Black Lives Matter

It’s a controversial phrase.  One that we all know is true, yet there is so much tension around it.  “Black Lives Matter.” I understand the problem. I felt it the first time I heard it said. It was back in August of 2014, after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Something inside of me bristled and I responded, “Yes that’s true, but ALL lives matter.”  That’s the clear teaching of the Bible. All humans are created in the image of God, and no matter how much we distort or twist that image by our own sin, selfishness, and rebellion, all humans still “matter”. So for months I kept my mouth mostly shut, but felt that those saying “Black Lives Matter” somehow diminished the value of all the other lives that mattered.

Today I think differently. What changed?

Simply put, I did, thanks to the help of a lot of people who pointed me to some realities that I had up to that point safely avoided. These are the kinds of friends who challenge my thinking and ask me important questions that I need to work through. I can see a bit more now from a larger viewpoint and I am committed to that “Black Lives Matter” phrase (and some others). My hope that by saying and displaying it I can help some other people along the way.  

Here’s a few of the comments and questions that I find people raise when the issue comes up. I had the same questions to some degree all along the way, but I’m hoping when I share my own thoughts it might help address them for others.

Let’s start with the most obvious one.  Doesn’t saying “Black Lives Matter” somehow negate or de-emphasize the fact that “All Lives Matter”?  This was the first and main hurdle for me to overcome. Like I mentioned above, the value and sanctity of human life is a core conviction. For me, it all goes back to the beginning - humanity being created in the image of God.  The story of the Bible is that even though we distorted and marred that gift by our own rebellion and desire to go our own way, God did not abandon His creation, but came in flesh Himself to make a way for that image to be restored.  So yes, without a doubt, all lives matter. But what I am coming to see is that a specific focus doesn’t equal or imply exclusion. When my kids were little and I told them to eat their vegetables, it didn’t mean that I wanted them only to eat vegetables. When I go on a community walk/run to raise funds for breast cancer research it doesn’t mean that other forms of cancer aren’t in need of funding as well.  When a friend’s child dies and I quietly sit with them in their grief instead of calling attention to the fact that lots of children die in our world, it doesn’t minimize the worldwide tragedy of children dying.  A specific focus seeks to address and emphasize a specific issue, not minimize, negate, or exclude other issues. It’s a way of drawing attention to a visible and pressing need, offering comfort and empathy around the pain that the specific issue is bringing with it.

Black lives matter is important now because black lives are being taken at an astounding rate. The high profile cases alone over the past 5-6 years can boggle the mind. If you haven’t noticed the increasing number of black men and women being killed I’m not sure where you have been hiding. And yes, whites are killed too, I’m not saying they aren’t, but check out the numbers and remember that a specific focus doesn’t equal or imply exclusion, it merely helps to focus attention on an area that needs immediate concern, care, and action.

Still not convinced? Do some research. The statistics show that blacks are more likely to be stopped while driving, despite the fact that there are less black drivers on the road. Researchers write, “We found that, compared to their share in the population, blacks are almost twice as likely to be pulled over as whites — even though whites drive more on average.” See more here. For more info check out the book written from the research in this particular study - Suspect Citizens, by Frank R Baumgartner. Or check out another study here that analyzed over 100 million traffic stops and found the same results.  . 

I know that phrases like “white privilege” and “systemic racism” incite a lot of discussion, animosity, and disagreement.  But the more I am open to having my own reactions to these terms questioned, the more I see that so much of what is going on in the world in regards to race happens at a deep, subconscious level. There are racist acts, which are horrific, that no one I knows could stomach perpetrating. I’m not saying that every white person wants to do those things. I am saying that when I peel back the layers of my own life I am finding that there are some deeply held patterns that I have which need to be purified and redeemed by the gospel. I’m learning that these deep attitudes have come subtly, stay buried beneath the surface, but are nonetheless real factors in my decisions and actions. There are a million underlying reasons for things like this in our culture, but there is no reason for refusing to acknowledge them.  We must begin to see the truth in ourselves, even if it’s very unpleasant, and explore ways to bring healing within our own lives and the larger society.  I am convinced the gospel of Jesus, fully applied to our own lives and relationships is the key to bringing about the needed change.  If that’s too religious for you the book My Grandmother’s Hands , which I mentioned in a past post here , has some ideas of what might begin to lead us in a different direction.

When I say Black Lives Matter I’m trying to draw attention to a specific need at a specific time. In Canada the phrase “Indigenous Lives Matter” might be more appropriate and timely, as Maclean’s magazine makes the point here. But both of those phrases are not meant to minimize any other lives, but to point out things that are happening right now that can be easily overlooked by our society.

A second concern, and a valid question is this: “Aren’t you embracing a full political ideology by saying “Black Lives Matter” or carrying a sign that says that?” BLM is a movement, and as a movement it has an ideology. Go to a website that speaks for the movement and you can see this outlined in detail. Some ideas I wholeheartedly support, some I do not. But here’s the second point to remember, the truth of a statement is not determined by organizations who promote the statement. Just because I say “Black Lives Matter” and want to emphasize the truth of that statement doesn’t mean that I agree, support, or condone everything said or done by the BLM organization. This shouldn’t need to be said, but it seems to be a common criticism that I hear. I am a Christian minister. I have been for 21 years. I am humbled to bear that title, and it is not one that I shy away from. I believe that Christianity is true, that the teachings of Jesus are vital to both our individual lives and the our world at large. The same title is true of many other people: Franklin Graham, Dr. Tim Keller, Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson, Charles Stanley, and the list goes on. Just because I use the same term for myself doesn’t mean that I endorse all the others who do the same. I use my life to express what it means to be a Christian minister, and for some of those listed above I hope my example is a corrective to the understanding they have of the term.  On a larger scale take the term “Christian”. Does my appropriation of that term for myself mean that I agree with the meaning everyone else who holds it has for the term?  Of course not. If I have to wait for ideological purity to make a true statement that I think needs to be said I will never be able to say anything.

Related to this is the third concern people seem to have:  "Doesn’t this run the risk of offending people, thus building walls between them and your faith instead of opening doors?” In a word, yes.  It does risk people jumping to conclusions. As a small church pastor in a small town it might make some people miss the very gospel I seek to give my life and time to sharing.  But at some points the risk is worth it. There are moments the pain and brokenness in the world is so deep and prevalent that you have to speak out, even if you are misunderstood. These are moments when someone has to challenge the prevailing assumptions that have gotten us to this point. Hopefully this will expose our need and draw us all to a point of humble repentance. Words have power to do that, even words that initially upset us.  Phrases that unsettle us often shake the dust off our thinking and help us to move in a new and better direction.  Walter Brueggemann writes in The Prophetic Imagination,

“The prophet is engaged in a battle for language, in an effort to create a different epistemology out of which another community might emerge. The prophet is not addressing behavioral problems. He is not even pressing for repentance. He has only the hope that the ache of God could penetrate the numbness of history. He engages not in scare or threat but only in a yearning that grows with and out of pain.” (p.55) 

Is there a risk in being misunderstood?  Sure. But the risk (and the result) of not saying anything is far greater.  The heart of God is aching for the loss and the demeaning of black and indigenous lives in our world today. My only hope is that voicing that ache can help to penetrate the numbness we find in the world about the tragedy of that situation.

Have I convinced you, the 5% of people who actually read the whole post?  Who knows?  But the point is that Black Lives Matter, and Indigenous Lives Matter. It’s something that needs to be emphasized at this point in history. Maybe one day we can all just say that all lives matter and really mean it. But until then we have to speak, reflect, and act.