Fair Warning: I’m Mad!
ByBy Kat Cannon
Maybe this isn’t the time write a blog post. But maybe it is, because I’m in no mood to mince words.
I’m mad. Not just mad. Furious.
Today, news broke in my city that someone put very well-designed, professionally printed “White Only” stickers on several business on the east side of town. Think about it. Some individual(s) sat down with intention, put time and thought and effort into the aesthetics, spent money to be offensive. If it was intended as a joke, no one seems to appreciate the humor. Probably some sort of ham-handed attempt at protesting gentrification in East Austin. The outrage on Facebook is palpable.
This comes just a matter of days after a developer bulldozed a pinata shop in the area, all the inventory still on the shelves, an act that Hispanics in the community took quite personally.
I also just saw news of a black college student in Virginia needing 10 stitches in his head – his HEAD – after police arrested him for having a fake ID and trying to get into a bar. Witnesses say the student wasn’t resisting arrest, but the investigation is, of course, underway.
And another report of a mentally ill black man with a screwdriver being shot five times by police officers in Dallas.
I know the political environment is emotionally charged right now. I know there’s more to these stories and all the facts aren’t being reported in the same place in the same way or in any unbiased manner by anyone. I’m not so naive as to think these initial reports are completely accurate or even complete.
But I’m still mad.
I’m heartbroken that these incidents are so racially charged, that we live in a culture still so divided and us-versus-them. That it’s not only possible but plausible that inherent distrust of people of color created all these tragedies. That those in authority and with privilege are capable of such blatant disregard for human lives.
I’m out-of-my-mind frustrated that there’s no way I can heal the wounds in my friends and colleagues who’s skin is darker than mine, can’t make anything better, can’t do anything but rage at the sky and let them cry on my shoulder.
I’m livid that I have to explain to my children – both of whom have close friends of color – why these things are happening.
Mostly, I’m mad that this whole thing even exists. The idea that the amount of pigment in someone’s skin makes them inherently less-than anyone else is about as opposed to all I know and believe my God as anything I can think of.
We are all made in His image. All of us. And His image is so big and glorious that it takes every single person who’s ever lived or ever will in all of our diversity all over the planet to even reflect a fraction of Him. Every nuance, culture, talent, physique, personality bent, even as twisted and marred by sin as we humans can be. Every. Single. One.
Redeemed. Loved. His.
To put this in purely selfish terms, then, if I want to know my God, I had better get to know as many of His image-bearers as possible and find out what of Him they can reflect into my life. How does He move in and through them? What does redemption and restoration look like from their perspective? The more different they are from me, the bigger my view of Him becomes. From a different race? Great. From a different generation? Awesome. From a radically different culture and worldview. Bring it.
To diminish any one of these simply on the basis of skin color? Absurd and insulting to my God. And that’s before we even talk about simply caring about others because they’re human beings, too.
So yeah, I’m mad.
What do I do with this anger?
Pray. Vent to my God. Expose my indignation to the One who knows me better than I do and let Him sift me through for what is righteous and what is not.
Listen. Hear the words of those around me who are hurting and angry, too. Pay attention not just to their words but the sounds of their breaking hearts.
Talk. Share the truths that I know with my children, the communities I serve. God is still good. We still need a Savior. All of us.
Care. Take the risk of loving as God loves me, always thinking of the other person and not whether I’m right or privileged or falsely accused.
R.E.A.L. Women's Rants and Raves 
“I do see diversity as a key way we can become closer to God – not just racial diversity, but diversity in all its forms: generational, spiritual gifts, worship styles, fashion styles, culturally, you name it. We are, after all, designed to be a Body with many parts, each one valuable and needed for the health of the whole.”
That is very true. That comes with our simple obedience loving God and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves–plain and simple. I’m so glad Christ made this oh so simple for us to follow. We humans (along with the devil of course) are the ones who add all of these extra shackles on people on the issue of race.
Thank you again for your response. I can’t wait to meet you and other believers from all around the globe in heaven. A place where all roundtables will be put away and His throne will be front and center!
Kat,
The stories you mentioned are only “race related” because that is how the media has framed them. There are thousands of murders that happen every year in this same country where Blacks are killing other Blacks (yes, I am Black), and the media (social media include) barely says a word about it.
Back in 2012 a young Black man decided to make a film that featured just some of the Black mothers who lost children due to Black on Black gun violence in and around the city of Philadelphia. Believe it or not, the film was a hard sell for him for local churches in the area he asked to help support him. Thank God he did eventually find some ministries that pitched in. But some of the same preachers who rejected him, where some of the same preachers who could not get to a microphone fast enough when the Treyvon Martin stuff broke out.
