Black Lives Matter
Many of the religious leaders I’ve spoken with recently say they have anxiety about their sermons being “too much” for some and “not enough” of what others need regarding the topic of social justice and Black Lives Matter. My thoughts: when we are doing the hard work of trying to create a bridge, essentially, for our rural community to understand these issues when there is minimal to no exposure for them otherwise - we are going to face criticism...because people on the outside don’t understand our lives and communities here either. It’s like therapy, if we’re doing the hard work that is necessary, we are going to feel uncomfortable.
One of my organizing partners of the event wrote this to again help our message be heard in this area where it is desperately needed. Many will criticize that we are providing too much grace for our community in this communication, but I think we can tolerate this criticism and provide grace for those who don’t understand us. I just ask that you hear our desire to help, that we acknowledge our own implicit bias, and that we want to help others understand Black Lives Matter.
Her words: “People on the PD website have questions about what is going on in their town. I think we should answer them before we start. This is what I want to say:
I am one of the organizers of this event. I have lived in Rabun County for 13 years and Habersham for 3 years prior to that. Who are we? 3 other organizers have lived here for their entire lives and the other has been here for over five years. We are not an outside organization. We are not an organization at all. We are just a group of white ladies who are trying to do the right thing. We are us - Rabun County citizens who care about our home and the hearts it holds.
What are we doing? We have selected a short window of time (to minimize the impact on local business) for this event in order to provide a platform for those who feel it is important to stand in solidarity with victims of racism and with the black community. We are opening and closing this event with prayer and invite you to join us in asking God for peace and protection while we exercise our freedom to stand for what we believe.
Our mission and message are peace. We are asking participants to take a knee if they are met with aggression. We are asking for silence to contain our emotions.
Why are we doing this? We love Rabun County, local law enforcement, and our local businesses as well as this country. I have worked with young people for all my years in this state. I hear young people right now who are watching the violence unfolding before them - who are watching the injustices being enacted on black people and they are angry. I believe we have an obligation to model peace for them and what it means to be caring citizens. I believe we have an opportunity to show them that we can trust our fellow community members, that we can have differences, respect one another, and make space for all to peacefully share their voices.
We are doing this to give voice to the citizens of Rabun County who are longing to show solidarity for those who are suffering in the world. We want to say to black mothers that we hear them when they say they are afraid to let their sons leave the house at night. We want to protect black people and people who are mentally ill. We want to know that our justice system is fair, that prisoners are treated humanely, that police are equipped to recognize social injustice, and trained to de-escalate threatening situations.
Is this an event to criticize Rabun County or Rabun County PD? No. This is actually a platform to showcase some of the amazing work that Rabun County police are already doing in these areas. This is an opportunity for them to garner respect from young people who have been seeing some of the injustices enacted upon the black community and asking, "Can we trust the police?" When the chief of police accompanies us on our march, it is an opportunity to soothe some of the chaos that has been building across our nation. In this way, this event is an act of prevention rather than provocation.
We are doing this to give space to those who have been expressing a hunger in their hearts to stand with those around the nation as allies to the black community. No, it is not to get in the newspaper, (we are wearing masks for safety anyway, people may not even be able to recognize us). This is not a performative act. We were raised to believe, "If you see wrong, you say something," and this is what we want to do.
To be honest, we are nervous too. We are struggling with a fear that people will get angry and try to hurt us and those standing with us. We are mothers, wives, sisters and daughters, brothers and fathers, sons and husbands. We are concerned about the potential for this situation to show our kids that it is dangerous to show up and stand for what you believe. But rather than choosing to hide in fear, we are choosing to stand in love and trust that we will be protected by God and our love for one another. We are choosing to trust others in our community who may not agree with us. We are acting on the faith and hope that Rabun county can be a place for us all. Please trust us to show up, say our piece, stand for peace, model civility, and go home. Other small towns are doing this successfully and we believe it can and should be done here.
I hear many people saying all lives matter. This should be a given, but I also keep thinking that no one would show up at Race for the Cure and get mad that no one is running for diabetes awareness. All lives do matter - white, black, brown, blue. But right now, black lives need our attention the most. If you are struggling to understand the reality of this need, I urge you to google 10 of the names in the list below and see for yourself. As you are reading their stories, imagine their deaths as if they were a white person you know. We want to help you understand where we are in this. Please ask us. We would love to have civil discourse with and hear your heart as well.
