“You may well ask: ‘Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?’ You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.”

The above quote is from Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The tension in certain parts of our country is so thick you could cut through it with a knife. Race relations have become a very emotional issue across the country, and deservedly so. Now going to a small Christian college in Kansas isn’t going to put you in the heart of the matter. As someone from Chicago, I have a little bit of direct experience with racial tension. I give props to Sterling College where I go to school. As a college, I have seen very little in terms of racism on a grand scale. I’ve had the sad experience of seeing individualized acts of racism, but overall we have it pretty well here.

That being said, it is easy to get complacent. I write this to fight against a mindset that is easy to have in these situations. We see the “battle” from the outside. We look in on situations like Baltimore and Ferguson and have contempt for them. We call protestors thugs and criminals, and we judge them.

Notice I use “we.” I do so very intentionally. Despite growing up in Chicago and seeing acts of racism firsthand, I didn’t allow what it meant to truly seek in. For that I am sorry. I have done what so many people do when they hear “white privilege” and got angry. What privilege did I have growing up in bad home circumstances? What privilege did I have in being homeless at 18? I had the privilege to have an easier time getting back on my feet. I was trusted easily and helped in amazing ways. Would that same love have been shown so easily to a homeless black person?

What if I said that the black community in America was disenfranchised? Used it as an analogy to show how they fit in. Starting with slavery, to Jim Crow and KKK, to voting rights, to the civil rights movement, and into the age of mass incarceration they have had a limited and forced place in society.

So what about the thought of them being disenfranchised? We had the time of white flight when white people fled to the suburbs to escape to their white picket fences. There was also redlining where people of color were denied services either directly or indirectly. As a church, we have allowed the voluntary segregation of churches, in places where we should be most humble and united.

Over the course of time we have given them the ghettos and then scolded them for living in poverty. To the credit of their spirit, they have given great things to society. Blues and jazz music are both starters. We have expected the black community to be a-ok and good to go. There are members who have gotten to higher places; Dr. Carson is a great example. However, that is a much harder challenge than growing up in middle-class suburbs ever will be.

So where do we come into this picture? How can we help a situation that isn’t taking place right in front of us? We become informed. We let our hearts not be hardened as so many others have. We have to truly make the conscious decision to look inward, and look at why we hold the views we do. At the same time, we need to look outward and let our hearts be softened by the struggle that is taking place. It is up to us to open our eyes, let ourselves be humbled, and be changed.

For me personally, it took a close friend who is mixed to show me some tough love. My refusal to accept a situation that I wasn’t even properly informed upon was a mistake I made; he was able to help correct it.

All of this has been leading towards what action we can take. We cannot rely on a flawed government to solve it. They can only do so much. It is up to us. We as humans have been shown love and grace from our creator. Love and grace are what will help this problem. We must first make the conscious decision to not let our hearts be hardened, and then we must reach out to others. We need to set the example for those around us. In order to change the culture that we have in America, we must first change the culture in our location through constant intentional action. This is not just a framework for this area, but for healing that needs to take amongst several groups who are disenfranchised in America, such as the Native Americans.

My black brother has been given a place at God’s table just as I have, I am no better. I sit no closer to God. If that is the case, my black brother deserves his place in America. He deserves the opportunities I have, the trust I have, the safety I have. This will come through better education opportunities during childhood, reform of the criminal system, and many other things. The starting point for all of this is for each one of us to let our hearts break for what has happened, and what is happening. Let us make the right choice that so many others before have struggled with. Let’s give our black brothers and sisters the places in our hearts, our homes, and our churches that our ancestors did not. Let us show the love that is needed to be shown.

Let us recognize this tension and confront the issue.