On anti-Black racism and police brutality: A Christ-centred approach
I am writing in response to the tragic death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was a victim of white police brutality in Minneapolis, USA, about a fortnight ago.
A few days after reading the news about his murder, I happened to read the book of Esther in the Bible.
I remember hearing about how God’s name is not mentioned in the book of Esther, but He is actually working behind the scenes.
As the story goes, the king of Persia was misled by the evil prime minister Haman who wanted to kill all the Jews because Mordecai the Jew, uncle of Esther, refused to bow down to him, since Jews only worship the true God.
Then I came to this part of the story where Mordecai sought help from Esther, who has become the queen of Persia.
“When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
When I read the story of Esther, I am reminded that history repeats itself in cycles, like Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 says:
“History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.” (NLT)
For example, we see how the Bible stories repeat themselves over the centuries: the exodus from Egypt through Moses, the deliverance of Israel from Goliath and the Philistines through David, the rescue of the Jews in Persia through Esther, and the salvation of all peoples from the empire, aka system of violence, oppression and scapegoating, through Jesus Christ.
In modern history, we also see how the civil rights movement restored justice through Martin Luther King Jr, even though there was still much work to be done because the white supremacist system is still prevalent.
The 2014 police brutality against Eric Garner also repeated itself in the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, echoing the words “I can’t breathe”, which led us to the current biggest demonstration worldwide today.
I believe this case is particularly significant because virtually everyone has witnessed the murder through the ubiquity of the internet and social media.
Like Mooji said in his video, once we see the murder, we cannot “unsee” it because this injustice demands or evokes a response from each of us.
Remaining in silence or ignoring the injustice is considered complicity with the system of violence, whereas taking action in our own unique ways – whether it be having conversations, raising awareness, posting about it, sharing resources, or being in the frontlines etc – can be a way to deal with injustice.
I realise that in a way, each of us is like Esther in the Bible story – the power is in our hands to make a difference to overcome injustice as one people.
For example, even though I am not living in a Black body as I am born in a Chinese family, I acknowledge that I am one and interconnected with the plight of the Black people who are experiencing racism and oppression.
Mordecai’s words to Esther seem prophetic for all times – if I remain silent, relief and deliverance will arise from another place for the Black people, but no one can guarantee that the same misfortune that happened to George Floyd won’t happen to me because I too am subjected to the same system of violence, racism and oppression as he was.
In fact, I can say that my deepest root is in Africa since we homo sapiens all originated from Ethiopia some 50,000 years or so ago.
So, what concerns the Black people today concerns me as a human being.
The same principalities and powers Esther and Mordecai were wrestling with (Haman is a symbol of the oppressive system that sought to subjugate or eradicate those who were not subservient) are the same adversary we are wrestling with today.
We are not wrestling with flesh and blood, but with the destructive mindset that one race is superior to all other races (or the illusion of separateness which Thich Nhat Hanh wrote about).
Just like in Esther’s days, the Jews were hated by Haman and his regime because they refused to bow down to the perpetrators of the oppressive system.
Similarly, the Africans and African Americans are hated by the white supremacist regime today because they refuse to bow down to the oppressive system that once enslaved them.
Hence, we need to acknowledge that the Blacks have suffered the most throughout history due to anti-Black racism, and we can and should rally and stand in solidarity with the Blacks, for it is in our collective vested interest to overcome racism and oppression by being united as one humanity.
