Endangered Species: A Ferguson Reflection

ENDANGERED defined:

Endangered but Protected...

[en-deyn-jerd]

Adjective

1. threatened with danger
• "endangered lives of the coal miners"
2. threatened with extinction
• "the bald eagle may be endangered"
3. threatened with danger and with extinction
• "African American men are endangered"

That's how I felt when I woke up the day after the decision that Officer Wilson was no indicted on any charges for the death of Michael Brown.  I watch online from the aerial view how the town of Ferguson had smoke and fire billowing from it.  I watch how I-44 was blocked off and hundreds of people protesting their anger and frustrations about the verdict.  My stomach started to sour and my mind began to malaise.  I began to feel that "not again" feeling.  African American males are punished with death.  

My wife is 15 weeks pregnant.  We don't know the temptation of the baby, but today I find myself tempted to pray, "Lord, let it not be a boy." That's pretty messed up huh? The fact that I don't want a son growing up in this society with his skin tone and with the reputation that this country has with its treatment of Black men is clouding up the God-Given joy of having a child.  He would look like me, and I today would be both proud and ashamed.  Proud that something like that could be produced from my wife and I, and ashamed because I will feel limited in my ability to protect him.

He would be on the endangered list, as I am.

My lament isn't a cover-up for anger, because I am definitely angry.  Very angry! I keep playing the scenario in my mind, wondering how 6-10 shots could come off as self-defense.  I tried to figure out how an unarmed man would reach into the car of a police officer knowing the consequences.  I wonder HOW IN THE HELL would anybody who is of African descent and who's ancestors have been here for more than 3 generations would try to ACCOST a police officer, UNARMED WITHOUT THINKING THAT DEADLY RETALIATION WOULD NOT HAPPEN?!?! I've grown up here and there's NO WAY, NOOO WAAAY we as Black folk are taught that to be correct behavior.  It goes against the DIRECTIVE of SURVIVAL of the BLACK COMMUNITY to do such a thing! 

But that is what is believed.  A jury believed it.  They judged the circumstance like they were replay officials for a a football game. No indisputable evidence.

Of course there's no disputable evidence.  The strongest disputable evidence is buried 6 feet in Ferguson, MO.  The dead can't testify, give an account, communicate a different narrative.  The cop has the benefit of the doubt, the system on his side, and the deeply passed privileged that he works on the side of the law, which protects everyone and everyone should adhere to.  The problem with this law is that no every feels protected by it, and adherence has caused death just as much as crime seems to.

I'm not excited to be a black man today.  I'm nervous to birth one. I'm hopeless to encourage one.  I'm nauseous to know that others may assume me dangerous or justifiably killed one day.

Endangered and Not Protected

If I had a wish, it would be for those who are not African American or Black to have 24 hours as one. In those 24 hours they would experience without death all of the fears and concerns that many of us experience on a daily basis.  They would have the ability to hear all of the assumptions unspoken about themselves.  They would see every concerning glance, every car door locked, every purse clutched, every flinch when they reach out, every eye roll when they aren't moving or doing things quick enough. That'd be an interested experiment...

Jesus and Michael Brown

Hello friends and Central Region community,

I’ve been slowly processing what’s been going on in the Ferguson community and how this might affect our region and students.  So many things have already been said about it, the ways we need to listen, and lament, and learn.  I am truly grateful for the leadership in our community on so many levels, so I don’t want to restate what has already been said.  I just want to share my narrative and hopefully we can see from it together what the Lord might be doing in the midst of this tragedy.

I grew up in a pretty violent place in Chicago, IL, the notable “Southside” of Chicago, where violence this year has been notably high.  There are so many stories I could share with about the how the police interacted with the community.  Even now, as I ponder watching police walk people across the street on hands and knees, ordered by the police to do so, it leaves me in confusion.  If they were gang members, why not just leave them there in the open area for other police to arrive? Why not set up cones so they wouldn’t get hit on a four way major street?  I struggle with wondering why the relationship between the police and people where I grew up was so bitter.

Yet, I’ve seen the other side, where violence in the community became so rampant, you just had to wonder if normal force would be helpful.  I remember seeing a man run from one high-rise building (16 story low income housing) to another.  The first building housing a rival gang from the one the man ran into.  It became known that this man was a drug-addict who stole drugs from the rival gang leader.  This could have become a major gang war, but an eerie community based solution occurred.  The other gang brought the man out of the building and together…both gangs beat the man to death right up under my 3^rd story window.  Rocks, big rocks, punches, and a bike was even thrown on this man.  It was literally a stoning of a person! There must have been 50-70 people out there. I remember as an 11 year old, wondering how could I survive in an area with such twisted justice?  For myself at that time, I would’ve loved to seen police come in, make everyone lie on the ground, just to stop the level of violence that was happening.

