After reading Janelle’s Midweek Musings, I was inspired to write what was on my heart at this moment. This subject of racism has always been a deep stirring in my soul.
My father marched with Dr. King many years ago, and he helped me understand that his sacrifice was done so I could excel and reach higher and greater things than he did. He was also a World War II veteran who was awarded a purple heart. When he returned home after his service was completed, he was treated as common trash: unable to vote in the south, denied jobs, not allowed to live in a desirable neighborhood, and on and on.
As I have already told many people at Zion, I have seen police brutality up close. I have seen police use their batons, weapons, and mace to intimidate the people in the projects, just because they could. My hearing loss and my friends who shouted, “He’s deaf!” were the only things that saved me from their abuse. I have seen Jim Crow laws still evident in 1986, when I took my then-fiancée south to meet my relatives in Virginia. I was harassed when I tried to get gas and a snack in a small town. We were told there were no rooms available for us to stay in overnight. There WAS a room for her, but not for me.
Now, 50 years later, African Americans seem to be stuck in the same boat. The only difference is that we now have video and social media to make it plain that the problems of racism have not gone away. They have not been solved. They still affect not only the black community, but the communities of all people of color, and the communities of people not of color. The latter is affected by their own racism denying the good that could come of true UNITY with all people.
Church has always been my refuge and gospel music was what soothed my soul. Yet when the church community fails to touch the subject of racism for fear of disunity, I wonder if we really have unity if others do not see and respond to the racism around them. I do pray that the church, including Zion, can have productive, healthy, and sensitive conversations about racism and how it affects us all.
One of my favorite Bible verses is “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart by acceptable in thy sight, Oh Lord” (Psalm 19:14). Martin Luther King wrote in one of his speeches another quote from the Bible, “How long, O Lord? How long?” (Psalm 6:3). Another famous quote, not from the Bible, says, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” I think there are many who have not learned from the history of what African American and other people of color have endured.
The Bible does, indeed, speak of injustices done to others because of their race, background, status, etc. These two verses are only two of them. We need to truly search our hearts and words to be sure we are not contributing to the racism. We need to truly call out others when they use words or actions that show evidence that their hearts are not right. We need to be a refuge to others who are hurting because of what someone has done or said. And, yes, as Janelle wrote, we need to show hospitality to our neighbors and those in places that are far different from our own. Hopefully, the church and others in our communities can finally open their eyes, ears, and hearts to what is being said in all the protests. To summarize the message of the protests, “We want to be heard. We want to be treated fairly. We want to participate on equal footing. We want to be able to live our lives without fear of what will happen if we are in a different neighborhood, different occupation, different family design than what is ‘expected.’” I am willing to have a conversation about racism with anyone who is willing to have an open heart and mind. Call me. We can grow together, IN UNITY.
God bless,
Roger Walker