Black Lives Really Matter

If I were to say, Black Lives Matter? What would you do?

For some, this phrase seems at least on its face rather racist. White Americans wonder if Black Lives Matter that no one else’s lives matter. Others confuse it with the leftist organization with the same name.

For others, it is a symbol of Black Pride or solidarity with African Americans. In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Black Lives Matter became a phrase used worldwide. One memorable use of the phrase was uttered by Republican Senator Mitt Romney as he joined a march of young evangelicals marching in solidarity.

But what does the phrase mean from a theological standpoint? What does it mean for a Christian to say, “Black Lives Matter?”

I recently interviewed my friend, Drew McIntryre. Drew is a Methodist pastor in North Carolina and he wrote an essay in Firebrand magazine on this very subject. You can listen to the full interview:

If you don’t want to listen to a full hour podcast, you can listen to a 10-minute snippet of the interview:

A few months before I chatted with Drew, I spoke to a mentor, Doug Skinner, about race relations and communion. You might not think these two things go together, but they do.

Finally, I interviewed Chris Mackowski who is the editor of the Emerging Civil War blog. One of the things I was interested in talking about is his experience going down to Monument Avenue in Richmond, VA right after George Floyd’s death. He gives a moving account of seeing this through the eyes of a civil war historian and also witnessing some of the anger that African Americans felt in the wake of another death at the hands of the police.

#blacklivesmatter #theology #methodist #racism