Post by addisona on Feb 17, 2022 14:26:40 GMT
Why our church flies a black lives matter banner
In response to a comment in last Sunday’s paper, our church does read the Gospels and fly a black lives matter banner because of the highest ethical teaching of Jesus “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Have we realized this with our African American neighbors?
Black babies born today are three times more likely to die in the next year than white infants. Loving our neighbor means health care access and medical care because all babies’ lives matter.
In our national capitol, Washington, D.C., the life span of Black men is 17.2 years (not months) shorter than white men. Would this be the case if we loved our neighbors?
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I served for nine years, Blacks in the Greenwood District lived three miles away from the wealthy, mostly white, population in Maple Ridge, but their lives averaged 17 years less.
Were U.S. warplanes ever used to bomb white neighborhoods in America? In the Black Greenwood district of Tulsa, U.S. warplanes bombed 35 blocks in the Tulsa Race Massacre. Where was “all lives matter?”
Black Americans are 3.23 times more likely to be killed by police than White Americans (that is three times plus, not 3%) based on a study by the Harvard School of Public Health.
CNN reports the median net worth of Black families is less than 15% of white families. Much of this was created by redlining and neighborhood exclusion covenants along with the very low percentage of Black veterans who were approved for VA loans when more than 90% of white veterans were approved.
In American history how many thousands of whites were lynched in small, rural Black communities? What about the reverse?
How many whites have been hunted down in trucks and murdered for jogging through a neighborhood?
When we realize that all lives matter, there will be no difference in mortality rates for Black babies, the life spans among all races in America will be similar, and Black Americans will no longer be over three times more likely to be killed by police officers. When we love our neighbors as ourselves, the people of First Congregational will celebrate and joyfully take down our black lives matter banner. We pray and work for that day to arrive. Then it will be honest and accurate to say all lives matter.
www.gjsentinel.com/opinion/letters/printed-letters-feb-13-2022/article_ddb69c4a-8b5b-11ec-abf3-43e65916ed3f.html
In response to a comment in last Sunday’s paper, our church does read the Gospels and fly a black lives matter banner because of the highest ethical teaching of Jesus “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Have we realized this with our African American neighbors?
Black babies born today are three times more likely to die in the next year than white infants. Loving our neighbor means health care access and medical care because all babies’ lives matter.
In our national capitol, Washington, D.C., the life span of Black men is 17.2 years (not months) shorter than white men. Would this be the case if we loved our neighbors?
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I served for nine years, Blacks in the Greenwood District lived three miles away from the wealthy, mostly white, population in Maple Ridge, but their lives averaged 17 years less.
Were U.S. warplanes ever used to bomb white neighborhoods in America? In the Black Greenwood district of Tulsa, U.S. warplanes bombed 35 blocks in the Tulsa Race Massacre. Where was “all lives matter?”
Black Americans are 3.23 times more likely to be killed by police than White Americans (that is three times plus, not 3%) based on a study by the Harvard School of Public Health.
CNN reports the median net worth of Black families is less than 15% of white families. Much of this was created by redlining and neighborhood exclusion covenants along with the very low percentage of Black veterans who were approved for VA loans when more than 90% of white veterans were approved.
In American history how many thousands of whites were lynched in small, rural Black communities? What about the reverse?
How many whites have been hunted down in trucks and murdered for jogging through a neighborhood?
When we realize that all lives matter, there will be no difference in mortality rates for Black babies, the life spans among all races in America will be similar, and Black Americans will no longer be over three times more likely to be killed by police officers. When we love our neighbors as ourselves, the people of First Congregational will celebrate and joyfully take down our black lives matter banner. We pray and work for that day to arrive. Then it will be honest and accurate to say all lives matter.
www.gjsentinel.com/opinion/letters/printed-letters-feb-13-2022/article_ddb69c4a-8b5b-11ec-abf3-43e65916ed3f.html
