Faith Can Save Black America

Check Your Heart

Trayvon Martin. Tamir Rice. Eric Garner. Stephon Clark. Michael Brown. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. To say the least, When will it end? Now I can sit here and write out of anger and frustration, ask why over and over again. But we have to understand that racism and racial injustice was happening from the beginning of time, even before slavery in the early 1600s and it will never end until we all as a collective, no matter the race or ethnicity, take a step back and evaluate ourselves within. Each and every person on this earth has a responsibility to do what is right. We often want change and justice overnight, but unfortunately, it does not and will not happen abruptly.

It will take continuous progression starting from a change of heart. This will be easier said than done for some people. It will require us to acknowledge that we were wrong and we want to do better going forward. Through this change of heart we will then need to be intentional and operate among each other with love. This should start within our homes and how we raise and teach our children. Until this is accomplished individually, we will never see the change we want for our nation if the efforts are not unanimous.

As a society we result to the wrong things and run all over the world to search for answers that God has already provided. Trust me in the midst of this, that may be the last thing you would want to hear because you may think I'm dismissing the problem at hand, but truth be told, if you do not understand by now that the power of man alone cannot fix this nation, then you will continually wonder why everything we choose to do as humans will never work. It is time we all go back to the principles of the word and consult what God says we should do. Isaiah 40:8 (KJV) says "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever." That simply means, yes our society is ever-changing with cultures, governmental systems, influences of others, but despite it all, what has been written will remain to the end.

Growing up, I always thought as long as you comply with the police you will be okay, but then I started to see a trend of particularly African American men and women being shot and killed for unjustifiable reasons. Whereas our white counterparts will openly commit a multitude of crimes and massacres just to be escorted to prison without a bruise in sight. Most of the time, won't even face conviction! It's sickening and it needs to end. There has been countless deaths caused by police brutality towards African Americans that we are slowly being conditioned to believing their death was because they either "resisted arrest or retaliated with authority", but we need to start calling it what it really is, because majority of the time many white officers are working with built up hatred towards African Americans, so before they even reach the scene, they have already developed skewed intentions on how they will approach the situation solely by the characteristics of an individual. The fact of the matter, it's deeper than the color of our skin; it's a heart problem that racist suffer from and having one in uniform does not make it any better.

Now, no one is born a racist. It is acquired from one's parents, grandparents, or environment but it is time for you all to break the generational curses in your family. I want you to be able to say "Yes, I come from a racist family, but from here on out we will learn how to love unconditionally, we won't act upon our prejudice perceptions, but instead we will live peacefully among all people." It's important not to conform to the things that don't align with the word of God. African Americans should not have to fear for their life if they choose to exercise in their own neighborhood, reach for their license to give a officer that just asked for it, drive a nice car, wear a certain hairstyle, being black! We are not begging to be loved by others, because God has already done that and through God's love we then learn to love others. But, we are asking to be treated with equality and the simple standards of human decency.

Not all police officers have bad intentions, but it's time for you good ones to stand up and let your coworkers know that what they may or may not be doing is wrong. Don't worry about risking your job when you know without a doubt that you are standing up for what is right and by your actions for doing so, you are saving lives. Imagine at your next board meeting or conference your chief or boss asks "Does anyone have any suggestions or remarks?" and you've built up enough courage to explain that you don't agree with the trends of African American deaths caused by police brutality and you want to ensure that everyone is aware and agrees with your sentiments. Yes, that may make you uncomfortable in the moment, but the next time your coworkers, whether some or all reaches for their weapons, they will remember the moment you stood up and hopefully all will think twice before they pull the trigger, but some, if even one, will. As for that life on the other side of the gun, whether you know it or not, will be saved because of the faith you had to stand up for what is right regardless of the consequences of your actions. You were able to positively influence your coworker(s) from not taking another life unjustly. My question to you is, will you be that cop?