By Kerwin Webb
While out for a run in the Satilla Shores neighborhood on the outskirts of Brunswick, Georgia, 25 year-old Ahmaud Arbery was killed shortly after 1pm on February 23, 2020. Mr. Arbery was chased down by two white men with guns and murdered after an altercation.
The indisputable facts of the case would suggest that the perpetrators were swiftly arrested and charged with murder. According to Georgia law, “a person commits the offense of murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either express or implied, causes the death of another human being.” The reality is that Travis and Gregory McMichael were not arrested until more than 70 days after the incident. It was only after authorities released video footage to the public and the true nature of the incident was revealed that authorities felt it necessary to begin their pursuit of justice. As a later update to the case, William Bryan, Jr., who filmed the incident, has been arrested and charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
The family and friends of Mr. Arbery tried, unsuccessfully, to bring attention to the wrongdoing surrounding what Margaret Burnham and others have called Ahmaud Arbery’s “lynching”. This incident says much more about the soul of this nation than it does about the culture of one town in Georgia that allowed such a thing to occur. In this Georgia town and across the country, whether explicit or not, racism is baked into our institutions, systems, and structures. In the time since I began writing this article, it has come to light that three other Black citizens – Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Elijah McClain – were killed by law enforcement officers. These are only the ones in national media, there are undoubtedly others. In George Floyd’s case, all four officers involved, after weeks of nationwide protests, were arrested and charged with murder. The officers involved in the killings of Breonna Taylor and Elijah McClain have not been arrested or charged. These three incidents, and countless others, are indicators of a society in which some lives are more valuable than others.
At the outset, I offer a working definition of “racism”; for the purposes of this article, racism is the diminishment of human worth through racially-biased attitudes, actions, and inaction. This intentional action – as well as willfully ignorant inaction – is a sin that oppresses the most vulnerable. The Bible offers a plethora of narratives and examples highlighting God’s chosen people’s repeated failure to obey God’s commands. This disobedience would routinely be followed by famine, destruction, exile, or some other divine punishment. Throughout the Bible, the sin of oppression of the vulnerable brings the anger and wrath of God upon the people – with an especially fierce anger towards the priests and the prophets. How is it that we still don’t yet understand?
To be clear, race is a social construct. Meaning, “race” is ascribed, not inherent. As a student of theology, and after learning about the history and movement of Christianity, I understand that the concept of race was developed and employed to justify “othering” as a “reasonable” means of exclusion. This successful use of “othering” has been used to justify genocide, theft, rape, slavery, lynchings and numerous other atrocities in America and across the globe.
This construction of race and “other-ing” of humans creates a cultural narrative that runs counter to the commandments and requirements of the Christian faith. Christians believe that in the beginning, God designed and formed humanity in God’s own image. As such, every human being reflects the very person of God and has inherent dignity – regardless of ability, age, class, sex, gender, race, nation of origin, culture or ethnicity. I believe that this is because the unity that is achieved through diversity is reflective of God’s inexplicable divine image.
Unfortunately, we as humans are a flawed and fallen people who have perverted the good that God commanded for the world. The sins of arrogance and pride are culturally acceptable and have caused a further alienation from God. As a result, communities and relationships are haunted by fear, terror, and mistrust as physical human differences are used to justify mistreatment of others.
A Public Justice Perspective
How can a public justice justice perspective begin to inform our understanding of these events and our way forward?
First, public justice requires that we address the shortcomings and failures of both government and institutions of civil society, including churches, businesses, families, and schools, that benefit from and perpetuate racism. Citizens of a political community have a responsibility to call upon government officials to uphold public justice. In the case of Mr. Arbery, 70 days passed without an arrest. After the video was released of his murder, citizens from across the country called for and demanded justice. They called and wrote to public officials and demanded accountability. Ultimately these actions from citizens likely lead to the perpetrators’ arrest.
The Role of Government
Government is instituted by God and developed through humans. Through this incarnational work, Christians can be actively engaged in their political communities. Government is responsible for maintaining the general welfare of citizens, and it has a responsibility to promote just policies and practices that contribute to human flourishing for all. Government also has a responsibility to make space for the mediating institutions of civil society. These mediating institutions – religious organizations, civic institutions, schools, clubs, businesses, etc. – shape our daily lives and are often best equipped to meet the needs of the people and steward God's creation.
Government at all levels is tasked with promoting policies and practices that lead to human flourishing. According to the Center for Public Justice’s Guideline on Security and Defense,
Government's responsibility, under law, entails the protection of the political community from those who threaten life, property, and public peace...Government's responsibility for domestic security and retributive justice is institutionalized in the form of police forces and court systems, which enforce and adjudicate the law against lawbreakers and ensure restitution for victims.
In the case of Mr. Arbery, government did not uphold this responsibility. The police officers who responded to the scene of February 23 failed to see what had happened for what it was, and intentionally or not, failed Mr. Arbery and his family. According to the Center for Public Justice’s Guiding Principles for Racial Justice in Policing, “The injustice of structural racism in law and law enforcement is always a violation of the norm of justice within the political community. All citizens should experience equal treatment and protection under the law.”
