Black Lives Matter

Black lives matter on the Christian worldview.  This should be a completely uncontroversial statement for anyone who is familiar with the Bible.  They do not matter more or less than the lives of whites because they are black lives, but there are times where it is important to specifically emphasize that blacks are not lesser than others due to the color of their skin.  The current times are a clear example of this.  The aftermath of an injustice is never a poor time to rally around condemning that injustice.

That some elevate black lives above white lives does not mean that saying "Black lives matter" is erroneous or gratuitous.  That some feel attacked by a situational emphasis on black lives does not mean that saying "Black lives matter" should be treated as an offensive slogan.  Stupidity, hypocrisy, and emotionalism on the part of conservatives and liberals in light of George Floyd's death do not nullify the need to clarify that the phrase itself is relevant and important.

Saying that black lives matter is, of course, not itself racist towards whites or prejudiced towards police, even though some certainly seem to use the phrase in such ways.  Justice demands the rejection of all stereotypes; people stand or fall on their own worldviews, actions, and intentions alone.  The color of someone's skin does not make them a criminal.  Likewise, serving as a police officer does not mean that someone is racist.  Both of these logical facts need to be emphasized, but even this does not negate the need to affirm that black lives matter.

There is racism against whites, and that racism is often treated very differently than even lesser acts of racism against blacks.  Nonetheless, severe acts of racism against blacks sometimes make it necessary to call attention to the fact that the end of American slavery does not mean racism against blacks has not survived into modern America.  There are many ways that a country's racism can evolve without being as visible or atrocious as the American form of slavery.

It is clear that Genesis 1 affirms that all human lives have a baseline significance.  It is also true that a particular case of discrimination against a certain racial group can be denounced without contradicting the notion of universal human value.  Although any set of truths that deviates from both conservative and liberal ideology in some way is always likely to be unpopular, this set of truths needs to be wholly proclaimed.  However, defending the whole set does not mean there is anything pointless or unjust about particularly stating that black lives do face adversities that are forced upon them out of racist discrimination.