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3 black churches in Louisiana were burned over past 10 days, as well as the admin building at Highlander, a home of the Southern freedom mvmt. During this same time, a white man parked in our church lot & refused to ID himself. I need to talk to white folks on here for a min...
Our church is the community center of an African-American neighborhood that’s been here over a century. The church secretary has been here 30+ yrs & knows everyone. So she was concerned when she saw this man park in our lot & sit in his car.
She called me & I walked over to introduce myself & ask why he was there. “Just waiting for a meeting,” he said. I explained that some ppl noticed him & were concerned. This seemed to baffle him.
When I noted the lot was private property, he made a point of parking in front of the church on public street. Then he sat there defiantly. This was his right, he insisted. He did not understand why anyone would question it.
The video above was our second exchange, about 30min later, when our pastor & I tried to talk to him again. He insisted on staying & several guys from our block came & sat w/ me til he left.
I can’t tell you why he was here, but I can tell you why folks were concerned. Everyone in this community knows that MAGA has emboldened white nationalists who harass & terrorize black & brown ppl.
We’ve been clear about being a faith community that stands for equal protection of all people. And we’ve received some nasty calls & messages. So ppl who refuse to ID themselves are a legitimate concern.
I talk to white ppl all the time who say, “I don’t like how Trump talks, but do you know ppl who are really afraid.” Yes. And you probably do too. They may just not feel safe enough to tell you.
But I can’t pretend that white nationalism hasn’t affected white ppl. It has. It has hardened this man’s heart. Even if he intended no ill by being here, he had no capacity for empathy. He couldn’t fathom that he was causing legitimate fear.
Which is why I’m asking white folks to hear this story & talk to one another about what it means to be a decent neighbor in America today. B/c the stakes are high for all of us who want healthy communities for the ppl we love.
