We are Listening
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come”
Luke 4:18
On May 25th Geoge Floyd, a 46-year-old black man was arrested by a group of four police officers after allegedly attempting to use a counterfeit 20 dollar bill to buy a packet of cigarettes. During his arrest, George Floyd was handcuffed and brought to the ground. One of the officers in the group placed his knee on top of George Floyd, causing him to have trouble breathing. For the next 8 minutes and 46 seconds, George Floyd gasped for air and pleaded for the officer to get off of him-- he repeatedly cried out “I can’t breathe”. The other three officers in the group did not intervene and instead stood by pushing back bystanders who were yelling at the police officer to get off of George Floyd. The results of these officers' actions directly resulted in the death of George Floyd later that day.
Since his death, the long-standing issues of discrimniation, racism, and police brutality have begun to gain more traction than ever before. Many people are going out to the streets and protesting the racial and systematic inequality that affects people of the black community. Unfortunately, cases like George Floyd's aren't rare. There are countless instances where people of color have been unjustly profiled and therefore treated more harshly than other racial groups. In reality, the problem with police brutality is only the tip of the iceberg. What lies underneath is a much larger issue regarding the oppression of black people through the use of a wider system-- which includes unequal education opportunities, unfair police treatment, and unequal availability to community resources. Here are a few facts:
Black men are 2.5 times more likely than whites to be killed by police (1)
Black people make up 13% of the total American population and yet make up 40% of the prison population (2)
Black drivers are more likely to pulled over and then later searched compared to white drivers (3)
Black students were nearly four times more likely to be suspended than white students (4)
63% of blacks have had a family member incarcerated, versus 42% of whites (5)
Black males receive almost a 20% longer jail sentencing compared to white offenders of the same crime (6)
The current Black Lives Matter protests isn’t the first movement against racial injustices. There have been a number of other similar protests following the unjust death of countless black people in the United States-- examples of these include the movement following Rodney King, Eric Garner and Michael Brown. These issues are not the result of a single death, they are the product of a century's worth of the marginalization of an entire group of people. Understanding the underlying racial and systemic inequality is only the start. The question now becomes: As Christians, what should we do now?
Educate and Empathize: One of the greatest commands Jesus gave us was to love our neighbor. This phrase goes far beyond just looking out for the people around us. It also includes taking the time to acknowledge and listen to the pain of others. Countless black people have voiced their fears regarding the police. Many fear for their lives as soon as they see the red and blue sirens of a police car. Others are afraid of walking outdoors with a hood on in fear of being shot down. Countless parents are even having the difficult conversation with their children about how one day they may end up dead due to the color of their skin. Let's take the time to genuinely listen and empathize with the fears and concerns of black people in the United States.
Make a Difference: When Jesus walked he left a lasting impact on everyone he met. He relentlessly sought out those who were hurting, overlooked, and in need of help. He understood their concerns and called out injustice. Just like Jesus, we must do the same, we have to see injustices in the world, take action, and bring light to them. Making a Difference doesn't necessarily mean having to go outside and protest, it could mean educating the people around us, it could be lending financial support, or even making a simple social media post.
References
[1] Edwards, Frank, et al. “Risk of Being Killed by Police Use of Force in the United States by Age, Race–Ethnicity, and Sex.” June 2019, doi:10.31235/osf.io/kw9cu.
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/police_mort_open.pdf
[2] “Community Supervision Marked by Racial and Gender Disparities.” The Pew Charitable Trusts, www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2018/12/06/community-supervision-marked-by-racial-and-gender-disparities.
[3]Pierson, Emma, et al. “A Large-Scale Analysis of Racial Disparities in Police Stops across the United States.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 4 May 2020, www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-0858-1.
[4] United States of America Department of Education “2013-2014: Civil Rights Data Collection; A First look ” 2016
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/2013-14-first-look.pdf
[5] Enns, Peter K., et al. “What Percentage of Americans Have Ever Had a Family Member Incarcerated?: Evidence from the Family History of Incarceration Survey (FamHIS).” Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, vol. 5, 2019, p. 237802311982933., doi:10.1177/2378023119829332.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2378023119829332
[6] Demographic Differences in Sentencing: An Update to the 2012 Brooker Report www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/research-publications/2017/20171114_Demographics.pdf.