I don’t know what to say or even where to begin. I am tired of seeing Dr. King quotes about the meaning of a riot and the power of love on social media. Don’t ask me, “Where do we go from here?” because I don’t know. I am also not in the mood for questions.
For all of our talking, we are ending up in the same place with more blame and more riots. And this feels way too familiar. This hurts way too much for it to be a bruise or a minor scrape. No, this pain goes much deeper; the African American community has been hurt and harmed here before. The picture above is what came to mind. For more on the history of the NAACP’s flag, click here.
I found this flag pictured below shortly thereafter. It hurts to see it. It points back to a time when lynching was legal and causes me to question if we have moved at all in our cross- cultural relationships.
I am tired of reading these stories, of watching these videos, of hearing these reports. Even as I write, I received a text message of yet another African American man who has died after an encounter with police. His name was Tawon Boyd and he was twenty- one years old. His clock will stop there. Now, he’s a hashtag.
I don’t want to put my hands up and shout, “Don’t shoot.” I don’t want to put my hands in my head and give up hope. And so I pray that tomorrow will not be another day, another police involved shooting of an African American.
The Raceless Gospel 
I continue to pray with and for you.
I think my initial post was deleted. I will try to recapture my thoughts.
After reading your post, I realized that you captured the essence of what I was feeling. I no longer want to post on Facebook or Tweet anything related to the senselessness that is going on. I cannot find anything that is constructive to say. I am so angry and yet numb. I pray, and I know our merciful Savior hears. He understands. Just as He heard the Israelite’s. Just as He heard our forefathers who were lynched. He has not forsaken us. I know this, and yet, I scream inside. I scratch my head wondering why it happens. It is not His fault. It is ours. The depravity, the ignorance, the fear, and the sheer hate of some that is poured out on those who are in some cases unsuspecting, naive, reckless and sometimes even fearful.
I did not mean to empty myself here, it just poured out. Really, I just wanted to say thank you for what you wrote. That’s it in a nutshell I suppose.
It seems that you still managed to capture it all despite the deletion of the initial post and I didn’t miss a word. Pour out. This is safe and sacred space. Speak and pour freely. I’m always open to receive.