The principles continue,
As citizens in a political community, the existence and application of unjust laws and policies always require our response to work to restore justice. This work may occur through efforts to reshape unjust policies and practices through oversight, reform, nonviolent protests to raise awareness, and/or the removal from office by those who fail to uphold racial justice in policing, by election loss or judicial action.
The Role of Civil Society
As citizens continue to advocate for justice for Mr. Arbery, Mr. Floyd, Ms. Taylor, Mr. McClain, and others, we must also recognize our responsibilities within the institutions of civil society of which we are a part. Civil society institutions are not distant amorphous entities; they are guided and effectuated by citizens. Failure to actively engage in the transformation of civil society institutions is to leave Jesus hungry, thirsty, naked, and alone in the world. James 2:14 reads “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?” This question brings into sharp focus the responsibility that Christian believers have in being called children of God. Our faith is to be used in addition to works, to affect things in the world. When we fail to do this, we fail to please God. Any cursory reading of scripture will reveal that God is displeased with God’s people not fulfilling their responsibilities. In Micah chapter 3, the prophet is delivering the stinging rebuke of God to the leaders of Judah and Israel: “Listen you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Should you know justice? - you who hate good and love the evil…” (v1-2). This glimpse into God’s anger towards leaders who do not uphold justice should serve as a warning to all believers today.
“At this flashpoint in history, concerned Christian citizens and the institutions of civil society can collectively begin to add their contributions to the story of a new, more just and inclusive America.”
Individual Christian citizens can begin to embody an ethic of empathy and love towards others and develop a healthy suspicion of self. Citizens - and by extension the institutions they staff, lead, worship in, and have influence over - should self-examine their patterns, practices, actions, and motives, then view them through the lens of those not represented in their decision-making apparatus. In other words, ask “whose voice and experience is absent from the conversation and what might they say in response to the discussion?” Until equality of opportunity and equity in our public life is the norm, a critical self-examination is required. This is difficult, but it is one of many important steps that helps us walk on a path towards justice. Doing such work will help well-intentioned Christian citizens and institutions better understand just how skewed the American concepts of equality and justice are, and how far Christian citizens and civil society institutions have strayed away from the foundational truths of the Christian faith and the American ideals of “freedom and justice for all.”
Our nation is at a point in time that is not unfamiliar. In his April 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote,
I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere… you deplore the demonstrations that are taking place in Birmingham, but I am sorry that your statement did not express similar concerns for the conditions that brought the demonstrations into being…
Dr. King was responding to criticism from several white clergymen who were not happy with his work, and considered him to be “agitating” local white men and women who had only turned violent in response to his quest to actualize equal justice. Just as that has become a significant event in history today, this moment too shall be similar. One lesson I deduced from Dr. King’s response in that letter, is that silence is complicity; or better yet, silence is violence. A critical examination of our nation’s true history would reveal how the silence of millions of unaffected Americans have rendered them complicit in the American project of black genocide, all the while profiting off of evil acts of oppression and subjugation. While the language of complicity may be uncomfortable for some, I do not use it to exclude good-intentioned Christians from entering the conversation or beginning the process of learning.
At this flashpoint in history, concerned Christian citizens and the institutions of civil society can collectively begin to add their contributions to the story of a new, more just and inclusive America. In the case of Ahmaud Arbery, individuals and families can make themselves aware of the facts of the case. Show support for those who have been traumatized by police brutality and violence for hundreds of years. Proponents and major beneficiaries of the status quo often are ambivalent to the plight of others. Now is the time for America to wake up. For Christians in particular, the Church has a very important role to play; it can serve as a meeting point, and a healing place for people from diverse communities. The Church is the place for the sick to begin to heal and is an institution that can encourage the difficult work of heart transformation. The Church should facilitate honest dialogue about what in the Church, community, and broader society needs to happen to promote healing and justice.
White supremacy, ambivalence to the plight of others, as well as implicit and explicit racism in American society has incubated hatred, white domestic terrorism, and an outright disregard for Black lives – evidenced in the case of Mr. Arbery and others. To be clear, the disregard for human life comes from members in all parts of American society and all races, sexes, and religions. As we examine the roles and responsibilities of various institutions, the hope is that individual members that make up institutions will realize their responsibility to move beyond stunned silence, resigned acceptance and apathy, and begin to hold themselves accountable for promoting and ensuring public justice.
Kerwin Webb is a management professional with more than twenty years of training, development, and leadership experience. From working as a training supervisor at UPS to leading a nonprofit through a major capital project after a natural disaster, Kerwin has demonstrated capability and effectiveness in work products and outputs. Earning a Bachelor’s in Business from Alabama State University in 2004, he was licensed to preach in 2016 and earned a Master of Divinity from Princeton Seminary in 2019. Kerwin is the founder of RMW Foundation, Inc. and managing director of KWebb LLC. In addition, he serves as Associate Pastor of Youth and Young Adults at Second Baptist Church of Asbury Park, Education Specialist for Interfaith Neighbors, and Coalition liaison for the New Jersey Social Justice Remembrance Coalition. Kerwin is a 2018 graduate of the NAACP Next Generation Leadership Program, a 2018 Sacred Sector Fellow with the Center for Public Justice and is the current president of the Greater Red Bank Area NAACP.
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