In Real Time

Jeannie Shero

#‎BlackLivesMatter
Let the only burning be
the fire of commitment in
our hearts, minds, hands, spirits
in our community of faith.

Live solidarity.
Use your voice.
Demand justice... better, live it into being.
Cry out for others to join you.
Name hate as hate—without shrinking back
without letting embarrassment or false humility or resistance or apologies for white skin
get in the way.
Direct all that energy to action, standing with, speaking out.
Be impassioned.

Imagine the cry for response if our predominantly white church burned and
people said, "Well that's too bad. Reminds me of another time."
(I heard that said from a human mouth.)
But that would not happen.
Ours is not a black church.
For us, the press would cover the story
and swarm over it for days on end.
Why is it different for our sister churches, black churches?
About that
Be indignant.

About the violent ending of so many black lives
precious
precious
precious lives
Say it for every life that has been taken,
you'd never stop speaking.
Be outraged.

About the burning of houses of worship,
Sanctuaries of the spirit
Sacred communal spaces
Be awakened.

Racism is alive.
It will never die of old age—ancient though it is.
Rather, it must be buried by human awakening
to equality incarnate.

Participate in the movement:
Call out those perpetuating violence against black people and black communities.
Demand action from those in power, the press, government, and everywhere
this story is not being told.

Live differently... How?
Find out together.
Struggle to awaken.
‪#‎StayWoke
There is no safe place from which to simply observe
all are already involved.
Listen more often than speaking.
Speak more often than being silent
when your words or actions could change the world
even just a bit,
in the flesh,
in real time.

a man holding a megaphone at a Black Lives Matter protest in Memphis