By Tory Russell, Hands Up United
The tragedy in Charleston, SC leaves my heart heavy and I want to extend my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the surrounding community still grieving over the murder of Walter Scott. The frequency of violence perpetrated against Black communities appears to have reached a fever pitch over the past month. In the wake of these horrors I, along with others, wonder where we can go to safely worship, walk down the street, meet friends or protest for change.
Looking at America today, you may ask what year and what country we are living in. Over 50 years after the Civil Rights Era, America is once again dealing with racism at swimming pools, daily killings of blacks at the hands of police, and acts of unspeakable violence that ended the lives of peaceful South Carolina churchgoers who welcomed their killer into an evening bible study. This was not 1963 Birmingham, this was 2015 Charleston under the watchful eye of a Black Attorney General and Black President — if they cannot protect us, who can?
The “Land of the Free” is still a hostile place for Black and Brown people, trapped in a society that mistrusts, insults, injures and kills us because of the color of our skin. In recent months, we have witnessed soldiers returning from wars abroad only to be killed by police at home; we’ve seen police abuse Black girls waiting for their mothers to pick them up from a community pool party; we’ve seen children killed on playgrounds; and, last night, we watched our friends, neighbors and community leaders gunned down by a racist terrorist in their place of worship. The open spaces in Christian places of worship are called sanctuaries for a reason and if we cannot feel safe from harm here then we are all at grave risk.
Ultimately this speaks to conscience and psyche of America as a whole; attacking a historic black church is an attack against the historic gains that we made united together during the Civil Rights Movement—one of many assaults committed against us by racists who have integrated into our society and attack our brothers and sisters without consequence.
The unpunished killings of Blacks at the hands of police have emboldened those with hearts filled with hate toward our community. Our faith in our God and our communities are not shaken, we will grieve together and we will greet every new day with new strength to overcome the bigotry that is consuming our nation.
