Personal Empowerment
Black Lives Matter
How You Can Help Save a Life
T
here is a growing chorus that Black
Lives Matter, an expression which
has become the 21st Century’s rallying call for the civil rights of darker skinned
people worldwide who have died in police
custody. No longer is the term restricted to
America. Due to the lack of accountability by
authorities in Toronto (Canada) following the
deaths of two men of African descent, Black
Lives Matter – Toronto went a step further.
They issued a number of specific demands. It
remains to be seen whether their requests will
be granted. Yet, it does speak to the growing
frustration that has become painfully obvious
about the great divide drawn by the color line.
This is not to say that everyone whose
skin is not of a darker hue is part of the problem. In fact, a number of our Father’s fairer
skinned children have joined the fight. In
Charleston (SC), whites and blacks joined
hand-in-hand to bring healing to a community
24 HimPower August 2015
rocked by the slaughter of nine innocent people. The vicious act prompted the Governor,
a white female, to stand firm on removal of
the Confederate flag which had flown on top
of the State House for over half a century in
protest of desegregation.
Numerous Christian organizations have
also joined the fight in ways that haven’t made
headlines in mainstream news media. Some
have even reached across state lines to form a
partnership that enabled them to have a more
meaningful impact. PBS station WFYI, the
SALT Project (SALT is a two-time Emmy Award
winning not-for-profit project dedicated to
reclaiming and sharing the beauty of Christian
life through film, music, and ideas), Christian
Theological Seminary (The Seminary’s historical roots are steeped in the abolitionist movement) all of Indianapolis (IN), and predominantly white, joined the Trinity United Church
of Christ Chicago (The largest predominantly