I Can Breathe!

Amos 5:24 

But let justice roll down like waters,

and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

As a person who came of age during the Civil Rights movement in the States, and whose world view was shaped by people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, this was an important week for equality in North America.  Even though racial minorities have made considerable gains in acquiring basic human rights over the last five or six decades, there have still been parts of society where systemic racism has flourished.   

Many of us thought, when Barack Obama was elected President of the U.S.A. in 2009, that it would mark a significant turning point in race relations for North America and although it probably did affect our culture in some ways, it was not the turn-around that many of us were anticipating.  The election of Donald Trump in 2017 was probably, in some ways, a back-lash reaction from American racists to protest the increasing influence of visible minorities on American culture and it’s power structure.  

Although we acknowledge that racism is imbedded into many of our institutions, it is especially upsetting, that it is so prevalent within the justice system where one would expect minority rights would be upheld.  We look particularly to the police force to uphold our legal and justice system.  Because police officers are the first contact that most citizens have with the justice/legal systems, it is paramount that they represent the laws they are commissioned to defend. Yet, in both Canada and America, racism is institutionalized, systemic, and rampant within our police forces.  A quick Google search tells us that in America 178 black people were killed by the police during the first eight months of 2020.  

It was no wonder that concerned people across North America were outraged when George Floyd was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin, who chocked Floyd for over nine minutes using a knee hold on Floyd’s neck.  We believe that, when someone is murdered, the perpetrator will be punished.  But sadly, in America and Canada, in the vast majority of cases against white police officers being held responsible for the death of a minority person, the force is deemed “reasonable.”  

I don’t think the particulars of this case matter so much as the fact that, this week, Derek Chauvin was found guilty.  It signals the beginning of a new era.  Going forward from today, police officers cannot just assume that they can use excessive force when dealing with incidents involving minorities.  Starting now, police officers can expect to be held accountable for their actions.  That doesn’t mean that people won’t still be killed when they threaten the lives of those who defend and serve us.  It means that regardless of colour or ethnicity, everyone will have the same rights and will be treated with the same respect and dignity that all humans deserve – especially by those chosen to defend our legal/justice system.  

I believe that just as Rosa Parks, refusing to move to the back of the bus, was instrumental in minorities gaining civil rights in America, the murder of George Floyd will be instrumental in advancing the legal rights and privileges of minorities across North America.  So, whether you are a black person living in the States or an Indigenous person living in Canada; Tuesday, April 20, 2021 was a good day!  

And for the rest of us, we are just that must closer to living into the Kingdom of God!

Amen!