Let Justice Roll: A Litany
Today we celebrate the shimmer of justice on the troubled sea of the U.S. The murderer of George Perry Floyd Jr. has been convicted. We celebrate that a jury of peers recognized the disturbing injustice done by former officer Derek Chauvin. We celebrate that in this instance the justice system of this country was able to live up to its namesake. And we celebrate, among other things, the light that this trial will shine on the depths of police brutality and racism, which must be dismantled.
Today, we also mourn. We mourn the fact that so many Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), Asian American, Pacific Islander (AAPI), Queer, Latinx, Trans, Disabled people have not had justice.
We mourn the murder of 13 year old Adam Toledo just a few days ago.
We mourn the murders of many in the Sikh community at the shooting in Indianapolis last Friday: Matthew R. Alexander (32), Samaria Blackwell (19), Amarjeet Johal (66), Jaswinder Kaur (50), Jaswinder Singh (70), Amarjit Sekhon (49), Karli Smith (19), and John Weisert (74).
We mourn the murders of six Asian American/Pacific Islander women in Georgia and other victims, Hyun Jung Grant (51), Suncha Kim (69), Soon Chung Park (74), Yong Ae Yue (63), Xiaojie Tan (49), Daoyou Feng (44), Delaina Ashley Yaun (33), and Paul Andre Michels (54), at the beginning of this month.
We mourn so many who have been murdered by guns and bullets that were discharged by racist thoughts and actions, which have been nurtured by the systems of this country. We mourn an economy and politics that has invested more in policing and weapons of war than it has in community development, education, health care, and mental health resources.
We mourn that our witness as the church has fallen short of the prophetic demands of our times; that pastor’s children are motivated to murder; that “Christians” would feel justified defending a department that takes life when the one whom we claim as Lord came to give it abundantly.
As we mourn, may we feel our hearts rend with deep empathy. As we mourn, may we be convicted not to rest in sorrow, but to act more decisively, to speak more boldly, and live more intentionally in solidarity with our AAPI and BIPOC neighbors around the globe.
May we celebrate. May we mourn. And, may we act. May justice roll and may we be part of that movement.