Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

Will we white Christians continue to ignore the pleas of our black brothers and sisters?

OpinionKris Aaron  |  June 1, 2020

Kris AaronNearly 12 years ago, my friend, Chris, told me that for the first time in his life he actually felt like he belonged in this country. Chris is highly educated and very successful. He has multiple master’s degrees and a doctorate, bought his own home at an impressively young age, and has quickly risen through the ranks of his profession.

Chris is African American. He made the comment about belonging after Barack Obama was elected president. While I already knew that Chris was a big Obama supporter, I was shocked to hear his comment, especially considering he was born in this country and the United States is the only place he’s ever lived. When I pointed to his success, both educationally and professionally, he responded that I didn’t understand. Although taken aback a bit, I chose to listen.

“All of your life you’ve been told that you can be anything you want to be, and you’ve believed it,” Chris said. “For the first time in my life, I now believe it, too, because for the first time ever someone who looks like me has been elected president.”

Our conversation has stuck with me. I’ve thought about it even more over the last few weeks. I’m afraid to ask Chris if he still feels the same way. I’m afraid to ask mostly because I already know the answer.

“These latest incidents aren’t signs that the system is broken. They’re signs that the system is working exactly as it was designed.”

It was just a few short weeks ago that people were “running for Maud,” in response to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery by men who were wannabe cops in my native state of Georgia. More recently, we have watched a white woman, dubbed “Central Park Karen” on social media, call the police because Christian Cooper, an African American man, dared to ask her to put her dog on a leash in New York, as required by city ordinance, and we’ve seen the death of George Floyd at the hands of four police officers in Minneapolis.

These incidents so close in succession are forcing white America to face a reality we would prefer to ignore – that racism is not only alive and well, but that it is widespread and systemic. It’s much easier to view these incidents as isolated, but they’re not. This isn’t a bug; it’s a feature. These incidents aren’t signs that the system is broken. They’re signs that the system is working exactly as it was designed.

I can already hear some people protesting my point. And, in some cases, they’re right – specifically in pointing out that bigotry and racism are not characteristic of all white police officers. I’ve had the pleasure of serving churches with numerous law enforcement officers, and I know them to be good and decent people who take seriously their job to protect and serve all in their communities. They are good at what they do. I am thankful for them, and I know the senseless killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis – and other recent occurrences of police brutality that have made headlines – undoubtedly make their jobs more difficult. These law enforcement officers are in my prayers.

But I will also suggest that the “good cops” shouldn’t be the focus of our attention. A black man died at the hands of the police. Again. To focus our attention elsewhere is an affront to Floyd and others who have a right to live while being black. It marginalizes the pain that is felt by his family and by so many African American brothers and sisters across this nation. It also prevents us collectively as a society from dealing with the problem.

Acknowledging bad actors doesn’t mean that all the actors are bad, but if they are multiple, it does speak to a larger problem. Looking at what happened to Floyd – or Walter Scott or Freddie Gray or Tamir Rice or Michael Brown or numerous other African American men – shows us that this isn’t a one-off incident.

The Los Angeles Times reported last year that getting killed by the police is a leading cause of death for young black men in America. The article noted that “about 1 in 1,000 black men and boys in America can expect to die at the hands of police, according to a new analysis of deaths involving law enforcement officers. That makes them 2.5 times more likely than white men and boys to die during an encounter with the cops.” This is to say nothing of mandatory minimums for drug offenses or the disproportionate amount of African American men in prison relative to their percentage of the population.

We can and must do better, but to do so we first have to acknowledge that there’s a problem. Like an alcoholic who must first admit that they have a drinking problem, white America must admit that black men and boys get killed by police far too frequently, and that these deaths are just the awful tip of the iceberg of systemic abuse.

“We can and must do better, but to do so we first have to acknowledge that there’s a problem.”

Unfortunately, too many white Americans – including those who identify themselves as followers of Jesus Christ – are willing to divert attention from the real problem at hand rather than acknowledging it and working alongside persons of color to actually address it in all its pernicious forms. We have a systemic problem, one that our African American brothers and sisters have tried to warn us about year after year, decade after decade, only to be ignored.

How many more have to die before we choose to listen and help do something about it?


