Back to Black: Lament and Beloved Community
The heart-wrenching death of George Floyd has caught the world by attention. George Floyd joins the long ranks of Black men and women such as Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Rekiya Boyd, Philando Castille and many others who have been killed by those who have sworn to serve and protect them.
George Floyd’s death was violent. I did not watch the video because I wanted to protect my mental wellbeing, but I know bones were broken and screams were heard. George Floyd’s death has forced the world to look in the mirror and the world is horrified with its reflection. Afrophobia is vicious and the weight of it all is enough to bring you to your knees. Anti-Blackness is an assault on personhood and God-given dignity: thus, anti-Blackness is satanic in nature. A racial justice movement that is primarily secular will not be able to deal with the deep spiritual roots of white supremacy and its influence in our world.
I will share my experience to illustrate the deep ache that is caused by experiencing anti-Black racism. White supremacy has stalked human relationships, communities and institutions for four centuries, and that is why I believe secular frameworks alone cannot repair what has been lost or resurrect what is dead. To illustrate, while I was sitting in class, a non Black classmate I had known for years told me that Black people are violent, crime prone and culturally inferior. (This classmate has since reached out to me and doesn’t remember saying these things.) It was April 18th, 2018. I remember the date because the incident marks a turning point in my life. This incident represents a loss of innocence and the moment that I internalized the fact that the world did not see us how I see us.
This encounter with my classmate caused me to realize that anti-Blackness is like cataracts. It makes it difficult for people to see our humanity and empathize. My fellow classmate was acting as one with racial cataracts.This experience has lingered painfully in my mind because it represents the incongruence between how I see and love Black people, and how others — despite consuming the music, art, talent, cultures and benefiting from the contributions, inventions and ingenuity of Black people — have a chronic inability to see us outside of a prism of lies, half truths, stereotypes.
I welcome the movement to confront global anti-Blackness and all the ways anti-Blackness is compounded by poverty, ableism, colourism, misogynoir, homophobia and transphobia. This emerging racial justice movement does not exist in a vacuum — it is a multigenerational marathon that people of African descent have been running for hundreds of years to assert our humanity, freedom and self determination. Just because it is new to you doesn’t mean it is a new movement.. The movement is an outgrowth of the work of activists, writers, educators, intellectuals, organizers etc who have dedicated their lives to creating a new and better world.
Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it- Franz Fanon
The batton for racial justice has been passed onto us. The journey is long and requires endurance and discipline because we are attempting to bring down the stronghold of white supremacy which has ensnared the world for 400 years and counting.
I understand people’s weariness and eye roll towards “God talk” because religion is often weaponized to encourage longsuffering and inaction in the face of mistreatment. Nevertheless, my reflections and experiences as a Black Christian have brought me to the conclusion that white supremacy has spiritual dimensions. We desperately need to apply a spiritual lens along with an economic, social and political lens. Secular moralists have made important contributions to the movement but are unable to recognize the spiritual reality of white supremacy and underestimate what we are up against. Secular instruments alone are not equipped to diagnose and treat the malignant tumour that is white supremacy. Human devices cannot heal a sin-stained humanity and our broken relationship with each other. I suggest teachings rooted in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
I am concerned about the moral character of progressivism. A more cautious version of myself is worried about how our current moment will embolden the more toxic aspects of progressive/leftist/activist culture which include the desire for blood, shame, fear and ideological conformity. It does not surprise me that there is a form of legalism and adherence to dogma that exists in secular progressive spaces. Our aspirations are good and just, but we are deeply flawed.
Any worldview that doesn’t reckon with the reality of human fallenness and its implications makes me weary because it means we are unprepared for the way fallness (sin) will inevitably manifest in our movement. I worry about some of the lofty ideas of justice expressed in spaces such as Twitter; I am concerned that we haven’t learned from the cautionary tale embodied by our progressive ancestors: individuals much smarter, thoughtful and empathetic than ourselves such as Jim Jones, Robert Mugabe or Aung San Suu Kyi have sought to create more just societies only to dissolve into new forms of cruelty, confusion or violence. Liberation movements have often failed, too. We are frail and fragile creatures easily given to despair. We need God’s help. We cannot do this alone.
My disillusionment with progressive politics along with my experiences with anti-Black racism (and misogynoir) are best made sense of in my relationship with Jesus and the community He has called me into. I also evoke the wisdom of scripture and the traditions of my spiritual ancestors Harriet Tubman, Dr. King, Thea Bowman, Henry McNeal Turner, Ephraim Amu and other members of the global, multiethnic church. My faith has helped me to internalize this truth: we all bear the stamp of our creator. All of us are loved, sacred and inherently valuable because God said so. Moreover, my time in the church and secular progressive spaces has forced me to recognize the depth of human fallness. Recognizing human sinfulness does not have to create shame or render us to resignation, rather, it can propel us to walk with a level of humility and measurement. We all ache for things to be made right; that wicked structures would be made low and the righteous would be vindicated.
When I read scripture, I see a message that sobers me with the reality of sin but stops me from descending into nihilism because it is defined by hope and truth. God in His infinite mercy and grace has entered into a sin stained humanity in the form of a God man- named Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life and was crucified in front of a crowd of witnesses. Jesus rose from the dead 3 days later and that changes everything. The message of the cross confounds the wise and it draws the weary, wounded and broken. (This is, in my view, one reason why the average Christian today is a is a non-white woman living in the global South, with lower-than-average levels of societal safety and proper health care. She is not a victim of stockholm Syndrome. She is drawn the fact that Jesus’ message and life is good news for the oppressed.)
