Most of you probably know about what happened in Charleston this past Wednesday (June 17). At Emmanuel AME in Charleston, SC a 21-year-old supposed white-supremist opened fire on a bible-study killing 9 people. The act of killing in itself is unspeakable but what brought tears to my eyes was the fact that in the room the shooter said, “I have to do it. You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.”
This guy killed people simply because of the color of their skin.
These tragedies have got to STOP.
But they won’t stop if we just sit back and do nothing. They can stop when all Americans raise their voices loud and refuse to give up. We CANNOT be silent if we expect anything to change.
Is this the type of country you want to live in? Because it’s most definitely not one I want to live in. These events should not and do not represent our values as Americans or even as people.
We need to push each and every person to act. Nothing will get accomplished if we just write it off as another event. This is just another tick on the list of hate and racism present in this country and this world.
We shouldn’t want to just sit idly by while men and women, brothers and sisters in Christ, are being slaughtered for something out of their control.
A favorite band of mine, Delta Rae, wrote a song specifically focusing on these hate/race crimes that have occurred in the past year. The lyrics speak volumes on what I’m feeling and acts as a sort of call to arms to everyone to fight these injustices.
“Come on and raise your voice
above the raging seas
We can’t hold our breath forever
when our brothers cannot breathe”
We are told plainly in the Bible, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity for them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” – 1 John 3:16-18
So why not make a change? Follow God’s instructions and help end this vicious cycle?
Don’t let this continue, because YES, this can happen to anyone including you and including me. Make a change now and help bring an end to this.
Sincerely,
Erin
decisivelyerin 