1/ “I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for that reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” - James Baldwin
Reflections on #4thofJuly2020
There is an attempt to cultivate fear that the movement pressing for racial justice,
Reflections on #4thofJuly2020
There is an attempt to cultivate fear that the movement pressing for racial justice,
2/ trying to fix our justice system, & remove symbols that reinforce white supremacy is REALLY trying to "destroy America" or erase its history or past. Fear is a powerful force. It stifles imagination, raises defenses & prohibits empathy. It causes us to hear things not there.
3/ When we say "systemic racism" or "America's original sin" or critique the paradoxically themed "Independence Day", other things are heard. Here's a quick rundown.
I recently had a conversation with a self described "middle aged, very conservative white guy."
I recently had a conversation with a self described "middle aged, very conservative white guy."
4/ We'd been having conversations about race since 2015 after we attended a panel discussing BLM. I reached out to him to let him know after the racial trauma I'd been experiencing over the last 5 months, I needed a break from our sometimes triggering dialogue.
5/ He told me when I referred to slavery as "America's original sin" he heard me say "America created slavery and is the worst most evil nation in the world." What I actually meant was:
6/ Chattel slavery in America, while not the 1st In history, was the most global, devastating, & posed the greatest existential threat btwn the ideals of being a City on a Hill & "life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness" & its actual reality....
7/ Routinely raping, enslaving & exploiting humans who also were deserving of the very freedom that the Founders eloquently & forcefully demanded fr King George created a deep crisis in the American soul Lincoln would describe in cosmic judgment terms in his 2nd inaugural.
8/ This tension was resolved through white supremacy ideology. The Declaration signed on #4thofJuly was "consistent" bc non-white people weren't considered human. This lie continues to haunt us today, & which, like the doctrine of the Fall, goes back to a historical moment.
9/ We're not say'n that USA ideals & institutions are unredeemable, but like, us, they need redemption bc of the original sin of slavery. When I referred to "systemic racism" he heard "destroy the Constitution & US gov't & replace them w/ Communism. That's not what I meant at all
10/ The Const., Bill of Rights, well-conceived three branches of gov't with its "checks and balances" are the systems we appeal to in order to challenge "systemic racism" even while we expose the racism in them (i.e., 3/5 Compromise).
11/ No one would argue DE JURE systemic racism such as slavery or JIM CROW enshrined discrimination as US Law. Brown v Board ruling of 1954 struck down the legality of DE JURE, But DE FACTO systemic racism, used clever, race-neutral language & legal theories like "states rights"
12/ to achieve racialized outcomes. Why were there bus boycotts (1956), National guard troops to escort children to school in 1957, & Children's Marches needed in 1963? Why was a Civil Rights Act needed 10 years post-BROWN ending DE JURE systemic racism?
13/ Because DE FACTO racism (intentional & non-intentional) based on the narrative of racial difference still reigned in practice. It's why we say "I CAN'T BREATHE!" & Demand justice for #BreonnaTaylor. It's why we are amidst the largest protest movement in our nation's history
14/ Two things are true at once. I was born in Philly. The "cradle of liberty." I love my city. I am an American and there's no place I'd rather live. But I grieve for my nation. I hate its hypocrisy and its violent treatment of my people. I fight to change the truth that ...
15/ Bryan Stevenson articulated so well: "Our criminal justice system treats you better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent." As a Christian, my theology teaches me that we live in a fallen world, run by fallen people, and that my own country is not exempt
16/ In fact, when you look at our history, in some ways, the US evokes the global dominance & pride of Babylon while seeing itself as the Promised Land. But even then, God didn't tell the Jews to hate Babylon but to seek its SHALOM (Jeremiah 29:7). Make it better. Live in it ...
17/ Show Babylon how to be like Heaven. Because it was their home until they were called to their TRUE HOME (Hebrews 11:16). I urge those who are used to seeing this day as celebration with no lament, to understand those whose stories lead us to more conflicted feelings.
18/ We all must determine on our own that right blend of celebration & sorrow but let's not fall victim to the lie that those who critique this day do so bc they hate America. We got too much sweat equity in this house to abandon it! We just gotta tell the full truth about it.
19/ When you give those who live in that tension some space, you will find yourself more empathetic to their complicated relationship bc you can see the need to hold the nation up to its lofty & often admirable aspirations: life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness.
20/20 Independence from tyranny and justice for all? May America one day live up to its creeds and honor those who continue to demand that it do so. Amen. #IndependanceDay #independenceday2020
