“The Time is Always Ripe to Do Right”: hearhere’s Response to the BLM Movement
Seven weeks ago, George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis by a former police officer. In the weeks and days since then, protests decrying police brutality against the Black community in the United States have spread across the world.
We at hearhere stand with the Black Lives Matter movement. And we want to reach towards a vision of racial reconciliation in America. For us, this means looking first to God.
We believe that racial reconciliation begins in the heart. It comes from recognizing the fundamental and universal human worth that, from the Christian perspective, is anchored in the human identity as God’s creation. We believe that God created everyone equally, and that as a result, each of us deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Neither race nor any other aspects of one’s identity, and not even actions, can affect this inherent worth. Racism — perpetuated both on the individual and systemic level — is therefore an abuse of one other, and thus an offense against God.
White Christians have historically co-opted the Bible to justify atrocities like colonialism and slavery, and it’s no secret that American slave owners twisted Scripture to uphold and legitimize a white supremacist system. Additionally, much of the sentiment behind the recent trend to #cancelchristianity follows centuries of depicting Jesus as a white savior. This theologically erroneous portrayal distances him from those at the margins of society — such as the Samaritan woman, lepers, and tax collectors — whom Jesus intentionally and radically embraced throughout his ministry.
As we confront anti-Black racism today, it is important to first acknowledge the role that the church has played in perpetuating it. However, it is equally important to recognize that this comes from theological arrogance — arrogance that refuses to apply the message of Jesus to entrenched systems that benefit the powerful. Racism and anti-Blackness are inexcusable injustices and should have no place in the church.
Keeping all this in mind, we can begin to look to the heart of God, a heart that many Christians— especially those under oppression — have recognized as justice itself. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. recognized this, and his vision of the Beloved Community— where “racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of [siblinghood]” — echoes Jesus’ open welcome to people from all walks of life. Additionally, King wrote in his Letter from Birmingham Jail that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” — a reminder that each of us is called to participate in the restoration of justice, even if certain injustices don’t personally affect us.
When faced with unjust government, we have a moral responsibility to restore justice through resistance, and we can find an example of this in the Old Testament Book of Esther. This book follows the life of a Hebrew named Esther and her cousin Mordecai. Esther became queen through a Bachelorette type process during King Ahasureus’ Persian rule c. 400 BC.
Initially, Esther and Mordecai served King Ahasuerus loyally. However, when the king’s chief advisor Haman convinced him to authorize the genocide of all Jews in Persia, they risked their lives and boldly appealed to the king. Violating Persian law (which was punishable by death), Esther approached the king without invitation and revealed her Jewish identity. She requested that he reverse his decree, and her resistance ultimately led to the deliverance of the Jews. So when leaders use their power to oppress, we’re required to resist— like Esther and Mordecai did and like Reverend King did.
In the modern context of institutional anti-Blackness, one form of resistance is direct action (as demonstrated by Esther). Other forms, equally impactful, can be indirect — providing supplies and items such as water, food, and first aid kits to those who, unseen by the media, continue to protest. In addition, we can donate to mutual aid organizations and bail funds to help pay for legal support, bail, fines, and court fees for individuals who have been arrested while protesting police brutality. Since there are so many avenues of participating in the restoration of justice, there is no excuse for remaining inactive.
Our personal lives must also reflect our outward initiatives, as this movement cannot end with only tweets and hashtags. Each of us must reevaluate our lives and resolutely work to be anti-racist. We must examine our social circles and how our patterns of behavior sustain racism and anti-Blackness — then take steps to combat both implicit and explicit bias in our own behavior. Powerful methods to do this include engaging in consistent conversations, forming deep relationships, and listening to Black voices to foster empathy and reconciliation.
It starts from the bottom up — with the way we lead our lives. Let’s ask each other:
- What are we doing that promotes anti-Blackness, both individually and in our communities?
- What can we do to bring racial reconciliation to this generation and the generations to come?
- How can we best correct one another’s mistakes and continue moving towards justice?
- How do we amplify previously silenced voices?
- How do we tackle the racism that is rampant within our systems and strive towards King’s Beloved Community?
We at hearhere know that God has promised to restore justice to the world. And we have faith that God always keeps his promises. Remembering our failures but aspiring towards God’s ultimate justice, we take comfort in knowing that our own efforts to create the Beloved Community are not in vain. For God works powerfully through human hands, and these hands cannot remain idle.
But at hearhere, we realize that we, and what we represent, make up a fair share of the problem. Frankly, most American Christians haven’t supported racial justice to the extent that we should, and the questions above are meant for us as well. Marc Antoine Lavarin condemned Christians in the U.S. who were formerly silent on race issues for “[rushing] to protest without examining the ways in which their own theologies continue to nurture it.” His words ring in our ears and weigh heavy on our hearts, and we recognize that each of us must do the work of aligning our theology with God’s heart. As Lavarin writes, we have to “see justice as ministry and not as a moral extra-curricular… Truly understanding that #BlackLivesMatter means doing the work.”
We at hearhere will continue to challenge each other with these questions, combat our own biases, and educate ourselves and others through articles, forums, events, and more.
So together, let’s do the work. We must resist, fight, and unceasingly strive for the Beloved Community.
“The time is always ripe to do right.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
In Christ’s love,
The staff of hearhere
Contributors: Thummim Mekuria, Stephanie Yu, Laura Kim, Andy Han, Daisy Lee, Ruth Efe, Kevin Park, Sarah Kim, Abi Kim, Alan Guo, Christine Lin, Amy Kaneshiro, Soojee Lee, Natasha Wong, Samuel Lin, Shy Lavasani, Ryan Ma
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