We aren’t followed.
We aren’t targeted.
We aren’t assumed to be dangerous.
We aren’t profiled.
Our lives matter.
We can breathe.
Not because of who we are.
Not because of what we do.
Not because of what we don’t do.
But because of how we look.
Because of the color of our skin.
My friends, we are in the midst of one of the most shameful periods in our national history. At this very moment, in this very city, in this very state, in this very country, young black men walk out the door every day with their mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, wives, girlfriends and boyfriends TERRIFIED that they will never walk back through.
Comfort O comfort my people.
Jesus cannot breathe.
Tarika Wilson
Aiyana Jones
Miriam Carey
Shereese Francis
These are the names of unarmed black women killed by police.
Most killed in front of their children.
Most called “collateral damage”...that is the police were looking for their husband or boyfriend and decided to force their way into the home.
With flash bangs and gunfire.
In front of children
Unarmed women, in their homes, caring for their children. Collateral Damage. As my grandmother used to say, “For Shame!”
From 2006-2012 a white police officer killed a black person at least twice a week in this country.
Comfort O Comfort My People
Jesus cannot breathe.
It’s too easy to blame the police and wash our hands of this issue. Racism isn’t a police problem, it isn’t an inner city problem, it isn’t a suburban problem, it isn’t a rural problem. It’s a problem. Period.
And it is one that each and every person here today has a moral obligation to fix.
Jesus has an opinion on this issue. Can you hear him?
“Black lives matter.
Life matters
Respecting the dignity of every human being matters.
It's necessary
It's vital
It’s your Christian duty, it’s why I came to live with you. And it is why I died.”
From the prophet Isaiah:
A voice cries out:
"In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Then the glory will be revealed. Only then.
So what does it mean to make straight the highway? To lift every valley and make the mountains low? What does it mean to make the uneven ground level and the rough places plain?
Well I may not know all the ways this is supposed to come to pass, but one thing is pretty clear: racism keeps the mountains high and the valleys low. It keeps the ground uneven. Racism separates us, racism rips us apart. Racism keeps us uncomfortable, uneven and crooked.
Racism has no place in a Christian heart.
And yet, racism lurks. In all of us.
Most of us don't intend to be racist....but each and every time we take our privilege for granted, we are contributing to the racism of this country. Each and every time we FORGET that black people , especially young black men, take their life in their hands each and every time they go out in public, we are contributing to the problem of racism in this country.
You see, racism isn’t simply about burning crosses on someone’s lawn, it's about saying things like: “well if they’d just pull themselves up by their boot straps and get a job….” Instead of working to change the entrenched systems of poverty in this country, we’re being racist.
Every time we let the Buffalo School Board put personalities above principals while children are promoted from grade to grade without being able to read, we’re being racist.
Every time we fail to be ashamed and outraged when we witness the blatant mistreatment of other human beings simply because of the color of their skin, we’re being racist.
As our bishop said in his statement about racism, Buffalo is the fifth most segregated city in the country. In the nation. FIFTH.
Here’s the thing--segregation breeds racism because segregation breeds fear. You see, when we’re separated we don't get to know each other and when we don't know our neighbor, when we don’t understand our neighbor, it's a whole lot easier to not care for our neighbor
Combating racism in our hearts and in our lives, in our society and in our world takes courage. Remember, courage isn’t a lack of fear, it's being afraid but doing it anyway.
Our faith requires courage.
Mary and Joseph were afraid when the angel Gabriel changed their life forever, yet they forged ahead, in faith and with courage.
Jesus was afraid as he climbed that hill at Calvary yet he did it with faith and courage.
We have mountains to lay low, we have valleys to fill. It's scary work, but it’s necessary work. And it’s our work. Right here and right now.
Right here and right now, Jesus can't breathe.
Right here and right now, this nation's inherent racism has our Lord in a chokehold.
Right here and right now Jesus can't walk down the street without being followed and accused.
Right here and right now Jesus is being racially profiled, he's being treated as less than, he is being hated.
And he cannot breathe.
May God help Him. And may God help us. Amen.
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