As heartbreaking these “newsworthy” stories may be (and they are), how much do you think the heart of God must break when we pass by thousands of Black on Black murder rates in our own city just show our disgust when a story floats out that a Black male reportedly has become the latest victim of what the media deems as “racism”? Kat, most of these stories have very little to do with racism with cops and more to do with their incompetence.
No where in the Bible does Christ, His disciples, or any of the prophets that proceeded Him set any importance on diversity.
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matt 22:35-40
This is a passage that I am sure you are very aware of. But it always bears repeating. Especially with topics like this.
As a Black individual, I have seen all types of churches in my lifetime. I have both attended and joined the membership of churches that were mostly Black, mostly White, a little bit of both, edge, deep in the supernatural, strict traditional, etc. But the ones that that really had a genuine love for God and his people are the ones that had the most impact on me. Some of those churches were not diverse, race wise at all (meaning they were mostly White. They loved and embraced me regardless of my race. And I knew it had nothing to do with any type of this White guilt thing that is prevalent these days. They just loved the Lord. I’ve seen the same with Black churches and diverse churches as well. The churches who did not have that love treated ANYBODY who did not go with the system the same way and eventually forced them out.
If diversity was in some way a key in bringing us closer to God, then how does that apply to churches in places like China, Africa, Slovenia, Iraq, Maine, the remote parts of West Virginia, etc.? Does the diversity gospel apply to them as well? Or just us here in America? I’ve asked this question recently to another person online who kinda thinks along the same lines as you and did not get an answer yet. Yet he continues to post as if I never asked him anything. Hopefully, you will not do that.
You and I both know that there are people in the body of Christ who do have issues with people of other races and will go all out of their way to pretend that they don’t. We also know that there are people within the body of Christ who are addicted to porn, unfaithful to their spouses, lie, cheat, put money ahead of His sheep, etc. A diverse church does NOTHING to eradicate those issues. They may make us feel good to see a sea of diverse faces in our churches. But sin comes in all flavors.
The TRUE Body of Christ has, can, and will continue to tackle all of these issues that keep our society sick with sin. I have personally seen it and have experienced it for myself. Thanks be to God for people who loved HIM first and who loved me unconditionally. We have to stop handpicking (as the media does) extreme bad and isolated examples of racism in the church and projecting that issue upon the entire body. The church is full of many examples of people who do not need a roundtable discussion on how to love Black people, Asians, Hispanics, etc. They just love God. I’m tired of the White guilt stuff because it solves nothing at all (not suggesting that is you). The Bible says that “….there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” If I see a mostly White church (let’s say) who is doing the work, love God, love people regardless, who am I to burden them with the “There’s not enough Black people in here” crap???
I pray that you will continue to write and to speak the Word of the Lord. I also pray that you will not allow your emotions to be predicated on what the media or social media dictates. So let’s confront any racism we may see in our local churches. But also, WITH THE SAME FEVER confront the tolerance of adultery, lying, cheating, worldliness, backbiting, etc. as well.
Thank you for taking the time to read and I welcome the opportunity to chat with you more.
Thank you so much for writing. I appreciate and value your perspective as a Black individual, a fellow believer, and an image bearer of God. You make some excellent points and I’m so glad you brought them up.
I do see diversity as a key way we can become closer to God – not just racial diversity, but diversity in all its forms: generational, spiritual gifts, worship styles, fashion styles, culturally, you name it. We are, after all, designed to be a Body with many parts, each one valuable and needed for the health of the whole. Since I believe all people have a reflection of His image to offer, twisted and marred by sin as it may be, I believe we all have inherent value. And since we’re all so very different, the broader the diversity in the church locally and universally, the bigger our view of God is. Any boxes I’ve put Him in just might get blown to bits when challenged by others with perspectives different than mine. To know my God well, then, I believe I should be open to learning as He speaks through whomever He wants, no matter how different from me they are.
As for those in other cultures, their diversity challenges probably look very different from ours in the US. I think of the Christians in India who may struggle with diversity issues along caste lines. Other cultures may have tribal issues of diversity that have more to do with which village and language they speak and historical feuds than skin color. Diversity issues apply in these cultures as well, even though they’re not race diversity issues. Does that make sense?
I wholeheartedly agree with you that focusing on God and not trying to fix ourselves through endless roundtables is the ultimate answer. It’s the inward condition of our hearts that really needs changing, and then the outward actions of love and grace can flow freely. His grace is SO needed in this conversation. Let’s you and I pray together that He invades with everything that He is so that we can love Him – and each other – much better than we do.
Blessings.
Kat >:-)