The Silver Lining in a Horribly Dark Cloud
A little more than two weeks ago, the clouds thickened in our Charleston community and the torrential rains came. First, there was a torrent of hate, fear and horrible slaughter. But then came an even more overwhelming storm of love, forgiveness and Christian grace. It makes me think of the promise of the rainbow from the scriptures.
Charleston became the story in the worldwide newscasts, with people the world over aghast at the travesty inflicted upon nine faithful Christians, studying God’s word in a Wednesday evening Bible study at the historic Emmanuel AME Church. The church, known as Mother Emmanuel, is called that because it was the mother church for the AME denomination. It was a sacred place, so it was easy to think, “Not here in Charleston, and not in a Church; tell me it isn’t so.” But it was so!
An enraged, deranged 21-year-old white male opened fire on a loving and welcoming group of black people—people who made him feel so welcome that he later told authorities, “I almost did not go through with my planned execution because they were so welcoming and nice to me.”
Fortunately, the perpetrator was quickly apprehended and brought into the court room to be arraigned before a judge in the presence of his victim’s families. This was so soon, perhaps only two days after the incident, and the families of those who had been attacked were given the opportunity to speak.
One could only imagine the sadness and pain through which the victims’ families were wading, with the loss such a very short time ago. Yet, as the families got up to speak, one after another they told the killer that he had destroyed their lives as they knew them, but they were going to forgive him anyway. They went on to say that they were praying God could forgive him, because they could not bear to live lives of hatred and un-forgiveness.
For, in Charleston, S.C. that day of arraignment was a very dark and dismal day. But, after the faithful family members of the fallen spoke those words of selfless love and forgiveness, it was as if a colorful rainbow shone in the sunshine, as is written in the scriptures. Ezekiel 1:28 says: “Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.”
We, in the Charleston community, and people the world over saw what happens when love triumphs over hate, and darkness is cast aside by light and when all of the worlds’ people come together to support each other in the spirit of love, respect, forgiveness and reconciliation. During the days after the massacre, folks from all faith traditions (and no faith tradition) came together to condemn this horrible injustice and to support the Mother Emmanuel community. On the Sunday following the incident, 15,000 people from all over the country and world, braved the triple digit heat index to join hands across the Ravenel Bridge in a show of support for the fallen.
Through this struggle, and the many tears that were shed, there is a renewed hope for reconciliation and change. A thoughtful discussion is now being held about how we can prevent such terrible injustice and reduce the racial tension in our state. The South Carolina Association of Nonprofits (SCANPO) held a forum in Charleston during the week following the tragedy. The consensus was that we, as a society of people who are working to help improve our community, want to see action taken to eradicate injustice, and to foment a spirit of love, cooperation and respect among all parties.
We, as South Carolinians, want to see action that will begin to discourage this kind of terrible act. We want to educate our children that love is better than hate and that forgiveness is so much more powerful than revenge. We want to see our political leaders condemn racism publicly, and to offer to have the Confederate Flag come down from the flag pole on the SC State House grounds and placed in an honorable display in the Confederate Museum and Relic Room. This gesture of respect to African Americans and others who find it offensive is a start on the road to further reconciliation and a better understanding of each other.
Further, we want to see efforts made to help eliminate the disparities between the races in South Carolina. There are still burdensome social injustices in SC. We want to work to improve our health care delivery systems (consider Medicaid expansion), build better schools, and end economic and criminal justice disparities in our state.
Consider this: If you are black, you are much more likely to die prematurely, earn less money, and land in prison than if you are white. There are six times as many black people in prison as there are whites.
And, if you go to prison, you cannot get a job when you get out. Yet, strangely, according to the research, a white ‘ex-offender’ is two or three times as likely to get hired as a black man who was never arrested. Is this just?
We still have a considerable amount of work to do; and a wakeup call has just been given to us all. We cannot afford to simply grieve briefly and then get back to ‘business as usual.’ We have to work hard to support our legislators as they work to bring real change. That starts after the Independence Day recess on July 6, 2015. Does your legislator know what you want to see happen? Have you made your voice heard?
If we raise our voices respectfully, this horribly dark cloud of tragedy may have a silver lining in it after all: Change for the better! What better legacy can we bestow upon the victims of Mother Emmanuel?