Devin Simpson’s song “I can’t breathe”

Dear White Christian Friends,

I just want to start by saying that this letter will not cover all points of view and/or all relevant arguments. I simply want to start a dialogue, because I know that when a conversation ends, hope is extinguished, and if there’s one thing I hold on to, some days by a thread, it’s hope. It’s the hope that as people who believe Jesus died for all the wrong happening in the world, the cross was not for nothing, and our love for Jesus is best demonstrated by our actions. And the grave is empty, reminding me that at the end of the day, this life and this lifetime’s evil and hurt will not have the last say. 

First, my heart is broken, and I’m honestly nauseous. These last few weeks’ news reports remind me that racism is still prevalent and Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd are two more names added to the crowded graveyard marked Black Lives Mattered. Let’s be honest. Their lives were not valued. And honestly, the whole incident with Amy Cooper just felt like a kick in the face in the midst of the death of two African-American males, both unarmed and murdered. That could have been my nephew going for a jog. My brother-in-law. His brother or his father. It honestly could have been my husband or father, both Indian, but dark-skinned. But even if I didn’t have black family members, the delayed arrests of the father-son in Georgia and the four police officers being fired felt like slaps on the wrist for crimes that needed to be punished more swiftly and justly.  

My questions for you, white Christian friends are these: Why, after a news story or video of a black male being killed by a white person, do you feel the need to so immediately question whether the act was racist or not? Why are so many of you defending the tiniest possibility that the acts of violence were simply just that, and race did not play a factor? Also, why do you feel the need to research and just now bring to the world’s attention stories of unarmed white men who were killed by white cops? For the record, the actual statistics when you understand populations and percentages do not hold water or legitimize this argument. And finally, why are so many of you just silent? Absent from the conversation? Why the sudden white flight from the pain and sorrow and rage felt by the black community? 

As a parent, my husband and I believe we’re responsible for having these difficult conversations with our daughters. We want them to know what’s happening in the world. We want them to understand to whatever degree their young minds can comprehend, that injustice occurred and the importance of speaking up, standing up, and being part of the solution.  

As I wrestle with how to help and be a part of lasting change in the present culture, one bottom line repeatedly comes to mind. If I say I’m a Christian and I believe that we are all God’s children, and each of us is made in the image of God, and I fail to be there for my African-American brothers and sisters in their pain during this time, what am I communicating to them about their value in my perspective?  

White Christian friends, how different would the conversation be if you stopped defending the argument that not everyone is racist? If we are being 100% honest and vulnerable, no one is 100% NOT racist. We all see each other imperfectly, especially those most different from ourselves. Acknowledging our country’s racist history and our present racist digressions is perhaps the first concrete step to true reconciliation between races. 

And love. The Bible says, “LOVE covers a multitude of sins,” but if we truly love our African-American neighbors, can we try to do better? Show up. Mourn together. Stop defending yourself or your race. And just listen. 

David W. Augsburger said, “Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.”

Can we do that? Listen and learn. To listen means, I care about your pain and want to understand it better. If I can’t understand, I can ask God to help me understand. Let’s love each other enough to do at least this.

Can I leave you with a song written by my friend Devin Simpson, called, “I can’t breathe.” She wrote it. And she has a beautiful heart and voice. Please listen.

Sincerely wanting to do better,

Rajdeep 

P.S. A great post on FB shared 8 concrete things White People Can Do About Racism by youth pastor Theo Davis.  And a second really good source on “listening to the other side.” Lots of good material by Christian Rapper and Poet Propaganda. So many good books out there to be informed too. Fiction, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is a must read. And Non-Fiction, anything by Brenda Salter McNeil. Her newest book is coming out this August. You can pre-order now. I know there are many more resources for us to listen and learn from. Feel free to add them in the comments so we can learn together.