As I ponder what this year signifies biblically, politically, and socially for Christians and non-Christians alike, I expect many may experience tension between the presence or absence of God. But when examining particular racial and ethnic groups who have historically experienced oppression, the presence of God in the midst of human suffering is undeniable.
Though God originally intended that humankind experience goodness and abundance, forces that seek to counter the divine will of God continue to struggle. The divine will of God is for God’s children to prosper, live in peace, unity, and attain equity of God’s resources. God in infinite wisdom established a plan for reconciliation to the disruption in social order before the foundation of the earth.
In this way, God took a stand for what mattered: against the evil that coopted the human experience by way of sin; for God children’s to all have equal access to the graces and life available that came through acceptance, profession of faith, and obedience.
It is no secret that in today’s culture, there is an outcry that resembles the prophetic witness of taking a stand for what matters.
Today, we stand for there to be a stop to the demoralization and untimely deaths of black women and girls. Black women and girls have not experienced the privilege of just "being." There are daily reminders, even in the experience of success, of all that needs to be overcome to attain security as defined by human standards.
Black women and girls have been burden-bearers for everyone other than themselves since the beginning of time. From the time of living as some of the strongest and wisest African queens and princesses, there has been a breakdown in community. This has undoubtedly created pathology, one transferred through generations among the oppressed and the oppressor.
In a society that capitalizes on the demise of a people, we must examine the how, what, and why that prohibits all persons across race and gender divides from standing together. With policies that support affirmative action on one hand and mass incarceration on the other, what we raise our voices on and lend our resources towards will support the values that are upheld in our society.
Black women represent 30 percent of all incarcerated women. When living in a world where a young woman in New York City suffers infertility due to a botched abortion, and a young girl in Ethiopia is sterilized by the government, one might ask: Where is the presence of God?
The humanity of women is often not recognized as being half of God’s image. The hue of the female further evokes the inferior societal position in which women of color assume.
We need to stand with black women and girls. This is a call to action across the diaspora.
Through it all, God’s sovereignty has permitted women to withstand the test of time. As faith leaders, one has to be particularly sensitive to the alignment of chiros and chronos moments. It is in these moments that we who seem to have suffered or feel disconnected from the power, truth, and blessing of God are redeemed.
According to the liturgical calendar, this year marks the Year of Jubilee and Year of Mercy in the Catholic Church. In the same way these celebrations symbolize freedom and recompense for the ancient Israelites, it does for us also.
Faith leaders have the special obligation of bringing the people to the awareness of what is taking place in the spirit and its direct impact on public life and social engagement.
As persons of faith, we can ill afford to inculcate the attitude of passivity or casualness assumed by those who do not believe that an investment in the welfare of black women and girls will be an investment in the greater good of humanity. We must stand for what matters — not in an effort for self-aggrandizement or popularity, but because the Gospel calls us forth to do such.
Through public propaganda and patriarchal perpetuity, black womens’ and girls’ experiences have been undermined, and ignored. Their stories have been erased, experiences invalidated, and voices silenced. This is sinful in nature. If organizations like the United Nations could in 2015 prophetically proclaim an International Decade for People of African Descent, which is envisioned to reclaim lives lost, then we who are faith leaders are called to do the same.
While God does place certain prophetic passions within each of us, to support our gifts for ministry in the contexts we serve, it would behooves us to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters when necessary. There should exist no bias based on faith tradition, skin color, race, class, or creed. Stand for Black Women and Girls is not just another campaign that is an outgrowth of the Black Lives Matter movement. It is a campaign that boldly reclaims the dignity of the black woman and girl. It seeks to call forth the injustices that stifle and ultimately kill a people. To eradicate violence and other atrocities, Stand for Black Women and Girls is a prophetic call to action to galvanize brothers and sisters. Together, we will be authentic to our spiritual and earthly mandate: standing for what matters.
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