Days 84 & 83. I have chosen to live intentionally toward the goals, dreams and desires God has placed on my heart for the last 90 days of 2019, pressing past fear, excuses and discomfort. Goals: fostering an embodied faith.
“We emailed your teacher. Remember, if she talks to you, you will need to use the words racial slur. Okay? This will give her the best likelihood of hearing you. I’ll be praying for you. I love you.” My ten-year-old, biracial son, sat up straight, took a deep breath, offered a stern nod and with determination, stepped out of the car. Tuesday. This was not how I planned to send my son off to school on Tuesday…Tuesday.
Author, speaker, and leadership coach, Jo Saxton, explains the daily monotony of systemic racism, “For people of color, racism isn’t an occasional experience. It happens every day. When people ask me, ‘Have you had that experience?’ I respond, ‘Yeah, Tuesday.’ Because for us [people of color], we experience racism every day. Yep. Tuesday.”
I wish I could tell you this was our first “Tuesday,” but it wasn’t. Certainly, it will not be the last. Our advocacy is now muscle memory: call the school, write the email and include professional credentials, speak with teachers, talk to administrators, press for justice, hold them accountable, and advocate for systemic change. When we advocate in person—muscle memory: unwavering eye contact, firm handshakes, my husband lays out our concerns, and we wait. Who will they address? Me? Both of us? If only me, I divert eye contact, stare at my husband, refuse to respond, and remain silent until they address him. We force engagement of both of us. We allow nothing less. Muscle memory. How I hate the incessant, evil of the “Tuesdays” which have built this muscle memory. Tuesday. Every day.
For the last 72 hours, we have advocated for our son once again. The evening of day 85, days 84 & 83, and much of day 82 were spent doing the holy work of holding space, listening, validating, lamenting, mourning, bearing burdens, letting tears flow, holding and upholding, naming injustice, dissecting systems, empowering voice, honoring experiences, respecting personhood, advocating and razing hell. We will persist, as we empower him, bless him and continue to seek justice.
ACTION STEP: Often the work of embodying our faith is raw, real and messy. It requires fortitude, and God’s strength in our weakness. It can leave us saying, “Yes, God, even if my voice quivers and my knees shake, I will press.”
Reflect on the ways God is allowing you to advocate for those whom you love and care. Thank God for the work that has been done in you, which allows you to persist and advocate. Pray and listen. What privilege, power and position do you have to advocate for those you love/others? With/for whom may God be inviting you to advocate more fully?
