I’ve been silent on this blog space for the past few weeks.  Mostly, because I felt helpless to find the right words during this time of such pain for our country and Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC).  I also wanted to honor boundaries regarding the proper use of my white woman’s voice in addressing the sin of racism in our country. 

I had been invited to a Juneteenth celebration, but I did not feel knowledgeable enough to be an ally.  It felt like I would be a spectator instead of a participant.  My daughter urged me to honor Juneteenth by reading and learning more about the day and the Black Lives Matter movement. 

I read and watched Fr. Bryan Massingale, a professor at Fordham University and a leader in the field of theological ethics.  A Milwaukee area native, he brings lived experience as a priest of color to his speaking and writing.  In a recent article, The assumptions of white privilege and what we can do about it, Fr. Massingale states, “First, understand the truth between being uncomfortable and being threatened.  There is no way to tell the truth about race in this country without white people being uncomfortable.”  He goes on to say, “but avoiding and sugar coating this truth (of race) is killing people of color.”

I watched a movie about a young black man falsely accused of rape and imprisoned.  How the criminal justice system was broken in his case and in the case of so many people of color.  I watched “13th”, a documentary that presents the issue of race in our criminal justice system.  I learned that even though black men make up about 6 % of the US population, they make up a bit more than 40% of our country’s prison population. 

I learned that “Black Lives Matter” is a phrase highlighting the inequality of security and dignity for people of color.  It is not about Black Lives Matter MORE than other lives.  It is a declaration and a plea for understanding that Black lives matter AS MUCH as all lives.  Because a small number of people have used protests as a means for violence does not take away from this fundamental truth.  If an Army base were bombed, would anyone respond to “Army Lives Matter” by saying “But ALL military lives matter?  Of course not!  Or if an orphanage were set on fire would people reject the phrase “Kids Lives Matter”?  Of course not!  Most of us would intuit the inherent truth that all life matters while understanding that the community in focus needs extra comfort and support during their time of loss. 

Why now?  Like so many, I had been complacent.  I spoke out against injustices, even chair the human concerns committee at my church.  I thought I was doing my part for human rights.  The recent deaths of so many young black men have made me realize I can and must do better.  I acknowledge and pray for forgiveness for my part in this systemic sin.  I will keep reading and learning about racism is our country.  I am hoping we can all vow to do better.   

Fr. Massingale is also the author of a book, Racial Justice and the Catholic Church. His final words in the book are, “Social life is made by human beings.  The society we live in is the outcome of human choices and decisions.  This means that human beings can change things.  What humans break, divide, and separate, we can- with God’s help- also heal, unite and restore. 

What is now does not have to be.  Therein lies the hope.  And the challenge.”