Every so often, I do posts that have nothing to do with books, publishing news, contests, or other professional updates. As the subject line shows, this is one of those posts.
I’ve neglected my blog (and my inbox, and my DMs, and my Facebook messages, etc.) lately because I am still trying to finish this book. However, I’m popping up to express my support for Black Lives Matter. When I posted my support on Twitter recently, I got the expected “All lives matter!” response, with an added “It’s assigning ethnicity as a deciding factor that’s created this mess” because it seemed the commenter thought that talking about race is where the real problem lies.
I’ll unpack that later. First, if I said “I support the American Cancer Society” how many of you would get offended and say “All illnesses matter! How dare you single out only one?” Or, if I said “I support fire fighters” would anyone reply “Oh, so you don’t care about paramedics? How dare you!” So, why does saying “Black Lives Matter” garner such offense? If you truly believe “all lives” matter, don’t you want all lives to be equally valued and respected? That’s the goal of Black Lives Matter, because black lives are not equally valued and respected now. Video after horrific video shows this, and like many, I shudder to imagine all the videos we’re not seeing because there wasn’t a bystander nearby with a cell phone, or body cams were conveniently shut off.
These videos have allowed me to see past my own privilege into what African Americans have seen and lived since the founding of our country: an appalling, systemic contempt for their lives and dignity. Racism is the real problem. Not discussion about it or activism against it since ignoring a problem has never, ever made it better. I’ve even heard from more than few religious leaders that talking about racism causes “divisiveness” in the church, so it should be avoided. But God is not about maintaining the comfort of the privileged at the expense of the oppressed. In fact, in Micah 6:8, the first requirement God gives after the question “What does the Lord require of you, O man?” is “Seek justice.”
SEEK JUSTICE. Read it again, and realize there’s no asterisk after it that says “But only for people who look like you and/or who you think deserve justice.”
That’s why I support Black Lives Matter, and other organizations like them who are seeking justice because until racism ends, “all lives” don’t matter when it’s long overdue that they did. If you want to support them as well, here’s a link: https://blacklivesmatter.com/
Comments on this post are closed because I’ve explained my stance as clear as I can. If you have questions or comments for me about this, you can use my Contact page to reach me here: https://www.jeanienefrost.com/contact/