Ahmaud Arbery and Justice

Ahmaud Arbery.

Until Tuesday of this week, I did not know the name Ahmaud Arbery. Since Tuesday of this week, I have struggled with my knowledge of the name Ahmaud Arbery. I watched a video that I cannot unsee. I saw a man’s life cut down in the middle of a neighborhood street in the most senseless way. It was the same feeling I had 4 years ago when I watched the videos of Alton Sterling and Philandro Castille. The feeling was rage. 
I know, as a Christian rage is not the response that we are supposed to embody. Honestly, I do not know any other response to what I saw that could possibly be appropriate. Why the rage? If you just asked that question, then you have either 1, not seen the video or looked at the narrative Ahmaud  Arbery, or 2, have no sense of justice…especially as it pertains to life as a follower of Christ.
Some will throw me in a camp with social justice warriors. Can I be frank with you for a second? I am sick of the term “social justice warrior”. That label is an excuse for many to ignore the concern. This is not an issue of social justice. This is an issue of justice. Period. To call or label this anything else will undermine the value of a life that was taken.
I do not know what happened before a cell phone video started recording. Honestly, you do not either. Speculation does not bring justice. Speculation will only breed ethnically charged bitterness one way or another. Here is what you and I do know because we have video evidence to prove it: A man was running in a neighborhood and two other men overtook him; one of them fatally shooting Ahmaud in the street. After that, silence and cover up. 
So, just a couple of observations that I want to make:
For my black friends, I hurt with you. No, this hurt is not the same as what you feel. Once again, your fears for safety are validated. Your cries for justice again fall on many white ears who have become deaf to your pain. I wish I could fix this. I wish I could make it right. I cannot, but I can stand with you and call for justice. I wish that it did not take a leaked cell phone video and public outrage to get the judicial system to act. I hurt with you.
I fear for many that I know. I watched this video and thought immediately of several families in my church, families that I am honored to shepherd. The church I pastor is at least 50% minority and this could have been one of them. This happened in our state. If you are offended that I am speaking out, I pity you. However, I will not be silent on this issue because I know and love many who are personally affected by this.
I believe that our government and judicial system has failed us all. I am convinced that we would have heard of this story on February 24 if Ahmaud had been a white man shot by two black men. I will not change my tone on this. The video did not appear on May 5 out of nowhere. Someone hid it for over two months. A district attorney excused the action as self-defense. In what other scenario could an unarmed man be shot while running and the shooter be defending themselves? Justice is not served. It cannot be because COVID19 took up all of the air space on the news. I live in the Atlanta metro area. We hear of shootings and murder nearly every time the news is on. This one did not just fall through the cracks. I will call it exactly what it is: white supremacy on display. No other explanation will fit and this explanation must fall.
I walk in my neighborhood every day. Usually it is with the dog, sometimes it is a longer walk around the neighborhood with my family. Not once have I been concerned that I might be shot just for walking. Too many other American citizens do not have that luxury. If they were beginning to feel comfortable, they probably do not now. I fear for my neighbor. What goes through his mind now when his daughters want to ride their bikes in our neighborhood? See, if you cannot think through that question with me, I will submit it is because you have never had to. Life is easy when you are the non-targeted majority.
I had the opportunity to speak at a local city National Day of Prayer event today. In the ceremony the pledge to the American flag was given. It dawned on me as I am looking over a crowd that is 95% black or brown that this symbol of justice and liberty is a farce for so many of them. I am convinced that only the Cross of Jesus Christ can bring that justice and peace, so if you are reading this today and you are struggling with justice and peace, can I offer you Christ?
So, tomorrow many are going to run a 2.23 mile route in honor of Ahmaud Arbery as it would be his birthday. I do not run, but my family walks and we will walk in his honor. We will walk to stand with our niece who will bear the weight of growing up black in America. We will walk to love and support our neighbor and our church members who are again reminded that justice in our system is ever evasive. We will walk as a way to call leaders into account for the atrocious way that this murder was covered up and excused.
If you feel that what I am writing is overstepping or unnecessary, I can only offer prayer for you. I do not know what has taken place in your life that would lead you to look away from the injustice that can literally play out before you. You will see a man shot and killed while he was on a run. There is nothing to call it but murder. There is nothing to call the fact that a DA excused it and we heard nothing about it for two months but injustice.  So, rather than see this as unnecessary, let me challenge you to love your neighbor as yourself. If you need an example of who this neighbor is, contact me directly…I will be glad to walk you through it!
If you feel rage for the circumstance that led me to write, I am praying with you and I am seeking to better understand your pain. Someone much wiser than me once stated that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. I believe that being a follower of Jesus Christ compels me to call out injustice because my King is just! I want you to know that I do not know your experience, but I want to shoulder your pain.
If you read this and are compelled to act, reach out to a friend or neighbor who is ethnically different than you (especially for my fellow white folk). Ask them how they are doing. Talk with them about their struggle. Do not offer answer, only offer to listen. You will grow. They will know you are seeking to care.
I long for the day when the Ahmaud Arbery stories are no more. I long for the day when we can quit hiding behind our neat little statements that tickle the ears, but accomplish nothing. Statements like “all lives matter” and “I am pro-life”. To use a term from the book of Jude in the New Testament, they are “waterless clouds”; clouds that look promising for rain, but never deliver. I long for the day when the white Christian stands in the gap for the Ahmaud Arbery’s of the world. It will only be then that we see justice in our land. God help us. 

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