I love you, Rabun County. I love you, America. I love you, young people. I have hope for our future. Let's trust one another. Let's unite. Let's be kind.
Eric Garner, John Crawford III, Michael Brown, Ezell Ford, Dante Parker, Michelle Cusseaux, Laquan McDonald, George Mann, Tanisha Anderson, Akai Gurley, Tamir Rice, Rumain Brisbon, Jerame Reid, Matthew Ajibade, Frank Smart, Natasha McKenna, Tony Robinson, Anthony Hill, Mya Hall, Phillip White, Eric Harris, Walter Scott, William Chapman II, Alexia Christina, Brendon Glenn, Victor Manuel Larosa, Jonathan Sanders, Freddie Blue, Joseph Mann, Salvado Ellswood, Sandra Bland, Albert Joseph Davis, Darrius Stewart, Billy Ray Davis, Samuel Dubose, Michael Sabbie, Brian Keith Day, Christian Taylor, Troy Robinson, Asshams Pharaoh Manley, Felix Kumi, Keith Harrison McLeod, Junior Prosper, Lamontez Jones, Paterson Brown, Dominic Hutchinson, Anthony Ashford, Alonzo Smith, Tyree Crawford, India Kager, La’vante Biggs, Michael Lee Marshall, Jamar Clark, Richard Perkins, Nathaniel Harris Pickett, Benni Lee Tignor, Miguel Espinal, Michael Noel, Kevin Matthews, Bettie Jones, Quintonio Legrier, Keith Childress Jr., Janet Wilson, Randy Nelson, Antronie Scott, Wendell Celestine, David Joseph, Calin Roquemore, Dyzhawn Perkins, Christopher Davis, Marco Loud, Peter Gaines, Torrey Robinson, Darius Robinson, Kevin Hicks, Mary Tuxillo, Demarcus Semer, Willie Tillman, Terrill Thomas, Sylville Smith, Alton Sterling, Philando Castle, Terence Crutcher, Paul O’Neal, Alteria Woods, Jordan Edwards, Aaron Bailey, Ronell Foster, Stephon Clark, Antwon Rose II, Botham Jean, Pamela Turner, Dominique Clayton, Atatiana Jefferson, Christopher Whitfield, Christopher McCorvey, Eric Reason, Michael Lorenzo Dean, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, and George Floyd.”
One of my organizing partners of the event wrote this to again help our message be heard in this area where it is desperately needed. Many will criticize that we are providing too much grace for our community in this communication, but I think we can tolerate this criticism and provide grace for those who don’t understand us. I just ask that you hear our desire to help, that we acknowledge our own implicit bias, and that we want to help others understand Black Lives Matter.
Her words: “People on the PD website have questions about what is going on in their town. I think we should answer them before we start. This is what I want to say:
I am one of the organizers of this event. I have lived in Rabun County for 13 years and Habersham for 3 years prior to that. Who are we? 3 other organizers have lived here for their entire lives and the other has been here for over five years. We are not an outside organization. We are not an organization at all. We are just a group of white ladies who are trying to do the right thing. We are us - Rabun County citizens who care about our home and the hearts it holds.
What are we doing? We have selected a short window of time (to minimize the impact on local business) for this event in order to provide a platform for those who feel it is important to stand in solidarity with victims of racism and with the black community. We are opening and closing this event with prayer and invite you to join us in asking God for peace and protection while we exercise our freedom to stand for what we believe.
Our mission and message are peace. We are asking participants to take a knee if they are met with aggression. We are asking for silence to contain our emotions.
Why are we doing this? We love Rabun County, local law enforcement, and our local businesses as well as this country. I have worked with young people for all my years in this state. I hear young people right now who are watching the violence unfolding before them - who are watching the injustices being enacted on black people and they are angry. I believe we have an obligation to model peace for them and what it means to be caring citizens. I believe we have an opportunity to show them that we can trust our fellow community members, that we can have differences, respect one another, and make space for all to peacefully share their voices.
We are doing this to give voice to the citizens of Rabun County who are longing to show solidarity for those who are suffering in the world. We want to say to black mothers that we hear them when they say they are afraid to let their sons leave the house at night. We want to protect black people and people who are mentally ill. We want to know that our justice system is fair, that prisoners are treated humanely, that police are equipped to recognize social injustice, and trained to de-escalate threatening situations.
