22 FEATURE
By Phillip M Holmes
I
n June 2016, my wife Jasmine and I prepared for the arrival of our oldest son, Walter Wynn. At the time, we lived in Minneapolis, but we were fleeing the frozen tundra for my home state, Mississippi, in a matter of weeks. While at the birth centre for an appointment, Jasmine mentioned our plans to relocate to Mississippi. An employee immediately voiced her prejudices about Mississippi and encouraged Jasmine to be careful. Less than a week later, however, a Minnesota police officer killed Philando Castile, a 32-year-old African American man, during a traffic stop. The aftermath of Castile’s death was caught on video. Even though Castile’s girlfriend insisted he was reaching for his wallet, defence lawyers convinced the jury that the officer feared for his life. The officer was acquitted on all charges.
We need to be uncomfortable
This week, Minneapolis is making national headlines again after the release of chilling footage of another African American male, George Floyd, being choked to death by an officer. (Four officers have been fired.) This comes just weeks after a video was made public, showing the death of Ahmaud Arbery at the hands of two vigilantes. As I reflect on the unjust deaths of these Black image-bearers, and others before them, I’m deeply concerned about prevailing views, reactions and opinions coming out of the church. While so much progress has been made over the last decade, we still have such a long way to go. The more I observe Christian commentary around race, the more I see that truths and realities surrounding race that seem obvious to me are not obvious to many of my White brothers and sisters. Find us on Twitter and Facebook: @KeepTheFaithmag
Photo credit: Darnella Frazier (Facebook)
