The Hinge of Humanity
Though we all have our own experiences of what took place over the week following the deadly shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by a police officer, this story is the only one I know to tell...
When I clicked the "I'm safe" button on Facebook last Thursday, I felt uneasy doing so. I thought it was a silly question because I never once felt un-safe. My city was in turmoil, yes. The past two nights displayed a less than ideal picture, sure.
I knew people were worried though because they saw the rage brought out into the streets of the place I call home. Images of cops and African Americans facing off - and windows being shattered along with stores being looted filled the airways.
To be honest, I don't care too much about property damage. What I do care about, however, is the damage of humanity. My heart was breaking.
If you were to look up the very definition of the word "damage," you would find it defined as "physical harm caused to something in such a way as to impair its value, usefulness, or normal function." The damage happening in my city was happening to its people - to everyone - and was not only physical but very emotional, very spiritual, and very mental. There is lots of repair to be done.
Tuesday night felt like a blur. Then Wednesday night was set with two contrasting responses as the media covered the more violent dramatic footage and displayed it to the world. By Thursday, the protest became more organized as leaders rose up, training and supply stations were created, and the city of Charlotte began to ban together on a mass scale.
For over three hours, I watched a march around the city with people of every color, background, and age demonstrating their right to protest. I watched as people had conversations with law enforcement, shook their hands, and showed them gratitude. At around 9:15pm, a midnight curfew was placed on the city and I became very nervous. I feared the worst. Yet, as the clock struck midnight, things remained relatively peaceful.
On Saturday afternoon, I joined up with hundreds and marched around the city for about an hour. The police blocked off the streets we were headed toward. There were banners and signs, drums and chanting, sidewalk chalk, and a moment of silence for a victim who died during the protest on Wednesday night. This was a protest in the form of a parade.
A parade for justice. A parade for peace. A parade for a people whose lives have perpetually not mattered because the world we live in has deep-rooted systems that have economically and racially displaced those who are not white...and especially those who are black.
The complexities of what seems to be happening more and more across this nation are far-reaching and involve much more than I can offer here.
What I do know is this: The very essence of humanity hinges in times like these.
Who are we called to be as people? Who are we called to be as humans? As the HUMAN race which is made up of so many colorful and beautiful souls.
Or to phrase another way for those of the Christian faith..."How much longer will we ignore the Imago Dei in other people?"
This is not a time to stand idly by. This is not a time to be passive; to be apathetic; to pray for peace without offering the hand of peace to another; to pray for understanding without offering a listening ear to the one you don't understand. No, this is not the time.
This is a time to look inward at our own biases - toward people of color; toward people of law enforcement. This is a time to stand with the marginalized, to bridge the divide, to stand in the trenches, and press on toward fundamental change for the society of humans.
