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To the silent churches,
Jesus sides with the oppressed continuously in the gospels. Now is the time to follow Him. I worry that we get a lot of things wrong with the way that we “church” today. We should not get this wrong. Stand with Jesus.
Love,
A Christ follower
To my Black friends,
I am sorry for all of the ways that I have acted out of my privilege to sustain systems of White supremacy. I am sorry for the times that I have failed you as an ally. I won’t back down from those failures, but I will learn from them and I will continue to strive to create a more just world.
Love,
An ally
To the BIPOC throughout my life,
Thank you for being a part of my journey. I know that I have been dense and I know I’ve made mistakes. Some of you I have hurt deeply, and for that I am sorry. I know it is a small consolation, but know that I begin to understand. Even if we are no longer involved in each other’s lives, know that we are in this together.
Love,
A lifetime learner
To the next generation,
I have hope for the future. I am hopeful that I can pass down the things that I am learning about racism, prejudice, and injustice to you. I hope that you will take those lessons and failures to develop and do better. My hope is that the work we are doing now will have a resounding impact on the world as you grow.
Love,
A father
To fragile White people,
Now is not the time for defensiveness and willful ignorance. Now is a time to listen, repent, and do better. This is not a short term, quick fix, problem. This is not a problem of yesteryear or an isolated incident. Racism is real, it is now, and it needs to be dealt with in our hearts, brains, systems, and structures.
Love,
A White man
To the police,
It is time for reform. Our modern policing forces are no longer fulfilling their purpose. If the purpose of an organization is to “serve and protect,” there should be significantly less visible deaths on the record. It feels to me that the best way to serve and protect is to shake the systems to the core. Do the hard and extensive work of rooting out the bad cops, building new procedures, examining every process with a critical eye.
Love,
A citizen
To White Supremacists,
We are making changes. It is time for White supremacy to falter and die. God wants to see all skin tones, languages, cultures, and ethnicities in the end times (Revelation 7 9:10). I hope that it is about to become really uncomfortable for you and white centric ideals. I should also note that I do not hate my white skin, but rather choose to celebrate the differences of the people around me.
Love,
An anti-racist
To those beginning the work of an ally,
This is not an easy road. Be in the community with BIPOC friends and family but do not depend on them to educate you. Be ready to fail and figure out how to apologize. Be humble enough to feel everything. Root out the portion of your privilege that allows you to disconnect and continue to put what you're learning into practice.
Love,
A co-laborer
To the colorblind,
I have heard you say that you do not see the color of someone’s skin when you interact with someone. In making this statement, you admit to not being able to see the beauty of BIPOC culture. You also opt out of feeling the pain of that community. Don’t cop out, inhale the beauty of multiple cultures and help heal the pain of generations of sin.
Love,
A medically colorblind person
To my wife,
I married you before I had fully entered into a journey of racial reconciliation. I want you to know that I celebrate your culture, heritage, and ethnicity. I see and recognize our differences and rejoice for them. There will be times during the rest of our lives that I will miss the mark on the topics of racial justice, gender equity, privilege and many more. I appreciate the grace you extend to me and could not have picked a better person for this journey.
Love,
Your husband
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The St. Pete Underground Network exists to inspire and equip local missionaries to act on God's calling to create impact in our cities. To learn more about Anti-Racists resources, seek BIPOC healing from Racial Trauma, or Develop Daily Spiritual Practices around these topics register for our upcoming event Mosaic: Imago Dei | Navigating Racial Justice
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