I believe in the greatness of humankind. I believe anyone can do anything. I believe good will always defeat evil. And I believe God loves us all.
But I won’t lie. George Floyd’s murder has shaken my faith. It has burst my bubble. Pulverized it. Blown it to shreds. How could a man be so callously and cruelly murdered by a police officer in broad daylight simply because of the color of his skin? How could that be real?
I’m ashamed that it’s taken me this long to say anything. I’ll admit that at first I thought I would just stay silent. I told myself I wasn’t going to publicly engage in a political issue.
But then, my highest and best self took a long, hard look at me and shook her head, shook me. You have a voice, she said. You have a platform. Get real. This isn’t a political issue.
It’s a human one.
And I believe in the greatness of humankind. I believe anyone can do anything. I believe good will always defeat evil. And I believe God loves us all.
We are all made in the image of God—all of us. Every. Single. One.
So I’m breaking my silence. But the truth is, I don’t know what to say. If I’m being raw and honest, I’ve never lived through real oppression. I don’t know what it’s like to fear that my son might be mistreated or harmed by the police. I didn’t want to know that such hatred could still exist in a world in which I’m raising my children.
Because I believe in the greatness of humankind. I believe anyone can do anything. I believe good will always defeat evil. And I believe God loves us all.
When I was a senior in college, I was invited to take an elite writing course. The topic was “Race as a Construct in America.” A construct. Meaning, race is constructed, contrived. It’s made up. There is no such thing as “race,” other than the human race. And how can anyone deny that we are all human?
It made perfect sense to me. I suppose I’ve been naive all these years, believing it also made sense to everyone else. When I started seeing signs reminding people that Black Lives Matter, I would say to myself, Of course they do. All lives matter. People matter.
I didn’t want to believe that racism still permeates this great country—our country, mine and yours. I certainly didn’t want to believe that racism was systemic. But now I know a different truth, and it’s shaken me to my core.
This hatred has to stop. God wants better for us. I want better for us.
I believe in the greatness of humankind. I believe anyone can do anything. I believe good will always defeat evil. And I believe God loves us all. So I’m not going to be quiet anymore. I’m not going to stand silently by and watch hate win over love.
Today, and every day, I will choose love. I will read. I will watch. I will donate. I will listen. And I will speak.
I will teach my children to stand up against hate. I will teach them to choose love. I don’t know that anything I do will ever be sufficient. But I will do it.
Because I believe in the greatness of humankind. I believe anyone can do anything. I believe good will always defeat evil. And I believe God loves us all.
If you’re looking for some direction on what you can do to make a difference, check out this heartfelt piece written by my dear friend Cameron at This Custom Life. It’s full of great advice and tangible resources for every day moms like me and you who are struggling with what happened to George Floyd: Nine Ways to Teach Your White Kids about Racial Injustice.