“The moment we choose to love we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love, we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others.” — bell hooks (“Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations,” 1994)
Freedom: the quality or state of being free: such as 1. the ability to fully participate socially, economically, and civically in society; 2. the ability to navigate society with agency and authenticity without fear of persecution.
We live in a world shaped by colonization and white supremacy. A world that allotted few “freedom” while systemically oppressing the majority. As a Black woman, my ability to be free is hindered by being coerced into conformity, through the shaming and criminalizing of my culture, the defunding of my communities, and the silencing and invalidating of my voice and experiences.
This past year, that lack of freedom has intensified with the federal occupation of Washington, D.C. (my home, a historically Black city and still a majority people of color city) and the interference of the Trump administration and Congress into the lives of D.C. residents.
The impact of these authoritarian and oppressive acts is at least life-altering and at worst fatal for those of us at the margins. In the D.C. area over the past year, hundreds of Black and Brown people, including children, have been stopped, harassed and arrested by police officers or federal agents in recent months.
And thousands of immigrant neighbors have been arrested or disappeared in D.C.
In one week, three Black men were killed by D.C. police officers: David Warren Childs, Demetrius Alston and Kevin Booker.
In one month, two men were shot at by federal agents during traffic stops: Justin Brian Nelson and Phillip Brown.
Congress is undoing pillars to our justice system that have protected Black people in D.C. for decades. The most glaring attempts have been putting in place cash bail and attempting to prosecute 14-year-olds as adults.
We are witnessing the rise of an authoritative, fascist regime that is rooted in anti-Blackness and relying on tactics of fear and divisiveness to keep us separate and silent.
The liberation of God’s people requires us to ACT, to act justly and to love mercy and walk humbly (Micah 6:8). Christians especially must ACT. We especially must declare that Black Lives Matter; both because God calls us to and because Christianity plays a dominant role in the violence Black and other marginalized people face. The truth is the Bible was and is used as a tool of oppression in our homes, churches and laws of this nation. We have been conditioned by the man-made interpretations of the Bible that justified the acts of the enslavement of African people, the theft of Indigenous land, the suppression of women, and the violence of queer and trans people. We must acknowledge that truth. We must differentiate the teachings of God from our own biases. When we do not, the conflation of the two perpetuates systemic oppression and serves as a conductor of hate and violence that marginalized people experience daily.
The freedom God intended for us is possible. The ways in which to move toward it, though trying, are not unknown or futile. Isaiah 61 gives specific instructions on what the work of liberation looks like.
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
God is clear in God’s directive. Our obligation to love one another and to seek justice means we are also obligated to take on the work of the liberation of God’s people. I charge each of us to take these steps:
- Intentionally learn and acknowledge the ways in which our own actions cause harm, uphold white supremacy culture and perpetuate systemic oppression;
- Identify, evaluate and overcome our implicit bias;
- Center and affirm marginalized people in all our authenticity and humanity; and
- Speak out against injustices. Being silent is being complicit with violence. Staying neutral is being complicit with violence.
I charge you to reflect on what moving toward freedom looks like for you. In your own microcosm of the world, where can you choose to love?
Samantha Paige Davis, Associate for Gender and Racial Justice
Let us join in prayer for:
Shawnda Styles, Senior Accounting Clerk, Controllers, The Presbyterian Foundation
Sarah Sullivan, Assistant General Counsel, Legal & Risk Management, Administrative Service Group
Let us pray:
God of justice, hope, love and mercy, help us to continually live into the church that you have called us to be. Compel us to stand against injustice wherever it may be found. Provoke us to hold firm to the gospel message of inclusion and equity. And empower us to continually be salt and light in a world that so desperately needs more representation of your Spirit. We love you and strive to love others in the same way. Through God’s grace, in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen and Ase.
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