Real Life Real Faith Men of Faith September Issue | Page 19

Black In America: Is There a Crisis in Our Midst?
Undoubtedly the forefathers of this country had good intentions when they
hammered out the Constitution. Throughout the history of our country significant
contributions have been made for what it has become. It could even be said with
conviction that people of color helped in the process. I’m sure many of you have
reacted with pride after knowing that Black men and women were designated as
the ‘first’ of anything in history because of significant achieved value. We’ve
come a long way to forge our legacies, and have fought numerous battles to
prove our worth, including the right for equal parity. Although we know that racism
is an institution that God doesn’t condone, Rodney King’s ongoing social
commentary on racial parity before his passing birthed his famous question, ‘Can
we all get along,' which in many annals of life still ring true today. Can we? It is
my contention that becoming truly ‘one nation under God’ continue to elude us.
The scales of racism are still unbalanced and unwilling to balance itself. While
not seeking to diminish the impact of racism upon a culture lacking greater
degrees of acceptance, I want to recognize the fact that legitimacy and the
continual angst of biased opinionated views are self-limiting and self-defeating
whether its done blatantly or in submissive ways. They simply foster victims that
possess and reinforce a pathology of dependence, and embolden those who
want white supremacy. It is this dependency that we, as people of color should
eradicate. This essay was written with the idea that there are, and should be
remedies for us to rise above any measure of corruptness for a corrected
solution. The purpose here, is to exact some means of accountability and identify
meaningful ideas to avoid a widening of the gulf that separates us from those that
don’t like us. The title asked the question, is there a crises in our midst? There
will always be a crisis, as it has been throughout our existence if nothing is done
by all to coexist without malice. I’m one to believe that we can’t do its without a
Godly agenda, and the church being an integral part of the process.
It is the absence of ecclesiastic value that has allowed accountability go awry
in bringing truth and understanding to the core of our problems. The fundamental
cause of racial issues in America lies intimately with the church’s failure in my
opinion to come to grips with race from a biblical perspective. Why can churches
bind together to become one, as opposed to having one in close proximity of
each other without a unified effort to strengthen communities? If the church is the
last bastion of hope for us to be accountable should God’s directives be aligned