Race, Gospel, and Justice: An Interview with Esau McCaulley, Part One

I don't know what it is to be a minority in America. That's why this series will focus on the thoughts of those who do.

May 25. Memorial Day.

A holiday set aside to remember with gratitude and pride all the valiant soldiers who lost their lives throughout history in service to the United States. But this Memorial Day, we watched a video that reminded us instead of the horror and shame of racism that continues in America—the horror of watching George Floyd pinned down, a knee to his neck, until he no longer had breath, and as bystanders called for the police to let him up, will not be easily forgotten.

Nor should it.

"I Can't Breathe"

Videos of the officers and their treatment of George Floyd have gone viral globally. We have since seen the termination of all four officers involved and the arrest of Derek Chauvin, the officer whose knee caused Floyd to cry, "I can't breathe." We pray for justice on behalf of a man who died needlessly and cruelly.

We saw the unrest that followed. Now, we see protests in cities across our country. Many of the protestors, seeking to do so peacefully, were also opposing others who invaded the protests, inciting riots as well. We heard articulate calls for peaceful marches from Mayor Bottoms of Atlanta.

She called on protestors: "What I see happening on the streets of Atlanta is not Atlanta. This is not a protest. This is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. This is chaos."

Social distancing measures were quickly forgotten as thousands gathered in cities nationally, portending a potential spike in the coronavirus in the middle of the outcries for justice.

We saw Ahmaud Arbery killed in February, followed by the arrest and murder charge of father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael. On March 13, just as the pandemic's impact was beginning to be fully realized, Breonna ...