Horizons magazine is published by Presbyterian Women (PW) the national women’s organization of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Issue link: http://horizons.epubxp.com/i/481579
March/April 2015 31 make any progress on issues of racism in the United States, then we must learn how to hear anger and tolerate our own discomfort with it. People of all racial ethnic back- grounds protested when Michael Brown, a young unarmed black man, was shot by a white police office. But anger in the African American community over Michael Brown's shooting carries significant cultural, political and historic implications for understanding race relations in the United States. A first step toward understanding anger in the African American community is to take a look at the role it plays politically. In Black and White Styles in Con- flict, author Thomas Kochman writes that "Blacks are sensitive and alert to attempts to discredit their anger and hostility as inappropriate or unwarranted. Were they to agree to set aside their anger before the cir- cumstances that created it were cor- rected, they would be conceding that the grievances could not have been that serious" (38). Thus, if white people attempt to shut down black people's anger or run from it, then the two communities often get caught in a vicious cycle of escalating anger and avoidance. However, to get to the root of what causes much of the anger in the African American community over issues of racism, we must own our country's history of racially-based oppression and vio- lence. And we must understand that this history shaped the power struc- tures we have today. Police Power, Personal Power Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of Saint Louis, is a predominantly black com- munity. USA Today reports that although 67 percent of Ferguson resi- dents are African American, only three police officers in the 53-person police department are African Ameri- can.1 When so few police officers look like the people they are policing, it is easy to see how tensions could arise. Another startling statistic from the Missouri State Attorney Gen- eral's office is that 86 percent of peo- ple stopped last year for traffic violations in Ferguson were African American. There has also been public outcry over the arrest of black millennials for nonviolently protesting the shooting of Michael Brown. Louisville Semi- nary professor of systematic theology Shannon Craigo-Snell, who partici- pated in the "Ferguson October" clergy protest with me, explains, "This is part of the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow, but it has gotten worse in recent years. Racial profiling was repackaged as stop-and-frisk; mass incarceration has become prof- itable; and local police forces are becoming militarized with hand-me- down weaponry from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." When issues of justice—like systemic racism—are at stake, we must remember that there is a place in the world for righteous anger. I have attended many churches over the years that emphasized the meek and mild nature of Jesus. How- ever, there is much more to Jesus' character. In regard to Ferguson, the story of Jesus driving the corrupt money changers from the temple is essential. Jesus admonishes the money changers for turning the temple into a Inset: A group of protestors from Louisville Presbyterian Theological S eminary (LPTS) attended the "Ferguson October" event. From left, Jacob Craigo-Snell (son of LPTS professor Shannon Craigo-Snell), David Wigger (student), Shannon Craigo-Snell (LPTS professor), Beth R uhl (student) and Zach Heimach (student). Left: Participants in the "Ferguson October" clergy protest gathered for a brief service the morning of the march. Beth Ruhl