Dear Michael Brown: If I Were Preaching on Sunday Here Is What I Would Say

I started out in ministry when I was just a teenager. I gave my first sermon, or as is called in my tradition my “trial sermon,” at age 19. When I started preaching I was around the same age that Michael Brown was when he was shot and killed a few days ago in Ferguson, Missouri. I have since gone on to earn several college degrees, to become a college professor, and a chaplain. Michael Brown will not. Had he lived long enough, perhaps I would have been fortunate enough to meet him when he would have presented research at an academic conference. Unfortunately, the college-bound student was gunned downed before he ever stepped foot in a college classroom.

As a young African American male, it is clear to me that my ecclesiastic and socioeconomic standing will not shield me from this reality: Michael’s story could at any given moment become my story. In the eyes of some, we are a burden to our nation and a threat to their existence. In moments of unrest like this we need to hear words that speak healing to our hearts and minds. Words that will guide us through the aftermath of yet another death of an unarmed black male at the hands of those who swore to protect us — deaths that bespeak a deep racial divide in the U.S.

Over the past few days we have heard from local and federal law enforcement officials and attorneys involved in the case. We’ve heard from political figures, civil rights leaders, the bereaved parents of Michael Brown, and even from President Obama regarding this case. These voices are important to hear, and yet and still the exigencies and implications of Brown’s death call for another voice.

 

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