I do not want this moment to pass with the changing of the news cycle. I want these fires to remain lit until there is reason to put them out. I don’t mean the literal fires and I don’t mean the looting that is destroying communities and livelihoods that were already in danger from the pandemic. I mean the protests that catch people’s attention and make them take a pause and start thinking about what right looks like and how we get there. I mean the apology from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who should have been for peaceful protest the entire time, instead of following the president’s calls to divide and label people enemies.
Soon after, Goodell responded with his own video in which he made his strongest and most specific support of the demands and goals of African-American players. In the one minute, 21-second video, the commissioner condemned the oppression of black people, apologized for not listening to the concerns of African-American players and encouraged the league’s athletes to protest peacefully.
I mean research and solutions from organizations like Campaign Zero. I mean LEGO pulling marketing for their heavily militarized police action figures. I mean continued awareness and progress.
That all being said, I also want people to keep going about kingdom work in all sorts of ways. Not everyone has to be a slacktivist on social media for the cause that captures the spotlight for the moment. Alan Jacobs writes about this aspect of our collective focus.
If three months ago you were primarily focused on addressing sexism in the workplace, it seems to me that you ought to be allowed, indeed encouraged, to keep thinking about and working on that now, when everyone else is talking about police brutality. If your passionate concern is the lack of health care in poor communities, here or abroad, I think you should stick with that, even if it means not joining in protests against police racism. If you’ve turned your farm into a shelter for abused or neglected animals, and caring for them doesn’t leave you time to get on social media with today’s approved hashtags, bless you. You’re doing the Lord’s work.
Keep trying to bring about change for the better where you can and where you are led.
