There have been such a number of things that have transpired during this past week that have caused me to say multiple times, "Whew! Being Black & Christian can sure be taxing!" The act of juggling the dual roles of being a minority in a country that often times makes you feel inadequate, less than and unworthy while also assuming the role of a follower of Christ- one who desires and strives to display Christ-like qualities in their daily lifestyle, can often make you want to escape the realities of the things you see on the news and social media feeds. This week alone has been filled with news stories circulating of two African American men being arrested, one who is a realtor, while sitting in a Starbucks while waiting for a meeting. The craziness behind the entire story is that the act of sitting in a Starbucks while waiting for a meeting or waiting just because occurs all of the time. I myself have sat in a Starbucks before without purchasing a single item and actually studied all day long without the threat of arrest, and I have seen other races do the same.
After Starbucks responded with a video from their CEO and then announced that it would be closing down 8000 U.S. stores to hold a racial bias training for its team members, I was somewhat satisfied with their response but I still had questions. I didn't have questions for Starbucks specifically but I had questions around the entire situation and other similar ones. My mind started racing! Why was the police called within minutes of the men sitting down? Why was their skin seen as a threat? Why are we not welcomed in public places like other races, and why do we have to fear for our lives when the police ARE called and DO come to arrest? Why do stories like this even occur? As I reflected, I dealt with emotions of anger, frustration and a desire for righteousness and justice. I was reminded in that moment that there are two types of anger: anger of man that does not achieve the righteousness of God discussed in James 1:20, and anger that expresses God's righteousness. For example, God was angered in Exodus 32:10 because the Israelites were turning away from him and instead reverted to worshipping idols. Furthermore, Moses became angry when he saw the extent of the sin of the children of Israel and how they had turned from trusting in God and in his guiding in Exodus 32:1-20. Therefore, I realized that my anger against unrighteousness and lack of love and compassion was righteous anger. However, I had to be sure that in my anger, I did not sin (Ephesians 4:26). This meant that even though "I'm black and I'm proud" and I'm upset by the recent situation, I could not go to my nearest Starbucks and curse out the white cashier to express my misaligned feelings towards him or her and every other non-Black racist person while also pouring my favorite beverage back into their faces for the actions of a white manager in Philadelphia. It may sound dramatic, but our emotions can cause us to do some pretty irrational things if we allow them to do so.
Right when I felt that my heart could calm down for a moment from the Starbucks pandemonium, here came the Wendy Williams comment! Oh my! Oh my! When Wendy Williams made the statement about the Clark Sisters and actually questioned if they had ever gotten a #1," I was appalled that she would even think it was okay to say on the air. I felt the comment was disrespectful and disappointing because the Clark Sisters are considered Gospel music royalty and surely have earned more #1s than I can even count. They have won numerous awards, accolades and more! My mind started racing! Really! Why would a Black woman TV show host feel like it was okay to even attempt to "shade" other legendary Black women on her TV show, especially when the things being stated were untrue and ignorant. Immediately after the comment circulated, Christians from all over the world, especially Black Christians, started making posts towards Wendy Williams demanding her to respect the Clark Sisters, to make an apology and to even recant her statement. However, there were other comments that attacked Wendy Williams as a person and even made comments about her sexuality and her marriage. I wasn't surprised by the comments because I literally saw the pull and the taxing feelings being exemplified as people felt they had to defend their Black Gospel royalty "for the culture" while also battling with knowing that they were called to be Christ-like in their actions. It can truly be taxing!
Initially, I felt like it was similar to being in a game of tug-of-war and wanting to pull for your team by defending your race while also standing up for the things of Christ. However, the blessing that I found in all of this is that it actually is not tug-of-war at all. Having a shared identity in race and being a Christian is something that is both beautiful and powerful. Being both black and Christian does not require you to shame your racial identity for the other when you are speaking out against unrighteousness or even when you are proud of the history associated with it because God cares about righteousness and also cares about the things concerning us. The key is to ensure that we are acting in accordance with God's will and God's word, and his word speaks for justice, righteousness, unity, and love for one another. Though our world can often be divisive and filled with racism, hatred and even bigotry, I am grateful that Jesus's life shows us that it's okay to go against the status quo and stand for what's right even if it's not popular. Though the opinions of the world may sway, and the Starbucks incident will surely not be the last act of racism or discrimination, and Wendy Williams will not be the last person to make an offensive comment about black Christians, I do know according to Hebrews 13:8 that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. I am also confident according to Isaiah 40:8 that "the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever," and because of that, his word will forever be my guide.
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