Pastor Brandon T. Crowley: A Pastoral Letter on Racism

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To the Beloved Myrtle Community:

I greet you in the love, liberation, and life that our Lord Jesus Christ secures and gives.

As our nation reels in the wake of the unjust murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, who join a host of other recent martyrs, I pen this pastoral missive to denounce the egregious sins of racism, hate, violence, and white terrorism wrought by vigilantes, renegade law enforcement, a broken judicial system, and a failure of moral and ethical leadership at all levels, including the office of the presidency, which has actively undermined Black life, has stoked the flames of hatred, and has incited acts of violence. While it is nearly impossible to conceptualize in these moments of crisis what it will take for things to change, I do not believe things will change unless the entire political, social, economic, and even religious system is changed. 

I want to state plainly: the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and so many others are sinful and categorically wrong.

To be honest, I’ve been struggling over the last few days trying to find the right words to share with you in light of recent events in our nation. In recent days, we have witnessed the lives of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd senselessly and unnecessarily taken from this earth. Each one of them, and others whose names we have yet to hear, have been victims of hate and fear unto death. In the last three nights, I have watched as the frustrations and distrust with systemic racism resulted in the flooding of the streets of our country’s major cities with protestors and revolutionary resistance. My thoughts and prayers have been focused on our youth who feel unvalued for their humanity. 

The tragic circumstances of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd’s deaths makes it all the more clear that the Church is needed now more than ever. Black churches must continue to be safe havens for all Black bodies seeking theological meaning making. And white churches must be awakened from their evangelical slumbering to be both ally and champion for the African American stride towards freedom.  

I watched the fires in Minneapolis on Thursday night. I felt my own anger rising within me and hardening into a deep pain that sought revenge. But after speaking with my great grandmother, I was reminded that I needed to sit with my agner and wrestle with it because if I let it fester, my desperation combined with anger and fear would lead to some sort of destruction. The truth is I am angry and mad as hell, but I continue to resist the urge to practice destructive impulses because my sanity is too fragile to succumb to those emotions in a time like this. 

I am reaching out to you because in moments like this we need to rally together. We need each other to survive this nightmare.  As a Black Church, we are a community that matters and when we pull together, strategize and organize on our Christilogical mission the world can be bettered. But we can’t do it alone. Black America didn’t create racism and we can’t dismantle it alone. We need our white allies to speak up, stand up, stand out, and sacrifice your white privilege on the altars of justice. This is what will change the world for the betterment of all. In America, we are dealing with more than COVID-19.  There are so many viruses like racism, sexism, xenophobia, classism, homophobia, gender-phobia…..these are the real viruses and epidemics that disproportionately   affect communities of color. 

To date, America continues to fail to resist the evil of racism; as a nation, this country opts instead to ask communities of color to remain calm and hold on just a little longer. But we are tired and exhausted as a people because this evil is more than personal, it is systemic, and it will take a systematic approach to dismantle it and end the harm perpetrated by systemic racism. Sadly, the grief of these times is not experienced equally by all. Some whites see our pain and anger as intolerable, unintelligible, and unnecessary; but they are wrong. 

For this reason, it is important to understand that the anger and pain from which people of color are protesting isn’t just random looting, but it is a response to centuries of pent-up feelings that have been perpetrated by the systemic acts of racism that have been committed by the police. Amid these nationwide protests spurred by the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, a 1967 delivered speech by Dr. King at Stanford University has become increasingly resonant.

In the speech titled "Other America", King emphasized his support for nonviolent tactics in the "struggle for freedom and justice" and expressed his disapproval for riots, referring to them as "socially destructive." King, however, also argues that worsening economic and social conditions that black Americans experience must be condemned as equally as riots. He says: “It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality and humanity. And so in a real sense our nation’s summers of riots are caused by our nation’s winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention”. 

Pay very close attention to what Dr. King said. He said that a riot is the LANGUAGE not the solution to the problems of the unheard. It’s like when a baby cries as a result of being neglected. The cry isn’t the solution; it is an alarm that the baby sounds to solicit the empathy of an empowered listener. Black people have been unheard and ignored in this country for too long and sometimes we use riots to amplify our cry for justice.

Dr. King once said: “And I contend that the cry of ‘black power’ is, at bottom, a reaction to the reluctance of white power to make the kind of changes necessary to make justice a reality for the Negro,” King said. “I think that we’ve got to see that a riot is the language of the unheard.” White people should listen, pay attention, and hear the message within the riot instead of critiquing the riot. And please remember that all Caucasian critiques of a black race riot is the product of white fragility.   

So where do we go from here? I must be honest today, the only place from which I can speak is from a place of deep  grief, righteous anger, and a deep sense of hope. However, I am encouraged in this moments like this that God is with us and therefore, we should not despair. We must turn to our faith. We must love and protect one another. We must recognize our anger and channel it into the social action that Jesus taught. Turning over tables and not worrying about the money changers who are affected by it. We must aim to partner and work with those who regardless of race, gender identity, nationality or class, want to build the beloved community.

My prayer now is that God would give comfort to their families, that God would bring swift justice to their murderers, and that God would raise up prophets to both “tear Satan’s kingdom down,” and to bring God’s Kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.” Until such time, I encourage us to:

  1. Mourn—Mourn each life. Do not let the numbers and media frenzy numb you to reality that a life was murdered and lost. Sit with the grief and the anger. Allow yourself to feel what you are feeling.

  2. Pray—Pray for God’s justice and mercy. We know that no movement, no revolution, no change occurs without a people who are working with and on behalf of God in God’s power. Keep praying even when you don’t feel like it and it doesn’t feel like God is listening. Your prayers are working for you and for others and will continue to have impact beyond you.

  3. Talk—Talk with some trusted friends about what you’re feeling and experiencing. Listen and support each other.

  4. Rest—You don’t have to be superhuman right now. Choosing to rest is a legitimate form of resistance. You cannot fight or think effectively if you’re tired.

  5. Write/Call—Go on record with your representatives on every level. Discern the issue you are passionate about and make your voice heard.

  6. Organize—Get involved in your people and organizations at work in your community and/or with Myrtle. What these moments remind us of is the larger system at work that constantly takes life away. Pray about getting involved in the Criminal Justice Reform Issue Team working on Clean Slate and De-incarcerating Prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pray about getting involved in the Immigration Issue Team to secure relief for our sisters and brothers who are undocumented and unemployed right now. Pray about getting involved with the Health Care Team to make sure Contact Tracers are hired from our communities. There are a variety of issues to work on.

  7. Worship—Stay connected to God and to Community. We always need worship and we especially need it now.

Until we see each other again, know that you are just that: you are loved.  You are loved by one another. You are loved by your pastor. Most importantly, you are loved by your God who redeems us in Christ and keeps us with the Holy Spirit. I miss you, and I am praying for you! 

Your Pastor,

Brandon Thomas Crowley

Veronica Chapman