Is this an event to criticize Rabun County or Rabun County PD? No. This is actually a platform to showcase some of the amazing work that Rabun County police are already doing in these areas. This is an opportunity for them to garner respect from young people who have been seeing some of the injustices enacted upon the black community and asking, "Can we trust the police?" When the chief of police accompanies us on our march, it is an opportunity to soothe some of the chaos that has been building across our nation. In this way, this event is an act of prevention rather than provocation.
We are doing this to give space to those who have been expressing a hunger in their hearts to stand with those around the nation as allies to the black community. No, it is not to get in the newspaper, (we are wearing masks for safety anyway, people may not even be able to recognize us). This is not a performative act. We were raised to believe, "If you see wrong, you say something," and this is what we want to do.
To be honest, we are nervous too. We are struggling with a fear that people will get angry and try to hurt us and those standing with us. We are mothers, wives, sisters and daughters, brothers and fathers, sons and husbands. We are concerned about the potential for this situation to show our kids that it is dangerous to show up and stand for what you believe. But rather than choosing to hide in fear, we are choosing to stand in love and trust that we will be protected by God and our love for one another. We are choosing to trust others in our community who may not agree with us. We are acting on the faith and hope that Rabun county can be a place for us all. Please trust us to show up, say our piece, stand for peace, model civility, and go home. Other small towns are doing this successfully and we believe it can and should be done here.
I hear many people saying all lives matter. This should be a given, but I also keep thinking that no one would show up at Race for the Cure and get mad that no one is running for diabetes awareness. All lives do matter - white, black, brown, blue. But right now, black lives need our attention the most. If you are struggling to understand the reality of this need, I urge you to google 10 of the names in the list below and see for yourself. As you are reading their stories, imagine their deaths as if they were a white person you know. We want to help you understand where we are in this. Please ask us. We would love to have civil discourse with and hear your heart as well.
I love you, Rabun County. I love you, America. I love you, young people. I have hope for our future. Let's trust one another. Let's unite. Let's be kind.
Eric Garner, John Crawford III, Michael Brown, Ezell Ford, Dante Parker, Michelle Cusseaux, Laquan McDonald, George Mann, Tanisha Anderson, Akai Gurley, Tamir Rice, Rumain Brisbon, Jerame Reid, Matthew Ajibade, Frank Smart, Natasha McKenna, Tony Robinson, Anthony Hill, Mya Hall, Phillip White, Eric Harris, Walter Scott, William Chapman II, Alexia Christina, Brendon Glenn, Victor Manuel Larosa, Jonathan Sanders, Freddie Blue, Joseph Mann, Salvado Ellswood, Sandra Bland, Albert Joseph Davis, Darrius Stewart, Billy Ray Davis, Samuel Dubose, Michael Sabbie, Brian Keith Day, Christian Taylor, Troy Robinson, Asshams Pharaoh Manley, Felix Kumi, Keith Harrison McLeod, Junior Prosper, Lamontez Jones, Paterson Brown, Dominic Hutchinson, Anthony Ashford, Alonzo Smith, Tyree Crawford, India Kager, La’vante Biggs, Michael Lee Marshall, Jamar Clark, Richard Perkins, Nathaniel Harris Pickett, Benni Lee Tignor, Miguel Espinal, Michael Noel, Kevin Matthews, Bettie Jones, Quintonio Legrier, Keith Childress Jr., Janet Wilson, Randy Nelson, Antronie Scott, Wendell Celestine, David Joseph, Calin Roquemore, Dyzhawn Perkins, Christopher Davis, Marco Loud, Peter Gaines, Torrey Robinson, Darius Robinson, Kevin Hicks, Mary Tuxillo, Demarcus Semer, Willie Tillman, Terrill Thomas, Sylville Smith, Alton Sterling, Philando Castle, Terence Crutcher, Paul O’Neal, Alteria Woods, Jordan Edwards, Aaron Bailey, Ronell Foster, Stephon Clark, Antwon Rose II, Botham Jean, Pamela Turner, Dominique Clayton, Atatiana Jefferson, Christopher Whitfield, Christopher McCorvey, Eric Reason, Michael Lorenzo Dean, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, and George Floyd.”
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