Related to this topic:

Timothy Peoples | Ahmaud, Breonna, Christian, George, and The Talk every black boy receives

Paul Robeson Ford | Black people have the right to defend themselves by the same means their white counterparts do

James Ellis III | A lowdown, dirty shame: Ahmaud Arbery’s murder and the unrenounced racism of white Christians

Paul Robeson Ford | Ahmaud Arbery and a pandemic of injustice

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
Tags:racismRacial Justiceracial violenceAhmaud ArberyGeorge Floyd
More by
Kris Aaron
  • Through the eyes of Mary: Looking at Advent anew

    This is a four-part series written by Julia Goldie Day in which we seek to see anew the incarnation of Jesus through the eyes and body of a woman, Mary the mother of Jesus:

    The blood of Advent
    The pain of Advent

  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • Florida’s Latino community prefers Biden over DeSantis but Trump over Biden

      News

    • Skipping verses: When the Christmas Kranks read Scripture, at Advent and otherwise

      Opinion

    • Virginia church fulfills the Great Commission and the Great Commandment by building a playground

      News

    • SBC agency wants to make sure migrant children who are pregnant can’t get abortions

      News


    Curated

    • Biases behind transgender athlete bans are deeply rooted

      Biases behind transgender athlete bans are deeply rooted

    • Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer’s plot to ruin Christmas, and America

      Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer’s plot to ruin Christmas, and America

    • Indiana’s appeals court hears arguments challenging abortion ban under a state religious freedom law

      Indiana’s appeals court hears arguments challenging abortion ban under a state religious freedom law

    • Florida congressman proposes federal funding to help schools fight book bans

      Florida congressman proposes federal funding to help schools fight book bans

    Read Next:

    America engaged in ‘battle of worldviews,’ Mike Johnson tells Christian lawmakers group

    NewsSteve Rabey and Mark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Attempted ‘border security’ amendment would have been fatal, immigration advocates say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • What you’re really giving to when you respond to a ‘Bible shortage’ in prisons

      AnalysisKristen Thomason

    • The breasts of Advent

      OpinionJulia Goldie Day

    • Every December, some South African churches convert to beer halls

      NewsNyasha Bhobo

    • Would it make Jesus puke?

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • Despite a Supreme Court judgment stopping Britain’s migration deal with Rwanda, Sunak administration presses on

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Are we still calling him the ‘Good’ Samaritan?

      OpinionRussell Waldrop

    • SBC agency wants to make sure migrant children who are pregnant can’t get abortions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • How you connect apocalypse to Advent affects how you interact with the news

      AnalysisRick Pidcock

    • Virginia church fulfills the Great Commission and the Great Commandment by building a playground

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • How Let Us Prey highlights the struggles of former IFB who leave the church

      AnalysisLydia Joy Launderville

    • Skipping verses: When the Christmas Kranks read Scripture, at Advent and otherwise

      OpinionBrad Bull

    • Florida’s Latino community prefers Biden over DeSantis but Trump over Biden

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • One man held up military promotions for 10 months, and now he has relented with nothing to show for his effort

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • It is not antisemitic to oppose the nation of Israel’s atrocities

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Here’s why Americans are so obsessed with getting ‘tough on crime’

      AnalysisRodney Kennedy

    • America engaged in ‘battle of worldviews,’ Mike Johnson tells Christian lawmakers group

      NewsSteve Rabey and Mark Wingfield

    • Looking beyond ‘fact or fable’ alternatives in the Christmas stories of Matthew and Luke

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • Letter to the Editor: A rebuttal on ‘useful idiots’

      OpinionJonathan Kuttab

    • I grew up in the church-cult from Let Us Prey; here’s why abuse runs rampant in the IFB

      AnalysisShannon Makujina

    • Charles G. Adams, former BJC chair and legendary Detroit pastor

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • First Baptist Abilene dedicates $10 million community ministry center

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Letter to the Editor: I was there when CBF was created, and I disagree with BNG analysis

      OpinionBill Bruster

    • Stop doing business with China, religious freedom watchdog group urges

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The Toxic Evangelical Variant

      OpinionMartin Thielen

    • Attempted ‘border security’ amendment would have been fatal, immigration advocates say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Every December, some South African churches convert to beer halls

      NewsNyasha Bhobo

    • Despite a Supreme Court judgment stopping Britain’s migration deal with Rwanda, Sunak administration presses on

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • SBC agency wants to make sure migrant children who are pregnant can’t get abortions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Virginia church fulfills the Great Commission and the Great Commandment by building a playground

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Florida’s Latino community prefers Biden over DeSantis but Trump over Biden

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • One man held up military promotions for 10 months, and now he has relented with nothing to show for his effort

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • America engaged in ‘battle of worldviews,’ Mike Johnson tells Christian lawmakers group

      NewsSteve Rabey and Mark Wingfield

    • Charles G. Adams, former BJC chair and legendary Detroit pastor

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • First Baptist Abilene dedicates $10 million community ministry center

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Stop doing business with China, religious freedom watchdog group urges

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • ACE American Insurance Co. denies allegations in Kanakuk’s recent cross claim