Then, there’s the personal experience, where I was bringing home pizza where I lived, and police began to swarm the building, most likely trying to catch drug dealers in the moment.  As I was coming in, the police stopped me, put me against the wall spread my hands, and began checking the pizza for “drugs.” Right at that moment, some bullies came through, saw what was happening and started to go through my pockets and rob me at the same time.  I call out to the police, and they just say, “Don’t you move!” So while I was being “searched” I was robbed at the same time while police were present!

Wouldn’t that throw off your understanding of what it means for police to “serve and protect?” So now, we have another controversy, we have the Michael Brown shooting, and once again, we are seeing the world split up.  What are we to do as a community?  What would Jesus do?

I think the question, “What would Jesus do” is not the right question.  The question I think we should focus on is, “What has Jesus done?” What has Jesus done to solve violence, and pain, and suffering? What has Jesus done to bring healing, and freedom? Everything; Jesus has done everything.  His death is why we live.  His suffering is why we are free.  His atonement is why we are free from penalty.  We look towards Jesus first before we look to the community, the police, the media, and blogs for answers. 

We as believers can show the world what it truly means to repent and believe in something greater than our circumstances.  We have the opportunity to show those affected and hurt by this situation that the light of the world is here and darkness cannot comprehend it (John 1).  This is the InterVarsity Central Region scripture focus:

“Therefore, since we have such a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every weight that hinders, and sin that so easily entangles us.  And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.  Who for the joy set before him endured the cross despising its shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the thrown of God. Consider him, who endured much from sinful man, so that you will not grow weary and be fainthearted. (Hebrews 12: 1-3)”

The “therefore” can be seen as “since the circumstances are as such.” Which means, since we see pain, and brokenness and bitterness, and hatred in our world, there WE who follow the Lord of Light in the midst of this darkness, since we are the ones in the kingdom of light, a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight that hinders.  And what is the weight? The weight of this world, the weight of sin, the weight of the tragedy of Michael Brown, which is not to say “do not deal with is” but place the weight where it belongs, on Jesus and on the cross. 

Every weight and sin, and yes, let us not deny the fact that sin in involved.  Sinful people, men, women, blog, thoughts, arguments, comments, commentators, abounds! We can become entangled by the sin of gossip from this situation.  But where sin is, grace can demolish it! The grace of God has the power to topple the current narrative, which is that we as a people hate each other.  Grace says, God’s power is stronger than our hatred, and even more so, it’s overwhelming.  Jesus says, hate me instead of each other, and watch me put an end to sin, and give you the freedom to tear down the walls of hostility (Ephesians 2). 

We as the Christian community are Spiritual Marathon Runners.  We are given endurance from on high and the pacing set by Jesus, who runs before us to endure such suffering.  The race we are running is a race won.  We are going for second place, because Jesus has already completed it! That means, sin, which is trying to run the same place, cannot win.  The brokenness of this world CANNOT and WILL NOT win, praise Jesus.

Do you understand that Jesus has run this race with joy before him? Jesus was constantly focused on the father in heaven? Why not we, as the cloud of witnesses set our sights there as well?  The Lord will have dominion over pain, over Ferguson, over Missouri, the US, and the world.  Let us focus on the one whose reign will reign on this earth. 

Jesus has run this race, though knowing that suffering was a part of it.  The world could have been eradicated because of our sin and brokenness. God has just cause, even without Ferguson to destroy us, but his plan is redemption and justice, not purely destruction. 

Jesus watches us, and cheers for us, and intercedes for us, and he says, “FINISH IT FRIENDS!” Jesus isn’t just interested in only himself finishing the race, though because we are on his team, we WIN! Jesus wants each of his citizens to finish as well.  He wants people who will SUMMIT the mountain not faint hearted or weary, but full of vitality and hope.

Let us use that vitality and hope to run the race of speaking truth of the Gospel in the Michael Brown situation, because it may the only the Gospel they see through the gossip.  It’s easy how we can confuse the two, and our dying world needs the right prescription.  I hope this letter of service and love, and encouragement to our community. May the Lord reign in Ferguson, MO, in the family of Michael Brown, on our campuses in the Central Region, the US, and in the world.

Come Lord Jesus,

Tony Gatewood

Child of God

Central Region Intervarsity Staff