#relg102 Medium Post 10/28/2020

I had not engaged with any of these materials prior to this assignment, but I was aware of evangelical Christians’ reluctance to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

While I found conservative Christians’ unwillingness to support the movement disturbing, I was not entirely surprised. In fact, I could see where they were coming from to some extent: they were being asked to support a movement whose political beliefs did not align with their own. However, while evangelicals like Jim Lundgren made it clear that they are “‘both pro-life and committed to the dignity of [their] black brothers and sisters,’” that is not enough. Their failure to support the movement clearly stems from a lack of understanding that more progressive politics are essential to overcoming racism in America.

I was also struck by the intersection of racism and anti-Islam facing Black Muslims. While racism itself is something that Black people have to struggle with every day, Islamophobia makes that struggle even more difficult. However, it was heartening to see the outpouring of support that Black Muslims received in the wake of the murder of Freddie.