Psalm 139:14
14I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.
I
know that many of you if not all of you have heard or seen what has
played out. God brought to my remembrance my first experience with
racism. I was six years old when I became aware of the color line.
However I was eight years old the first time I was consciously aware of
experiencing racism. My Mom and I had just moved to the DC/MD/VA area. I
was attending a new school. It was during Autumn. I was frequently
being picked on by two little White girls in the class. One was shorter
than me and one was taller. I had a habit of ignoring them. But on this
one particular day, things took a turn. It was lunch time. I had my
favorite Wonder Woman metal lunch box. I got up from the lunch room
after I finished eating to use the restroom. I thought the door had
closed behind me. As I went into the stall I saw two sets of feet. The
two White girls were standing outside of my stall as I finished. They
were hurling insults including the "N" word very loudly. They were
saying I thought I was better than them because I was built different. I
only repeatedly asked to be left alone because I didn't do anything to
them. But when I opened the bathroom stall door, the White girls pushed
me back in. My instinct kicked in. I had my lunch box in my hand. I
swung and hit the shorter girl in the face. Both girls were so appalled
of my fighting back that they ran out and told the teacher. I was the
one who got in trouble. When approached by our teacher, I was told I
should've told the teacher they were bothering me. But how was I
supposed to tell when I couldn't get out of the stall without fighting
them or letting them beat me? It was real. I was being conditioned by
Whites and those in authority that defending myself and standing up for
myself against racism and violence was wrong. However, my Mom taught me a
different way. I suspect the teacher knew why and that was the only
reason my Mom was not called. Conclusion, fear and hate are learned
behaviors.
I am sharing because as my Pastor shared with
our multi-cultural church family yesterday, violence against
African-Americans at the hands of authorities is real and has been
happening for a long time. He even confessed about being stopped by
police for the color of his skin four times in a 24hour period for the
same reason. There are many examples which can be shared. As
African-American, we have been struggling with violence against us at
the hands of authorities since we were brought to this country. It is
the same reason I decided long ago not to hate. I simply have spent most
of my life proving I have value, until Jesus showed me that because He
created me and everyone else on this earth that we are all valuable. You
are loved by God because you are His work. Though I have a previously
scheduled event this Wednesday, our church is providing a prayer service
and conversation open to those who wish to attend. For those who want
to attend, you can reach out to me and I will share it with you.
Blessings
