Prophetic Perspectives #63: #BLM on Systematic Racism
Nathan Jones: It is universally agreed that Black lives matter. But, what does the organization that calls itself by the same name actually believe? We are now going to find out exactly what the organization Black Lives Matter (BLM) believes.
The organization called Black Lives Matter was created a few years ago in response to the Trayvon Martin incident, who was killed by a neighborhood patrol. The organization exploded again onto the world scene in early 2020 when George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis.
According to Don Lemon, who is a news commentator at CNN, he claims Black Lives Matter is an organization that is just concerned about fighting police brutality. But, is that solely why BLM exists? I went to their website at blacklivesmatter.com to find out if that truly was the case. Let’s go right to their What We Believe page and let’s see what Black Lives Matter actually believes, because when we see on the streets riots and chaos and the destruction of our history and the tearing down of statues, is that really about ending supposed police brutality? So, let’s look through a little of what they believe from their website to understand BLM’s purpose.
For one, BLM’s mission is to “build local power and intervene when violence was inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.” It appears that’s what most people generally believe Black Lives Matter stands for.
Their mission is: “Imagining and creating a world free of anti-Blackness, where every Black person has the social, economic, and political power to thrive.” Obviously, most everybody wants Black lives to thrive. They then say they want to “connect Black people from all over the world,” so this is a global organization, “who have a shared desire for justice to act together in their communities.”
They see the fundamental problem as this, and it’s why BLM’s founders say they exist, is because there is “rampant and deliberate violence inflicted on us [Black people] by the state.” This persecution by the State is what they call systemic racism. Systemic racism can be defined as “a system or structure with an unfair impact upon a particular group, even if no law mentions the race.” So, BLM believes that it is not just racism against Black people from individuals or small groups around the world, but that governments are organized to inflict systemic racism against Black people.
BLM is clearly a political party, so don’t get that wrong. They say right on their website that they are a “political home for many,” and have “ousted anti-Black politicians, won critical legislator to benefit Black lives,” and so on.
Black Lives Matter’s motive, it says right there on their website, desires to “continue the work of our ancestors in fighting for our collective freedom” and “healing ourselves and each other.” When I read that motivation, it sounds like they are connecting the racism their ancestors experienced, speaking of the slavery that existed in the United States and around the world that ended over 150 years ago, to a wound that continues to be felt and a desire to right a wrong that happened many decades ago.
Tim Moore: I think that is the crux of their argument, obviously. Let’s be clear, we are two Caucasian guys talking about an organization called Black Lives Matter and trying to comment on the organization aside from the idea that all lives clearly matter. Black lives matter. White lives matter. “Red and Yellow, Black and White, they are all precious in His sight,” as the children’s song we learned in Sunday school goes. We don’t take any issue with the fact that all men and women regardless of ethnicity or color are created in the image of God. So, let’s be very clear about that.
But, the systemic racism that they are claiming still exists does seem to be a continuing wound that has festered in different ways over the years, and now it has become a source of division in our country and along racial lines, tragically. The reality is that in this country and around the world, slavery has been a problem that has been a manifestation of sin in many regards, even in recent years. We have to also remember that the way that slavery has been perpetrated has never been limited to any one race. There were White slaves brought over from Europe back a couple of hundred years ago to this country.
Nathan Jones: There is child slavery now. Saudi Arabia currently deals with slaves. The sex industry is considered slavery. But, is there systemic, State-sponsored racism here in the United States? You said we are two White guys, but if anyone thinks White guys have no right to comment on racism, then you’ve got to wonder if that in and of itself is a racist viewpoint.
So, let’s then look at what some famous African-American pundits have had to say about systemic racism. Larry Elder says: “One of the big fake news narratives is that institutional, structural, and systemic racism remains a major problem in American. When, in fact, race has never been a more insignificant barrier to success in America.”
And, Burgess Owens says: “No, my friends, there is no systemic racism in America, just systemic Marxism elitism and evil that uses, abuses, and discards anyone for power.”
These pundits, and many like them, are pointing out that Black Lives Matter as an organization is using the moral cause of anti-racism, which all sane people and especially Christians believe in, but they are using a good cause to hide their Marxist agenda, which is an anti-God, very humanistic, anti-Christian agenda they’re ramming forward.
Let’s look at what the statistics have to say about systemic racism in America as they relate to BLM’s claim that the police are killing droves of unarmed Blacks. These pundits point to the Washington Post database which reports that in 2019 there were 328 million people in the United States’ population. The police arrested 10 million people. Of those, 600,000 were arrests for violent crimes. Of those arrests, only 1,003 people were shot and killed by police comprising 405 White people, 250 Black people, 163 Hispanics, and 185 Other. Of those who were unarmed when the police killed them, the numbers equal 55 total comprised of 25 Whites who were shot, 14 Blacks, 11 Hispanics, and 5 Other. Out of 328 million people, that means 14 unarmed Blacks — 9 less than Whites — were killed out of 10 million arrests which equates to .00014% of the population.
So, are the police actually looking for Black people to gun down? The statistics say no. More White people have died at the hands of the police than Black people. Therefore, these African-American pundits do not believe this country is suffering from systemic racism. After all, we elected a Black president — twice! Many of the police chiefs and the city councils leading these riotous cities ensconced in upheaval are run by African-Americans.
Tim Moore: One of those quotes spoke of evil. Really, evil is the crux of the problem. It’s not racism, per se, but sin. Sin manifests itself in so many different ways. It is institutional in the human heart. So, if there is systemic sin, we would agree with that. It is systematic in that all people fall short of the glory of God. The systems that we create — systems made by mankind — have woven in them sinfulness because you cannot remove the human element. And so, there are always going to be manifestations of sin, which becomes evil in terms of the effects sin has on individual lives.
Obviously, statistically, we are concluding that there is no systemic racism per se in this country, so much as there is a continuing sin problem. As far as a prophetic perspective about this, the reality is sin is going to continue to infect human hearts until Jesus Christ returns to reign with perfect peace, righteousness, and justice during the Millennial Kingdom.
For us Christians today, we still grapple with sin. Paul talks about sin as the “old man.” But, Christians have the penalty for our sins covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we advocate for truth, we advocate for righteousness, and we advocate for justice in this world today.
So, do all lives matter? Clearly, they do. Black lives do matter. But, as a movement and organization, Black Lives Matter is trying to divide people by ethnicity, which is actually a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 that the nations will be divided in the last days. The nations will be at each other’s throats. There will be wars and rumors of wars. And, there will be ethnos against ethnos, meaning ethnicities. So, the BLM movement is feeding into that end times hysteria and division, meaning we are on the crux of the Lord’s return because this division is one of the signs of the times. Division now afflicts our own nation.
Nathan Jones: The cure to racism and racial reconciliation is Jesus Christ. We are told again and again, such as in James 2:1, “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of glory with partiality.” We as Christians are not to show partiality. First Corinthians 12:13 and other parallel verses reveal that for Christians, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave or free, there is neither male nor female, for you are one in Jesus Christ.” It is Jesus Christ and Christianity which bring warring races, or ethnicities, together.
Black Lives Matter the organization, not the idea behind it, is driving people apart. That’s why we here at Lamb & Lion Ministries would say, Christians, Black Lives Matter is not an organization that we should support. Rather, support the evangelistic efforts of your local church.
In the second segment of our look into what the organization Black Lives Matter believes, we’ll explore how BLM redefines freedom and justice.
