be safe – Do what you can to avoid an encounter with the police. Do what you can to come home.
Three wise men held court on the steps of an apartment building one day. Seated in chairs, or tucked deep in folds of concrete, they tapped into the stories and memories of ordinary street pilgrims. This is Harlem. The men are Black and of a certain age.
They remember … Rodney King, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, Rekiya Boyd, Sandra Bland and most recently Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. They know the heartache of injustice and the truth of reaping what you sow. They know the frustration of revenge.
Oh America.
I heard their frustrated conversation from half a block away. Said the three wise men – “It ain’t right.” “What about justice, man.” “Things ain’t never gonna change.” “I just don’t know anymore. I just don’t know.”
A few young boys, teenagers at most, on their way to the public pool, walked by. They were the picture of summertime fun in the city – swim trunks slung low, tank-topped or bare-chested, crisp towels around their necks. Yesterday and whatever happened or didn’t in their world, would not stop their fun. It was as it should be.
They respectfully exchanged pleasantries and continued on their way when the older men ended the exchange, almost simultaneously, with this – an admonishment, a warning, a prayer. Be safe.
They weren’t talking about water safety at the pool. Or oncoming traffic at the corner. They were repeating a centuries old mantra Black people (and probably many other people of color) say to each other when words were all they could offer to the threat of violence that exists for people because of their color. I say it to my son and husband, and now, to my teen daughter. I pray their safety in a world gone wrong. I pray their safety against the threat of police violence on a black life. Go with God, Godspeed – any such ending is tainted with a deep concern over uncontrolled rage and misguided fear. Blackness shouldn’t put a person in danger, but it does.
Jesus help us.
Behind every ‘be safe’ is a reminder – the hidden worry of the elders praying please come home. It’s how we seal our see you laters with the reminder to be careful – extra careful. Being black is a dangerous liability. Be safe – we said it then, we’re saying it now.
Our relationship with the law bears the scars of a painful history. There’s no secret about that. But how do we change it? And why are we feeding into the fear-based message being fed to our communities?
The videos shot and shared to bring justice in the wake of a murder aren’t being used as intended. We’ve read the stories. We’ve lamented the rulings. But they are being used by the media to incite fear, to distribute a message – be afraid, it could happen to you.
It’s fear-based harassment.
This kind of imagery mishandling perpetuates the story of white supremacy. The image of death delivered a powerful message to the free black community in the years after slavery. Forced to watch, public lynchings delivered a powerful message. This could be you, your brother, your father, your mother – stay in line. Be afraid. That same image was used to with death, desensitize white people to the value of black life.
The New York Daily news shamefully participated in the promotion of the modern-day lynching narrative by using the dead body of Alton Sterling on its July 7th cover. And now … in the wake of the murder of 5 police officers at a rally in Dallas, The New York Post prematurely declared a new Civil War.
It’s crazy. We can’t let the media satisfy our hunger for news with a divisive cycle of informatiom. We can’t perpetuate the same story.
And it’s where I draw the line because I’m a believer and for me – love rules. I’ll call on the God Hagar names El Roi and I’ll pray. I have to believe my prayers arrive at the throne of a God who sees. Like Hagar, I have to face this part of the wilderness – my American wilderness.
But Gods word says …
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9
So … I made eye contact with the white police officer standing in line at the corner store. We talked about the weather and wished each other well while waiting for coffee. But still I wondered.
So I tell myself again, God sees and again God sees. God sees.
Be safe … I know it’s said as prayer, and the confusing times we live in demand it – right along with the on your knees, wailing and weeping kind – but it bothers me.
I want to worry about the usual things that plague children. A scraped knee, a few hurt feelings over a coveted toy or the crush of young love. I want my husband and all Black men to not feel defeated by a world that’s reneged on a promise. I want them to be judged by the content of their character and I want them to be treated with respect. I want them to have hope. I don’t want my children to have to ‘be safe’ because they’re Black.
I don’t want to say or pray ‘be safe’. Not for these reasons, but I know … a part of me will.
Let your handmaiden find grace in your sight…#GiveMeGrace
♥
My perspective is my own but there are so many others. I’m grateful for the variety of voices and how their willingness to speak up has changed my online world.
Here are a few links to words that gave me hope and made me think this week –
a multitude of voices at Sojourners
from the #BlackLivesMatter website
Prayers of the People a Facebook page created by Deidra Riggs
this moving letter from Melissa Harris -Perry
and … this song saved my life this week … I hope it blesses you.
Got my house.
It still keep the cold out.
Got my chair
When my body can’t hold out.
Got my hands
Doin’ good like they s’pose to,
Showin’ my heart
To the folks that i’m close to.
Got my eyes.
Though they don’t see as far now,
They see more ’bout how things
Really are now . . .
