3 thoughts on “Pass The Mic: Anniversary Of Mike Brown’s Death”

1. Hanno van der Bijl

   June 21, 2016 10:23 am

   Here is a transcript of the practical suggestions Jemar listed at the end for the benefit of all of us — especially me. Thank you, guys.

   “Number one, figure out for yourself in your heart how the gospel speaks to issues of race and ethnicity, because it does. The fact that we’re talking about unity in the midst of diversity — not colorblindness, that’s uniformity — we’re about talking unity in the midst of diversity — is embedded in the gospel itself. This is not a Plan B for God. God always intended for all the families of the earth to be blessed. He always intended for people from every tribe and language and nation to gather around the throne worshiping him. So, if you haven’t seen that for yourself in the Scriptures, you need to ask the Holy Spirit for illumination and come to an understanding and a conviction in your heart that this is not merely a social issue — it absolutely has social implications, but it’s not merely a social issue — it is a gospel issue. And, if Christians don’t honestly believe that, any motions they make in the right direction are going to be external, and they’re going to be, you know, dirty cups on the inside, clean on the outside in regards to this particular issue.

   Secondly, study history. There is something about the personal, real-life narratives of people — particularly in regards to race in this country — that punches you in the gut. I think it’s very abstract for people if they have only their sort of eighth-grade, social-studies chapter of the civil-rights movement. You know what I’m saying? Local histories, too, you don’t gotta go far to find some things that are close to home. Study your church’s history, study your city’s history — there are probably riots that took place all the back in the 60’s, 50’s, 1910’s, that were right around the corner from you. So, that’s secondly, study the history and know — it baffles me, okay I’m sorry I’m on a soapbox right now, but it baffles me — we think that there is some magical year, month, time, date — like Y2K — when racism ended. I’m just like, the stuff that happened in the 60’s didn’t end when it turned to 1970 or ’80 or ’90 or 2015; it’s still here. We’re part of a continuity. This is baked into America. And, if we don’t understand the history and some of the roots of this, we will continue to make the same mistakes. So, number two, study the history.

   Number three, you better have relationships. Listen to me, if I look on your Facebook timeline and see your pictures, and there is not one person who looks different from you — it’s going to interesting to hear your views. And I’m talking black and white and Hispanic and Asian — all people. Alright? It’s just going to be really interesting, because your Facebook timeline tells me how you really spend your time, especially your social time. And, if that time is not shared among people who have a different experience than you, well, guess what? You’re gonna to have major blind spots just like I would. And that leads to my final point.

   There is a dire need for multi-ethnic churches, because the reality is — even as integrated as some parts of our society are — we really tend not to live together, we tend not to go to school together, we tend not to worship together. Where are we going to meaningfully intersect with people who are different from us? It’s gotta be the church. And, so we need to — I still think there is a place for predominately black churches, that’s a separate conversation — but, I think as we plant more churches, I think as we look at existing churches, we need to seriously think about how we can be — live out the gospel in terms of welcoming people from all kinds of different backgrounds. And, then those relationships within the church are what lead to, I think, better understanding so that, you know — incidents like what happened to Mike Brown may never stop, they may always occur on this side of falleness, but what can be different is that we reach out in agape love to one another and we can understand and suffer with those who suffer, weep with those who weep, we can rejoice with those who are rejoicing. And, I think that happens best in the context of a covenant community in the church. So, there you go.”

2. LaQueeta Carpenter

   January 11, 2016 10:02 am

   Michael Brown may not have deserved to die. But given his outlandishly irresponsible and risky behavior, especially if he reached into grab the cops gun, he shouldn’t have been surprised by what happened to him. The mythology that has surrounded his mythical aura is mostly a lie.

3. Jon

   September 11, 2015 11:53 am

   I really enjoyed listening to this podcast and am eager to catch up on the others you guys are making. I know I’m late to this party, but I’ve got a few thoughts.
   I have experienced deep grief and many conflicting thoughts. You guys mentioned that an immediate division happened with Mike Brown: On one side, folks said “Mike was innocent and the symbol of institutionalized racist policing.” On the other side, folks said, “Darin is innocent and is the symbol of the dangerous job that police have.” You mentioned that both sides should have been willing to slow down and wait for the facts to come out before making a statement.
   Unfortunately, from what I remember that was not the case at all. It’s true that one side jumped onto Mike Brown’s side. But the other side DID say, “I don’t really have enough information to make a judgment, let the facts come out.” The side that said this was immediately called racist for not canonizing Mike Brown. I remember a LOT of conversations like this on social media.
   This has troubled me deeply. I want to feel with my black brothers and sisters on this. So far, I have been the most angry at the media who are making piles of money off of flaming black hatred and progressive politicians who are gaining ground by exploiting perceptions.
   I think the divide lies elsewhere. I think folks who backed Mike Brown were immediately angry with others precisely because they didn’t believe that the true facts would come out. So, to them it was inappropriate to say, “wait for the facts.” They were calling us other folks racist precisely because we were assuming that the justice system works for them like we assume it works for us. When it seems to them that the system is rigged against blacks, it’s racist to appeal to the system. Am I right here?
   I try to talk a lot with my black friends about this. I hate that the struggle against racism keeps attaching itself to VERY COMPLICATED police cases that often don’t bear out as blatant racism (such as with Mike Brown). Then, no matter the facts, keep being offered as evidence of systemic racism.
   Anyway, I love the work you guys are doing and love you as my brothers and long for the day when our diverse presence around the throne will proclaim and prove the worth of the blood of Jesus.
   Grace,
   Jon Dansby