This is for the white, 20-something year old hipster Christians reading this article on their phones right now in an all-natural, organic, fair trade, cold-pressed juice bar in Downtown Atlanta. This is for the white, single mother of 3 children, sitting in the line to pick her children up from school while reading this article before her 5 O'clock yoga session. This is for the pastor of a predominantly white church in the Deep South, who has a congregation that is mostly over 50 years old. This is for the new crop of "liberal" Christians that have a "gay friend" and watch episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race, and feel like a different kind of Christian because they're so nonjudgmental. This is for you, the Christian who is reading this: The time is now for you to stop being silent about the Charleston shooting. Will you stand with us?
Living deep in the American south for over two decades of my life, I have witnessed countless times where people sat around and cried about 'Christian oppression' in America. When a little girl was told she wasn't allowed to pray during class in her public school, people went crazy. When a teacher was reprimanded for bringing a Bible to class with her, social media was ablaze with articles about how Christianity is being pushed out of America. When same-sex marriage became legal in Oregon and dozens of bakers refused to serve wedding cakes to same-sex couples, thousands of Christians stood up and showed support to these bakers who would have to make these cakes.
But when real oppression is talked about, why are all the white Christians so silent? When thousands of black and brown people are standing in the streets protesting and asking for their own safety from an oppressive system, why won't they have our backs? When tears are rolling down the faces of childless mothers and students across the world are speaking up and saying "we are hurting! Enough is enough!" why do you turn and look the other way?
Since so many people like to quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. out of context (normally choosing his less radical words), let me give you one of my favorite lines from his Letter from a Birmingham Jail: "I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice…" Dr. King wholeheartedly embodied this sentiment, and knew how important it was to gain the sympathy of the White Christians during his time. This is why King, alongside the SCLC issued a call for all clergy and citizens from across the country to join them for the famous March on Selma. Appalled by how terrible the police and southerners treated the peaceful protesters, hundreds from all around the country responded to the call and came to march alongside Dr. King.
Well now you can't look the other way. This is not "race baiting." This is not inciting a "race war." This is oppression, and it has finally come to the one place where you cannot ignore it: the church. 9 black people, some of whom were reverends, one of which was a state Senator, were shot and killed inside of a church. The church is supposed to be the most peaceful and welcoming part of your life, and for decades it was the only place that black people could meet without persecution, and now that peace of mind is ripped from the community because of a senseless act of racism.
The Bible clearly states in Matthew 22 to "love your neighbor as yourself," and that includes loving those that are burdened with the systemic discrimination of this country. Looking at all of the other religions who have expressed solidarity with the current movement to end systemic racism in America and hope for a new, brighter future for this country, it is somewhat disheartening to see the lack of support from white Christians. When figures from the Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu religions have spoken out in solidarity, and international solidarity has been shown from places like Palestine, China, Canada, and Mexico (just to name a few), it makes me clearly see the gap we're missing in our support system of allies.
While many white Christians have began to speak up and speak out about the terrorist attack that happened in Charleston, many are not addressing the systems of white supremacy and casual racism that lead to it. You cannot stand for part of a cause: you must put your whole heart into fighting oppression or nothing at all. You must stand in boldness and be strong for those who need you, or do not say anything at all. Remember that silence has always helped the bully, not the bullied, and that turning the other cheek has always helped the oppressor, not the oppressed.
We cannot praise all of the people for speaking about the Charleston Shooting yet if there is no action behind it. And until this action comes, the silence of thousands will remain violence to many.
Black Christians are Christians, too. Black lives matter, too. Black bodies deserve respect, too. And if people around the world can see the huge problem with race relations in America – why can't so many people right here in our own backyard? The shooting at the Emanuel A.M.E church was about race, and now that Dylann Roof – the young terrorist who targeted and killed 9 black people – has admitted that himself, you can't deny it.
So stop overlooking articles on Facebook about this event, and stop arguing that this was "an attack on faith," and stop derailing conversations about this racially motivated act of terrorism. It's time for you, as a white Christian, to start to speak up for us. It is time for you to speak up for black people. This was not a page long article bashing white Christians, but a call to action and a hope for response from the members of the largest religion in America; one that prides itself on love, peace, and overcoming persecution. Raise your voices and use your privilege to make a change that will positively affect America for many generations to come.
And as Proverbs 31:9 says, "Open your mouth, judge righteously; defend the rights of the poor and needy." White silence has officially become white violence, and I want to know which side of history you will stand on. Will stand on the side of the people working hard to eliminate racism, and the systems of discrimination that have plagued us for too many generations now? Or will you remain silent and continue scrolling on your timeline/news feed, sipping on your cold-pressed juice without a care in the world for the black and brown people dying all around you?
