Tuesday, September 22, 2020

My Op-Ed piece for Galveston Daily News

I wrote a piece for the Galveston Daily News on the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Here is a link to the article, the text is printed here.

https://www.galvnews.com/opinion/guest_columns/article_2348a0f8-6226-5445-bdb4-f64a39a8138e.html

Black Lives Matter is more than a slogan

BY THE REV. JOHNNIE SIMPSON JR.

During this time of unrest and increased awareness of racial concerns, I’ve seen many instances where people have mentioned the idea of separating the Black Lives Matter “movement” from the “the organization” because of particular beliefs and values posted on a certain website.

I will not name that website here because I want to be clear when I say there’s no singular “Black Lives Matter” umbrella organization. Are there organizations with BLM in their name operating in Texas? Yes, there are many; but not all have the same mission statements or values and shouldn’t be conflated because that’s an unfortunate distraction from the movement.

Black Lives Matter as a movement is intentionally decentralized because of what was done to civil rights leaders such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others (see FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s COINTELPRO operations for more information).

The movement can’t afford to be derailed by assassination. During the civil rights movement, King faced the same issues.

There were detractors who didn’t want to hear “Black Power” chants at his protests, just as many don’t want to hear “Black Lives Matter” today. Those detractors spent more time arguing about the merits of protest chants than the actual issues the people were protesting such as systemic racism, police brutality and redlining to name a few.

Asserting that every BLM group is akin to what you see on a particular website, then using that as a standard to critique them all is on par with what King described as the biggest stumbling block to the civil rights movement.

King said that he was gravely disappointed with those who hindered the movement saying, “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action.” King later wrote, “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”

While people were and are debating about marketing tactics and what language makes someone comfortable, the issues of systemic racism and injustice remained unresolved. Let’s not make the same mistake.

So, when you hear or see Black Lives Matter, I invite you to actually look at the people and listen to those working toward the movement. Resist holding on to a perception or stereotype; or labeling them atheist, Marxists or communists.

Don’t assume a connection with a particular group that has the most popular website, but instead remember that the societal problems and issues mentioned above still persist.

There are multiple organizations with Black Lives Matter or BLM in the name, and there are multiple BLM organizations in the Houston/Galveston area, each working toward diverse goals to save and improve lives.

I know and attended seminary with some of those working with these organizations in the Houston area. They’re Christians, they’re pastors. So, be intentionally informed, be curious and be open to the movement.

Black Lives Matter.

The Rev. Johnnie Simpson Jr. is senior pastor of Faith United Methodist Church in Dickinson.

Monday, July 11, 2016

God Ain't Passing By Here

Alton Sterling- They say "wait for investigation, we don't know what happened"

Philando Castile – They say "wait for the investigation, we don't know what happened"

Dallas Shooting - No waiting for the investigation, the wrong man's name and face blasted everywhere and our Lt. Governor goes on air blaming the Black Lives Matters previous protests and saying are “hypocrites." Regardless of the fact that the assailant saying he was not a part of BLM.

I have met people at the front of the movement in Houston and in Dallas, they are seminary trained (go figure) pastors and activists with a heart for social justice. It is possible to be upset about all three events and not be one vs. the other.

With what is going on in the world it’s hard to see God in all of this, it feels like God is not passing by here anymore.

What about black on black crime? What about it? The same FBI homicide report used to cite “black on black” crimes will show that the majority of Caucasians are killed by other Caucasians, same with other ethnicities, this is not black on black crime it is neighbor on neighbor crime because we are segregated in schools, places of employment, neighborhoods, and (gasp) churches.

Where are the preachers? Some say they are too busy money grabbing, I say by and large preachers don't make that much money, they have been kicked out many places (namely school, mainstream media and popular culture) already, and much of what is said is taken out of context.

This is nothing new, Amos was told not to prophesy in Bethel, told to earn his bread elsewhere, and he was misquoted to the king.

What do we need to do?
Pray, keep praying - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Psalm 82:1-4, Isaiah 55:6, Philippians 4:4-6, and pray some more 2 Chronicles 7:14, there was a long passage of time between ch5-6 and what was said in 7. Praying will work better than changing a picture or arguing with people on social media.

Don't return evil for evil (1 Peter 3:9), and be smart about your actions-This is not cowardice, meekness is strength under control. People remember the shouting and marching, but it was the economic impact that changed things during the Civil Rights Movement.

Get involved - paying attention and getting mad about what happens nationally is good, but just as much damage, if not more is being done at your school board, neighborhood association, city council and state legislature, by the time there is some national outrage it is almost too late the damage has been done. Hold city council and mayors as accountable if you want change in Police action. You don’t have to be a preacher to speak truth to power Amos did not consider himself a proper prophet, he was a herdsman and tended to the sycamore trees, but God gave him a vision and he obeyed.