Jim Wallis on racism, reparations, and whether he supports #BlackLivesMatter

[CopyBoy]

Half a century ago, a teenaged Jim Wallis decided to confront the rampant racism in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. As a white man, he decided to enter the city and take jobs alongside black workers, and he began speaking out about the racial barriers present at all levels in Detroit. The decision angered many within his white community and even pushed him away from his church. The negative reactions of Wallis’ peers did not deter him, and today, he continues his fight for racial justice.
Wallis founded Sojourners, an evangelical advocacy organization that publishes a magazine reaching a readership of more than a quarter-million. In 2014, he was among 20 faith leaders arrested in Ferguson, Missouri during a march protesting the unfair treatment of black Americans by law enforcement. And now Wallis has released his manifesto on the matter, America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America, a New York Times bestseller in which Wallis does not mince words.

• See more at: jonathanmerritt.religionnews.com/2016/02/18/jim-wallis-on-racism-reparations-and-whether-he-supports-blacklivesmatter/#sthash.P7S79t3T.dpuf

 

[SuperLuigi]

Slave reparations in America are absurd. Most “white” families in America didn’t even own slaves. In fact, many of them, especially after the colonial years, were poor farmers coming from overpopulation areas in the Old World in some cases with food supply problems. They couldn’t afford slaves of any kind.

And since when does a country that’s supposedly 70% or more Christian punish people for the crimes of their ancestors?

Second, the Europeans were only able to get as many slaves as they were because of Arab in roads into Africa and because Black guides provided similar access. Funny how those so paranoid about the trans-Atlantic slave trade hitting the mainstream again never shake a finger at the slave trade still alive and well, but that doesn’t get votes for Democrats or checks in the mail from DC.

Third, there was attempted enslavement of Native Americans, but that didn’t work out so well. Long story short, a different mentality and setting.

So the issue is much more complicated.

As far as BLM (not to be confused with the American agency) goes, I understand why some Blacks would be frustrated with the police. And it is disappointing that so many conservatives let these cops run into their arms when their unions are responsible for electing and supporting people who undermine our Church.

However, like most progressive-claimed causes, BLM is now just a pawn for the American left more than the meaning of its name.

If BLM really cared about Black lives, where were they when 50 people, almost all Black, died in a weekend in Chicago? And what about abortion?

BLM is an organization that only cares about Blacks when a light-skinned cops shoots a Black person.

The blow-back on this from the Black community towards BLM has not been positive. One poll showed that 69% of African-Americans do not identify with Black Lives Matter, and the group has been excoriated by African-Americans on youtube.

It’s a classic situation where arrogant progressives take up a cause and think it will make them loved by all of that group, but most of the group wants nothing to do with it and for the most part sees progressives as part of the problem.