*Note: President Tim Wolfe resigned as president of the University of Missouri on November 9, 2015
This started as a student protest months ago. Then, a week or two ago, one student started a hunger strike. Then, last week, football players said they would not play another game until action is taken. Then, over the weekend, the coach tweeted his support. Today the faculty joined the protest. The whole school will WALK OUT today and tomorrow! What do they want? They want something that shouldn’t take a protest, a hunger strike, a sit out, or a walk out, but it does. They want the University’s president to value the lives and wellness of black students. After a string of racist incidents on campus the President ignored the pleas of black students and took no real action. This is UNACCEPTABLE.
A University president is the leader of the entire student body. It is the leader’s responsibility to ensure that ALL students are provided a mentally and physically safe environment that encourages learning. The racial stress created an environment where black and brown #MIZZOU students were not getting the same quality education as other students. The demand has now escalated to the resignation of the president. CNN reported on this because this protest has taken an historic turn. It’s hard to recall a time when the faculty joined black students in protest with this level demand.
Reflecting on this this morning. What can predominately white churches and denominations learn from University of Missouri protest? Here is what I hope will be learned:
1) The lives, well being, and safety (spiritual, mental, social) of all of your congregants matter (including Black congregants).
2) Black and brown congregants have interactions every day in predominantly white institutions that make them less safe (mentally, emotionally, socially). This makes parishioners of color less able to connect to God and grow as disciples of Jesus in these institutions. When they call on leadership to address the problem, they are not asking for something extracurricular. They are asking for leadership.
There is a challenge to parishioners here. When leaders of predominately white religious institutions (churches, non-profits, conferences, denominations) refuse to listen and take action to address the issues of racial safety in their people, at what point do you #shutitdown?