Burning Justice

Staring into my young black boy’s eyes, I saw innocence encircled around bold, deep brown irises. Playful just moments before, his childlike presence dimmed for a moment as he struggled to reconcile his own nine-year old existence with his mother’s grave explanation regarding George Floyd’s death, a man arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill. The stress was overwhelming and the youngster asked to switch gears and returned to his videos.

Even in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, American streets have again erupted in protest. Floyd, a 46 year-old African American man, was killed by a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes among cries that he could not breathe and certainty that he was nearing his demise. Unmoved, officer Derek Chauvin pressed on even after Floyd, handcuffed and laying prone, was unresponsive for two minutes and 53 seconds. After three accompanying officers checked his pulse, emergency services were called. Yet, no life saving resuscitation efforts were implemented. The occurrence was captured by bystanders’ cell phone videos and viewed countless times on social media. The four officers were fired by the city’s mayor. Officer Chauvin was arrested four days after the ruthless act and charged with 3rd degree murder and manslughter, hardly propitiating the community. As of the date of this writing, no charges have been brought against the three other officers who assisted in restraining the victim by also kneeling on his body during the arrest.

After this public lynching, unparalleled mayhem has ensued and battle cries are heard throughout the nation. Minneopolis’ 3rd precinct, home to the offending officers, was overtaken by protesters and set ablaze over the uproar of celebratory cheers and fists pumping in the air in acknowlegment of the symbolic victory. Then, as if in concert, 75 cities across America began to burn. Protesters, homogeneous in nature, vented their frustrating anger, societal anxieties and rejection of the uneven status quo, culminating into a tipping point and America’s reckoning. Rioting has left war-like aftermaths marked with destruction and looting. Days later, demands for the additional arrests of the remaining officers have gone unappeased. Meanwhile protestors, and even an on-air network reporter with no legitimate charge, were promptly arrested. Among the chaos, what’s clear is that swift justice for the Floyd family is warranted in order for the semblance of peace to prevail.

However, at this juncture, there is simply no returning to normalcy. Justice for this murder alone is insufficient, especially in light of other recent killings of people of color including Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year old jogger in Georgia chased down and killed by local residents who purportedly observed him perusing a home construction project. Arrests in that case were not effectuated until several months later when damming video already in the possession of law enforcement surfaced of the cold-blooded killing. Countless bad acts by racist civilians and unfettered police forces for too many generations have triggered the boiling point of the black community and its allies. Yet, their ask now entails rectifying disparities in economic wealth, physical health, education and political standing. Anything short at this point may result in our witnessing the failing or collapsing of the systemic structures that buttress the U.S.’s democratic republic experiment. Unaddressed, the institutions of our democracy will be unable to sustain themselves due to the crisis of disenfrachisement of people of color.

Today, we are all called to pick a side and establish a constructive role regardless of color, creed, or socioeconomic station in this ongoing cause. And while passions are alit, the Bible affirms our anger, although with the caveat that we are not to sin. (Ephesians 4:26). How do we align these competing principles? The Gospel recounts a Jewish pilgrimage when Jesus Christ visited a temple in Jerusalem during Passover. The courtyard of the temple had been transformed into a marketplace where livestock and currency were being exchanged. The poor were exploited by merchants and temple authorities alike during these commercial transactions. Reacting to the immorality, disrespect and defiling of this sacred space, Jesus furiously trounced the sellers and scattered them and their animals, dumped their money and flipped over their tables and chairs. He then decreed an embargo on any merchandise sold in the temple, disturbing all commerce. (see, John 2:13-16; see also, Matthew 21:12-13).

We can take cues from Jesus, not only known as the sacrificial Lamb of God but also as the fierce Lion of Judah, the ultimate conqueror. (Revelations 5). Within His authority as King of kings, he armed himself with whips and asserted force to rid the temple of corruption and issued sanctions impacting the markets in the area. As the demonstrated standard, righteous anger is what makes God angry. Nothing is more compelling today.

Perhaps organized righteous disruption will speak truth to power and effectuate change. From the Boston Tea Party to the Civil Rights Movement, we have studied historic revolts that lead to the inception of this country and to enactment of legislation that achieved amendments in policy. The call to the deep is for inspired leadership to take the helm where either menacing tweets or palpable silence are complicit in the racial divide. Nonetheless, if a black man can be brazenly killed still in 2020 in broad daylight despite onlookers pleading on his behalf, we are all called. It’s time.

“To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” Proverbs 21:3.