Rhetoric Race and Religion
We simply must respond to this heightened and hateful display of Islamaphobia with more than silent prayers and sad thoughts.
These attacks on a people of faith because of the actions of a rogue constituency is unconscionable and, from Christians, it is beyond hypocritical since we have conveniently found a way to disassociate our faith from the long legacy of murderous and sinful acts perpetrated by the KKK in our nation.
The venom now being wielded at a religion of peace, because of our fear and in the name of righteousness must not speak for us. It is at this intersection of oppressions…racism, nationalism, and religious bigotry…that we must choose another path.
A path that leads us, because of our faith, to stand with our brothers and sisters boldly against any form of religious intolerance, no matter how far away from our churches it may seem.
We must be committed to speaking out against hateful, inciting rhetoric, no matter how public and how powerful the voice.
We must use the immoral reaction of those seeking the highest office in this land to the violent acts of a few who have misappropriated religion, especially in light of their complicitness in creating a climate of hatred in this country, as a litmus test of fitness for office.
And those of us who have religious privilege in this land must use our pulpits, our pews, our publications, and our platforms to say NOT ON OUR WATCH!!!
This is wrong. Let us put our heads and hearts together and come up with the best way to respond collectively. I, like many of you, am committed to personal action (phone calls of support, public dissent, and worship as an act of solidarity) but this is not enough.
What shall be our clarion cry? We do not have the luxury of one battle at a time. This threat impacts us all.
Rev. Traci Blackmon is pastor of Christ the King United Church of Christ
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