The cross is a paradoxical religious symbol because it inverts the world’s value system with the news that hope comes by way of defeat, that suffering and death do not have the last word, that the last shall be first and the first last- James Cone
Icon by Kelly Latimore
The God of the Bible wears the scars of His creation. The cross stands in the center of human history and bears witness to the fact that injustice, pain and suffering are real and we must never look away. Pain and death do not have the final say. My classmates’ words that caused me so much heartache do not have the final say. White supremacy and other forms of systematic sin that have wrought so much destruction will not reign forever. The message that Jesus will make all things right is not something I consume as an opiate of relief in a very broken world. The message of the cross is a blood-bought promise that I and billions of other people have found to be true throughout the ages.
Jesus is reconciling the world unto Himself. We are invited into that work through repentance and by surrendering our lives to Jesus. May our activism and desire to establish justice be cultivated through an intimate relationship with Jesus, scripture and community.
Practical steps to take
We need very strong medicine: we need prayer, we need spiritual discipline, we need repentance, we need each other and we need Jesus. Part of that medicine includes reflection and a long term commitment to justice with our action, time and resources.
Here are 15 steps you can take:
To begin. Here are some listening steps:
1. Educate yourself on the histories and culture of Black Canadians (apart from the stereotypes and ideas that have been projected onto us).
2. Learn about the inequities in education, health, justice, housing, incarceration wellbeing By referencing the UN African Canadian Report and their calls to action. Familiarize yourself with the objective of the UN International Decade for people of African descent.
3. Learn about this saying: “Nothing about us without us” decisions have been made about and not with Black communities for so long and that needs to change and that is why it is important to read and listen to the voices of Black Canadians across the ideological spectrum.
4. Deconstruct racial hierarchy. Unpack white supremacist ideas about people of African descent - what are they? Where do they come from? What function do they serve?
5. Read books about what white supremacy, anti Black racism and misogynoir and how these phenomenons manifest on an interpersonal and systemic level. Read a diverse array of Black authors. Here are a few books to begin: I Bring the Voice of my People: A Womanist Vision of Reconciliation, Stamped From the Beginning, The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race and Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to Present.
6. It is important to acknowledge the reality of global white supremacy. However, it may cause individuals to fall into the trap off seeing Black people primarily as a wounded and broken people. As a result, it is important to read books about African/Black resistance, self determination and Black joy. Black people are agents of change and not merely objects that are impacted upon by external forces.
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As you begin LISTENING, here are some suggested ACTIONS you can take and organizations you can support :
7. Black and Indigenous communities have been systematically impoverished through policy. Especially in the wake of COVID support Black and Indigenous led enterprises when you can. To illustrate, Black Owned Unity is an organization that works towards economic empowerment of Black communities. Attend their winter and summer market.
8. In Toronto Black communities are disportionately impacted by gun violence. Community activists have been advocating for lawmakers to do their part in changing that reality. You can sign this petition: Get a group of your friends together and write to your elected MPP/ MP as concerned citizens and encourage them to recognize gun violence as a public health crisis it is. Organizations to support include: Zero Gun Violence, Think 2wice, and Positive Change TO
9. Education is a platform for social mobility. We need to close the gaps in educational outcomes for Black Canadians. Write to student trustees at both school boards to inquire about how they’re implementing the changes needed to remove the anti Blackness that has been identified in Canadian schools for decades. Ask them to recognize the international decade for people of African descent. The Ottawa Carleton District school board did this so there’s a precedence set for other school boards. Organizations that work hard to advocate on behalf of Black students include: Parents of Black Children,The Delmore Buddy Daye Learning Institute, 613–819 Black Hub, Black Legal Action Centre, the Ontario National Alliance of Black School Educators, Black Future Lawyers Program, UofT Mentorship Program
10. The systems that cultivate strong and stable families among people of African descent have disproportionately been interrupted. Consider financially supporting initiatives like Black Daddies Club, Young and Potential Fathers, BoysToMen, I am Not Alone Pregnancy Care Center, Mommy Monitor and Black Moms Connection that works to support Black families.
11. Support the flourishing of Black children. Reach out to grassroots organization such as Jaku Konbit, Urban Promise, Woodgreen Rites of Passage Ceremony, Inner City Outreach, Visions of Science and Tech Sparks about how you can support and amplify their work
12. Black LGBT + folks experience queer antagonism along with anti- Black racism. Please support these organizations that ensure their safety and wellbeing. Organization suggestions include: Capital Rainbow refuge, Youth Service Bureau which provides shelter for homeless for LGBT youth, along with the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Partners in Pride which works to support the platform(s) of African LGBT activist who champion the health and human rights of African LGBT individuals and communities.
13. Black men are essential members of our communities. Consider supporting these organizations that celebrate Black masculinity for the treasure it is. Organization suggestions include Black Boys Code, Brothers United and 100 Strong
14. Black women are incredible. Our communties are enriched by the wisdom, and the contribution of Black women everyday. Understand the barriers that exist for Black Canadian women by reading the Black Women in Canada: Behind the Numbers report . Support organizations that affirm the worth, dignity and power of Black women. Organizations to support include: Black Girls Code, The Congress of Black Women Canada, The Most Nutured
15. Black health matters. Here are some organizations you can support: Black Health Alliance, TAIBU community health center, The Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention.
