This week marked the 5th anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, MN. It became a major inflection point that led to a time of “racial reckoning” in which national attention was paid to the reality of systemic racism in the history of our country and in contemporary society. It was characterized by massive protests against race based police brutality, increased interest in books and conversations about race in America, and the removal of many Confederate monuments throughout the South including those on the famous Monument Avenue in Richmond, VA where I live. For a while, it seemed as though we were making a lasting step forward in the journey toward racial justice for all.
Yet it did not take long to realize that along with the reckoning came resistance. The call “Black Lives Matter” was met with the refrain “All Lives Matter” that denied the specific trauma and oppression of Black people caused by historic and ongoing white supremacy. Reistance to the reckoning grew to a massive scale with the re-election of Donald Trump. He issued a variety of Executive Orders intended to reverse any efforts to recognize and address the reality of systemic racism. This included distorting and outlawing Critical Race Theory (CRT) and teaching of the depth of our nation’s racial history. His administration also denounced and dismantled programs promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The results of these and other actions are evident in a recent Pew Research Study in which 72% of those surveyed said that by 2025 the racial reckoning of 2020 had little impact on improving the lives of Black people in our nation. The video posted below is a PBS article that reflects on the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder and the ongoing racial challenges we face today.
The recent reality of reckoning and resistance is not new in our history. In fact it is part of an ongoing cycle from enslavement, to Reconstruction, to Jim Crow, to the Civil Rights Movement, to today. The challenge before us is to persist in the struggle for racial justice in the face of inevitable resistance. Especially for white Christians, it is essential that we continue to see racial justice as an essential aspect of Christian discipleship and not as a passing phase. In his book White Too Long, Robert P. Jones puts it this way:
The tumultuous events of 2020 have called the question about where we white Christians stand on white supremacy. History is recording a roll call vote that requires us to declare our position. At this time of reckoning, we can remain loyal to our heritage and ancestors through defensiveness and inaction. Or we can rededicate ourselves to the work of handing down a healthier faith and country to our children and our children’s children. But we can’t do both. My hope is that enough of us will awaken from the fevered nightmare of white supremacy and finally choose a future in which we work shoulder to shoulder with our black and brown brothers and sisters to achieve the promise of a multiracial, multireligious America.