BLACK LIVES MATTER TO ME NOW MORE THAN EVER. IF YOU’RE WHITE STOP THINKING AND START DOING.
‘But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”’ Acts 1:8
I woke up today and stared at my iPhone. I looked at the faces of so many black people in pain around America. People may call it riots or protests — but what they see is pain, suffering and hopelessness. It’s disgusting and I was quickly reminded of a moment on March 7, 1991.
I was 10 years old when I watched Rodney King get the 💩 kicked out of him on TV. I was f’n 10! I watched the city of Los Angeles get burned to the ground. I’ll never forget it.
30 years later, I still remember the beating Rodney King took. I’ll never forget the theme that was framed — “Can’t we all just get along?” Rodney was right in 1991 and even MORE RIGHT today.
Last night we watched as a family the entire killing of George Floyd. I watched with my bride, my oldest son Roscoe (10 years old) and my daughter Aaliyah (7 years old). We watched together because I want them to remember was racism looks like for the rest of their life — just as I did with Rodney King.
Earlier this year, I was coaching my sons flag football team. I’ll never forget how some of the parents and kids reacted to one of the teams we were playing. They were telling me how, “they cheat,” and “play rough.” They were letting me know that yes, the team was good, but it was because they didn’t play by the rules.
When game day came — I quickly realized WHY they were saying this to me. The team we were playing had two or three black kids and a black coach — in an all WHITE league.
I was pissed off right from the get go. LIKE F’N LIVID!
I’ll never forget how the kids would come back to huddle complaining and crying about how the team was playing rough with them. I simply fired back at their complaints, “if I hear another excuse — you’re not playing. No excuses — get out there and play.”
What really sucked was that the kids were being fed these lies by their parents. It was heartbreaking to see first hand. I would have never imagined it. This is how racism is formed at a young age.
We got smoked that night by that team. However, I had some of the greatest moments with my son about WHY we got smoked and WHY some of the kids were complaining about that team.
We had a heart to heart about what racism looks like in America. I told Roscoe flat out that some of the parents on our team didn’t like them because they were black AND they were more talented. Ultimately, they were jealous and racist.
Roscoe saw what I saw and what I did. Because, what I did after we got smoked was make friends with that coach. I didn’t make friends because he was BLACK. I made friends because he and their team were BETTER than me and my team. And, I knew right away the challenges he has to endure in our league — SIMPLY BECAUSE HE WAS BLACK.
We are still friends today. I’m dreaming of the day we could coach together. Maybe it will happen. That’s called a BETTER F’N WAY. I thank God that I can see through it and my son will see through it.
I thank God that as Roscoe gets older — he will remember George Floyd just as I remembered Rodney King. He will bridge the gaps and stand in love with those who are black — just as his dad did.
So, what does Acts 1:8 have to do with any of this?
God gave us POWER — what we choose to do with that is up to us. We can choose to be selfish or share, it’s up to you and me.
If you’re white — you have privIlege — period. And with privilege comes some form of power. How you use that power is how your heart is shaped toward humanity. It’s like your mouth — you have the power of life and death in your tongue. You also have the power to share your privilege or hold onto it for yourself.
I choose to share my power with those who are black. I may not have a lot of power — but I’ll share what I have. I’ll steward it the best I can or know how to.
We can do something — all of us have something, just don’t wait till it’s too late. Don’t look back on these times and say — “I wish I did more. I wish I said something. I wish I supported my black friends more.”
No regrets — search your heart as to what you can do and NOTHING is not an answer. God gave us power not to hold to ourselves but to share with those without.
