Saturday night when I went to bed I checked my phone and saw an email from the NAACP asking me to sign a petition related to the acquittal of George Zimmerman. That's how I found out. From there I logged onto Facebook and saw the proliferation of responses on my news feed. It took me awhile to get to sleep.
The next morning at church 86% of churches did not address this issue. I was one of those pastors. Not because I didn't want to talk about it, but because I still didn't know what to say. Yet this issue loomed in my heart all morning, and I appreciated worshiping with my more black than white church.
It's taken me a couple of days to process and decide what to say in response. In two weeks I am preaching on race, so while I'm behind, this will be addressed. I can't just ignore it.
When I look at my Facebook news feed, I get a pretty good picture of our nation on this. As someone else explained, black people take this as a pattern, while white people take it as an isolated incident, which is pretty much the difference between the races and justice issues all the time, as illustrated in Divided by Faith by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith.
Some of my white friends and family just don't get the problem, the defendant was acquitted, move on. Let me say that two years ago I sat on a jury for a young man accused of murders, two separate scenarios. Our jury found him guilty of one, and not of the other. In talking to the police afterward, they felt confident he committed both. But the evidence as presented left reasonable doubt, and they understood why we chose the way we did. The responsibility of deciding someone's fate feels pretty overwhelming. So unlike some folks, I won't vilify the jury, I don't think the case was presented clearly enough under the laws of Florida for them to make a good decision. We can't go back and fix that.
However we need to bring systemic changes to our system. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal about racial profiling in New York City shows that the NYPD stopped more young black males than live there. Books like Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow show that blacks have been criminalized for crimes to a level that means fewer black men can vote now that before voting laws changed. These are the realities that the black community lives with daily.
We just sent five teens and our youth worker on bicycles from Cincinnati to Niagara Falls. Yes, literally, they rode their bikes 550 miles. What an accomplishment! I couldn't be prouder of all of them. Yet these same young men could easily be racially profiled and fall victim to the same treatment Trayvon Martin and so many others have suffered.
Many of my friends and family comment on the great work that Roger and I do in our ministry. We appreciate that affirmation. We hope we are doing what God called us to. And we cannot minister in the black community and ignore these issues. So don't praise me for my work, then chastise me for taking a stand. I can do no other.
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No chastising here friend. I think this sad and tragic incident was a legal non-starter given FL's broad tolerance for someone with poor judgement putting themselves in a situation that can become deadly. Under what circumstance is a single teenager regardless of color, likely to be a threat, particularly if he or she is on the move. I can only hope George Zimmerman has enough moral insight to admit he was stupid and reckless, then beg for forgiveness; first from Trevon's parents, then a nation needing awareness raised to the very issues you outline here.
ReplyDeletePeople of color are regarded with suspicion. I can't know from experience, but I have seen the data. However, my limited experience with the family court system convinces me there is little room for real justice, though we must use it when appropriate. More reliable is to befriend people who are different from us. It's not just the right thing to do. It's not just a way to better ensure justice. It's a way to more fully fill our world with joy.
Amen Eddie, thanks for your response.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't understand is how so many people who were not witnesses to the event are so sure they know what took place and completely sure their assessment is correct. I am not disagreeing with you, Katherine nor Ed. I am thinking about conversations I have had with people who were not aware of basic facts of the case, yet were completely convinced they knew who was or was not guilty of what. It will still be some time before Dr. King's dream is reality. Prejudice comes in all colors.
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