declaration. You can choose what to support and endorse in this movement toward racial equality.
I do believe we should all endorse Black Lives Matter as a declaration. I am inviting you to join me in risking being misunderstood. I am thankful for friends who reached out privately after my first facebook post (which is now part one in this series) who asked if I support BLM as an organization.
This is an example of why I am using the phrase “lessons I’m learning as a white man” because this movement against racism and social injustice is comprised of a diverse group of people all of whom have varying and at times diverging viewpoints. I have learned that I can be a part of the movement without endorsing every narrative.
I understand the risk. You are saying, “If I am seen standing in that crowd, I risk being perceived as believing the same thing as everyone else in that crowd.” Yes. But welcome to Christianity! Isn’t that Jesus’ example? Have you read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? Jesus didn’t allow the risk of being misunderstood (which was daily for Him) stop Him from His divine mission. And I think you will be hard pressed to read those first four books of the New Testament and the 23 that follow and not come to the conclusion that we have a divine mandate to fight against injustice in our world. Is this our only mandate, certainly not. But it is however certainly central!
Some of the other questions I want to explore in this series are: should a person’s criminal history affect my response to their death at the hands of a police officer, is this movement for racial equality distracting The Church from its fight against abortion, are people of color doing enough to stop “black on black crime” while also speaking out against the excessive use of force by law enforcement, and are police officers allowed to use lethal force differently than citizens? These are examples of questions I have worked through personally and have also recently received from friends in response to my recent posts on facebook.
Lessons I’m learning as a white man…