I recently listened to Heather MacDonald video on the Black Lives Matter movement entitled, "Does The Truth Matter?". You can look this up easy enough.
She quotes a number of statistics about crime and the murder rate in cities and the disproportionate amount of blacks that get killed and are arrested because they commit a disproportionate number crime.
She clearly believes what she's saying. But she completely misses the socio-economic and most importantly, historical issues behind the numbers she so easily quotes. In her own lifetime, blacks have been subjected to a disproportionately smaller number of opportunities. This includes jobs, education, finances, business relationships, acceptance, and many other non-opportunities.
It is true, that any person; black, white, Hispanic, aboriginal, Chinese or whatever - can achieve almost anything in the United States of America. That is true today and I definitely believe it. However, there is a real psychological barrier for many blacks and a real unconscious psychological advantage for many whites which our American historical legacy of what was predominantly chattel slavery, has left in this great country.
I do not think any amount of activism is the ultimate solution. In fact I'm not sure what the solution is outside of the return of Christ! At least not a solution that's based on this world. However, as a Christian, I am convinced that the solution is somehow connected to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Christ a black man should be willing to look at another black man who is about to commit a crime or even kill him, and take the risk to reach into that man's soul to potentially turn him around. In Christ a white man should be willing to enter into the inner city that is predominately black, to teach about the love of Christ. In Christ, a black man should be willing to reach across racial lines to dies to his own ethnic comfort zone to touch the soul of a white man on his terms. In Christ, a white person should be willing to teach another white person how to die to themselves to see the world from a black or other ethnicities perspective. In Christ, we should all take into our heart the principle echoed in 1 Corinthians 6:7; as opposed to fighting - especially in a court in front of non Christians, "why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?" These ideas echo God's truth from an eternal perspective regardless of the ethnicity the Christian happens to be. (The fact is, even from my atheistic friends, there is no such think - biologically speaking on the DNA level- of race!) Any Christian who understands the gospel will be willing to die to serve and help another human being no matter how hostile that other human being may be.
So, my white brothers and sisters in Christ - you may not get it, but you need to TRY to reach across the lines to embrace the spirit of the Black Lives Matter message. If you are from the United States of America, then accept the fact that you - like me - are a fallen human being. Our issues are different. As Christians, you MUST accept mine - no excuses; and I must accept yours. When we resist or get defensive, nothing godly is accomplished. We must die to ourselves and take up our cross daily. We must become more and more like Christ. We can celebrate our diversity and our culture - be it white or black american, or any other cultural heritage we bring with our diverse families, but ultimately, we must honor the Lord with our very lives. I'm not sure if Heather MacDonald is a Christian, but even if she isn't, the historical fact of chattel slavery in this country will take centuries to un-do. I think we are on the path, but I have to say - the election of Donald Trump sure has revitalized the discussion, for good or for ill.
