What's Race Got to do With it? [BONUS 4]

After a full week or protests, reading ‘White Fragility’, watching the news,

and looking up the nose of Juneteenth, I have chosen to

amplify the voices of black men and women for this week’s Bonus Episode.

Introduction

In the wake of the horrific murder of George Floyd by officers of the Minneapolis PD, this bonus episode of Unboxing God delves into race as three of my friends share with us how being black in the U.S. has affected their religious experience and their relationship with the God of their understanding.

Summary

• Mallury (Los Angeles, CA) imparts 4 gifts he’s learned about race and how it relates to God:

1. Kindness has no particular color

2. I have a choice

3. My gifts of service to God and mankind can transcend race

4. Doing the spiritual work on myself can change the world that I walk in and transcend race

• Shantee (Atlanta, GA) shares with us the role of faith in her life

• Ashley (Detroit, MI) tells about how race and religion have impacted her experiences

Quotables

• “Kindness is not guaranteed to come from a certain color… Just because I’m black doesn’t mean all black people are gonna try to build me up and it doesn’t mean all white people are trying to tear me down.” --Mallury

• “Do you want to believe in the narrative that the world wants to say, that racism has existed forever (which it has) and that you’re going through these situations with people because you’re black? Or do you want to choose the lens of looking at it because you’re a child of God? That because you're working and striving towards a certain kindness in your heart, the world’s gonna be difficult. That’s a great choice to be able to have. And, as an African American man, that helps me keep my sanity.” --Mallury

• “The narrative that you could place on trying to be out in the world as … any type of professional is ‘It’s gonna be very difficult for you because you’re black’, and there’s truth to that. But again the gift that God has given me is this miraculous set of circumstances and stories that say ‘Hey if you just find your purpose and get into alignment with it, God can open up the doors of possibility and opportunity for you, and that can easily transcend race.’” --Mallury

• “Do you ever notice that when you’re in a hurry, the traffic is at its greatest?... I take that idea and apply that to my own life. If I have anger and resentment and I’m not forgiving people in my heart, I notice that the world is a much more difficult place to walk in.” --Mallury

• “I look in the mirror first and I say, It’s me. I have to work on myself and alleviate the pain in my own life - that way I can have a much easier and better walk.” --Mallury

• “...What that does to shape my relationship with my Higher Power and the God of my understanding is that it makes it so much stronger. Any time I bump into something in the world that hurts my feelings, all it does is bounce me back to God and these four gifts that I’ve learned throughout my life.” --Mallury

• “With all the people in the world coming together right now joining Blacks in the fight for equality, I know God must be smiling down on us. Watching His children hold hands and fighting to rid this world of hatred must be a beautiful sight for Him to see.” --Shantee

• “Faith is believing. Faith is trusting in God. Faith gives us strength to get through the hard times. Faith, a good heart, and a great attitude. We basically laugh to keep from crying; we dance and sing to lift our moods; in addition, we pray.” --Shantee

• “No matter what, I know that God always has my back. He didn’t put me here to suffer. I remind myself that He will never lead me astray.” --Shantee

• “I believe every day. I have faith everyday. God brings blessings, purpose, and favor into my life everyday.” --Shantee

• “I know everything that happens to me isn’t about me.” --Ashley

• “I have a saying that’s ‘It’s for my good, it’s for His glory.’ ...Whatever you go through is never about you -- it’s for you to be able to testify to someone else who is gonna go through the same thing.” --Ashley

• “Once you get over that hump -- that initial ‘Woe is me’-- you get back up and just trust God because whatever his plan is so much greater than the one that I have. So I can’t stay down.” --Ashley

• “You just have to keep on going. And that doesn’t mean you're not human, doesn’t mean you can't cry, it just means don’t stay in that place... Because if you stay there too long you'll miss whatever the blessing is that’s meant for you and coming your way.” --Ashley

• “If it’s too odd, it’s God.” --McCall

• “What if this is not happening TO me but FOR me?” --McCall

• “Structure must submit to Spirit” -- McCall

Recommended Resources + External Links

• Join the conversation on Facebook!

• Support Unboxing God here

• Support Mallury on Venmo: @Mallury-Pollard

• In lieu of direct support for Shantee and Ashley, please consider contributing to Black Lives Matter

• Check out Ashley’s church: Second Ebenezer Church in Detroit, MI