      NewsMallory Challis

    • New study finds Americans agree on issues facing their families but differ greatly on marriage and family in general

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Interfaith leaders influenced MLK’s Christian outlook, biographer says

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • National leader of Chi Alpha resigns as sex abuse scandal looms

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Alabama Supreme Court declines to stop Samford from taking house of former fraternity

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • New speaker of the House releases select January 6 footage to allow Christians and conservatives to change the narrative

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • Journalist’s book explores ‘crack-up of the American evangelical church’

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • In Botswana, a booming economy lures U.S.-educated pastors home

      NewsAudrey Simango

    • Supreme Court declines to reinstate Florida ban on drag shows

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • Immigration advocates deplore House Republicans’ effort to tie Ukraine aid to severe border measures

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Even as Biden supports their interest in Israel, white evangelicals disapprove of his job performance

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • As SBC moves toward second vote on Law Amendment, debate continues on just what it means

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Hawks and Felton to lead CBF advocacy efforts

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • The breasts of Advent

      OpinionJulia Goldie Day

    • Would it make Jesus puke?

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • Are we still calling him the ‘Good’ Samaritan?

      OpinionRussell Waldrop

    • Skipping verses: When the Christmas Kranks read Scripture, at Advent and otherwise

      OpinionBrad Bull

    • It is not antisemitic to oppose the nation of Israel’s atrocities

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Looking beyond ‘fact or fable’ alternatives in the Christmas stories of Matthew and Luke

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • Letter to the Editor: A rebuttal on ‘useful idiots’

      OpinionJonathan Kuttab

    • Letter to the Editor: I was there when CBF was created, and I disagree with BNG analysis

      OpinionBill Bruster

    • The Toxic Evangelical Variant

      OpinionMartin Thielen

    • Thank you, Jack

      OpinionLayne Wallace

    • Devouring beasts: Advent and the 2024 election

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • If the Sinner’s Prayer is the only way to salvation, why isn’t it in the Bible?

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • I asked for awe: The gift of awe and the path of radical amazement

      OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

    • Still a high and holy calling      

      OpinionTony Cupit

    • The pain of advent

      OpinionJulia Goldie Day

    • ‘It was futile … nothing will change’

      OpinionChrista Brown

    • Big ideas at human size: An interview with Carrie Newcomer

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • What I learned teaching incarcerated white students about structural racism

      OpinionChris Caldwell

    • Jack Tales: Remembering Jack Causey

      OpinionJustin Cox

    • Are our churches prepared for Christian autocracy?

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • Praying in a time of war

      OpinionMartin Thielen

    • The speaker and the Bible

      OpinionJim Harnish

    • Baptists were for separation of church and state before they were against it

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • What happens when the snow melts? Humanizing victims of the war in Gaza with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

      OpinionMallory Challis

    • Hamas’ ‘sexual pogrom’ in Israel

      OpinionJonathan Feldstein

    • Biases behind transgender athlete bans are deeply rooted

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer’s plot to ruin Christmas, and America

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Indiana’s appeals court hears arguments challenging abortion ban under a state religious freedom law

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Florida congressman proposes federal funding to help schools fight book bans

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Rare Holy Land Treasures Go On International Tour

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Hanukkah message of light in darkness feels uniquely relevant to US Jews amid war and antisemitism

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How Advent Prepares Us To ‘Stand’ Heaven

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A new Homeland Security guide aims to help houses of worship protect themselves

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • There’s a new Jewish Caucus in Congress. Its mission is still unclear.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Americans who never attend worship services are a bit of a political puzzle these days

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Parties canceled. Celebrations toned down. Hanukkah won’t be the same this year.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Judge Hands World Vision a Defeat in Employment Case

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • New documentary tells the story of queer religious families in the Midwest

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why I Wish I’d Voted For Jimmy (And Rosalynn) Carter In ‘76

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Armenian Christians battle developer to keep control of their corner of Jerusalem

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Send-offs show Carlton Pearson’s split legacy spurred by his inclusive beliefs, rejection of hell

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Recordings show how the Mormon church protects itself from child sex abuse claims

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • This Palestinian American professor leans on his Quaker faith during conflict

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The Episcopal Church reckons with tangled protocol on clergy abuse and accountability

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Nearly a quarter of young Brits open to banning the Bible

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Las Vegas man accused of threats against Jewish US senator and her family is indicted

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Israel’s mosaic of Jewish ethnic groups is key to understanding the country

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Influential Detroit pastor the Rev. Charles Gilchrist Adams dies at age 86

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • ‘Jesus’ film producers plan release of new animated version in 2025

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Elon Musk expresses regret for endorsing antisemitic post but swears at advertisers boycotting X over it

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2023 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS