All men are CREATED equal

I’ve written this three times. I’ve prayed over it. I’ve agonized over it. I hope it’s well received with the same love I offer to ALL people with writing it.

I am a white, middle class woman. I have a college education, a good job, a home that I own and a family I adore with no reason for anyone to question or dispute that. I run in the park, shop in the grocery store, and take my toddler to the playground with little thought from others of my presence. I walk with freedom, confidence, and love. I do not fear that my child or myself will be presumed as anything less or more than face value. I have liberties that are apart of my everyday life.

I have always been taught that “all men are created equal.” I learned in school that our nation is founded on “Liberty and justice for all.” I never questioned those two statements. The first I still believe with all that’s in me. The second, I’ve learned is false no matter how much we wish it were true or how often we pretend that it’s not.

The fact is, I have all the previously mentioned liberties. But a mother with a child the same age, in the same environments, doing the same things has the same rights, but is somehow not treated the same… Because she’s a person of color.

That’s the difference. I walk with freedom and she walks with fear. I wave hello to law enforcement officers that pass as a means to thank them for their service, because my brother-in-law is actually one of the “good ones” and serves to protect as well.

The other mom holds her breath, grips her child’s hand just a little tighter, and prays the man with the badge, driving the government vehicle does not make assumptions that she or her child is less or more than face value.

Its easy to stay silent about the issues our nation faces when we are not affected by them. I’ve considered keeping my thoughts to myself over and over for fear of how it may be perceived. But the truth is that God calls us to act out of love for all of His creations.

This brings me back to the first truth I learned growing up. All men are created equal. GOD created each of us with a specific purpose, plan, and furthermore to be loved by Him and our fellow man despite color, background, love life, or beliefs. He made us each as we are and He loves us for every part of us: hair, skin, eyes, lips, body, toes. He created no person to be better than another. If He created us to be loved by Him then why do we not love each other with the same intensity and the same respect??? He created us to lift and love. He created us to always do what’s right. He called us to teach our children to be better than ourselves in hope that peace and love can conquer. He calls us to be a light in the midst of darkness and to lock arms with those who have experienced injustice.

I’ll admit, I had mixed emotions over the #blacklivesmatter movement. I’m the sister-in-law of a police officer who is a man of integrity, love, and wants to serve his community-every person in it despite physical differences. I fear for his safety and pray others do not make assumptions of his character because of the uniform he adorns.

In the same beat, my heart breaks for the community that suffers inequalities and pain from some who took an oath but do not protect and serve ALL people. Those who have lost loved ones to senseless acts are a mother, sister, daughter, brother, father, etc to someone who’s life matters JUST as much as our sweet Jason’s. Hence, why I’ve stayed silent. Both, the GOOD officers and the black community deserve support and someone to care about their well being.

But there’s power in awareness. I took the time to reach out for understanding. I wanted to know how to explain awareness to my child so that he can be apart of the good. I gained perspective from friends who reminded me that the fear is in the “what if.” Yes, most officers are good. But “what if” their children run into one that isn’t? “What if” their child is the one killed for playing with a toy water gun? “What if” they kiss their child goodbye in the morning to never see him again, because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and evil took fate in its own hands? Only now, learning from a mother’s perspective do I understand how much a change needs to take place. And if it were me? If I lost my family, my child because someone made assumptions based on our skin color??? Horrified, angry, sad, frustrated… So I take on the same feelings for the community who grieves with every right.

My duty to make a difference lies how I raise my children. I want my son to be a person of integrity and character. And when he is old enough to understand that racism unfortunately does exist… He has a choice to break the chain. He can ask God to give him courage to hold tight to those who are not treated equally, and assure them that not all people love differently. I pray he is brave enough to admit things are different: for his mom, for him, for his dad, his future. But I pray he will never let what society has made different defer him from what GOD set in stone in the beginning… He created mankind… All of mankind. And when part of that creation hurts, we all hurt as well. We all feel disgrace that another life is taken unjustly. I pray He seeks God to spread love, not division and hate. I pray he is open, uses his voice and his Godly gifts to be a ripple of good in a world with so much hate and discrimination. I pray that God teaches me to not display biases, words, or actions that would teach him otherwise.

I pray he also shows others how to respect authority, to know that some people truly want to serve, and be a citizen who respects those who do put their lives on the line for ALL PEOLE.

And lastly, I pray for forgiveness: for naivity, for wishing  away racism instead of praying for change, for inadvertently hurting friends who are different than me without even realizing it, and for not understanding that the “what if” is far bigger than I ever realized or wanted to comprehend. May we all move forward with locked arms, united hearts, and a desire to be the change we want to see.