Now what?
Now what?
We’ve all read things, seen things. We’ve all examined our hearts. We’ve all prayed for change. We’ve all sat in horror. Or anger. Or sadness. We’ve all had what could be hard conversations. Or eye-opening ones. Or, for the first time, honest ones. (HOPEFULLY. To all of these.)
So, now what?
It is one of the cruelest facts of life that the world keeps turning. Sometimes you want it to stop because you can’t imagine moving forward without someone with you. Sometimes it’s because you’ve found Heaven on Earth and want the moment to last just a little longer. And sometimes it’s because a lesson is being learned right now. Hearts are being softened and minds are being changed. We don’t want to move forward because change is happening NOW. And we don’t want the NOW to diminish to a REMEMBER WHEN. We want the NOW to alter the course of our families. Our city. Our country. And maybe even the world.
But time is going to keep moving on. And we have no idea how to take these moments with us. For good or for bad.
So…now what?
Our country has torn itself to pieces once already due to hatred and white privilege. Those that believed they had to right to own other people because of the status it brought them. Or wealth. Or even just a false sense of moral superiority. BUT the answer to avoiding that is NOT for things to go back to ‘normal.
We will have to create the new normal.
Our black brothers and sisters have been trying to do that since the Civil War. We’ve got to do it with them.
And not because we are the ‘white savior’. Not because we are ‘more’ anything. But because our white ancestors put the yokes on their necks.
In the online series Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, Emmanuel Acho uses the analogy that simply and succinctly addresses this issue.
“The wake of slavery is hitting African Americans. When you get on a boat…there is a wake that follows the boat and although you might not still be driving the boat, there are African Americans getting smacked by the wake left of slavery. Well, Acho, what is that wake? And that’s what we talked about, systemic injustice, poor school systems, voter suppression; there is a wake and so that is why things aren’t equal. Only because there is still a wake from slavery. Don’t feel guilty, just acknowledge.”
And we need to acknowledge it.
Just like we’ve needed to acknowledge the racism present in so many aspects of life. Intended or not.
So, again, now what?
We’re definitely going to have look to our older, more experienced brothers and sisters for guidance. The ones that already have some experience with this.
The ones that marched and then had to go back to their lives.
The ones that were beaten and then had to go back to their lives.
The ones that were jailed and then had to go back to their lives.
The ones that were killed. And then their loved ones had to go back to their lives.
I am betting that they have some wisdom on how you move forward without forgetting the moments.
Even that term, “moments”.
All day I’ve had a line from the musical Hamilton stuck in my head. If you’ve never heard of Hamilton then I assume you’ve been avoiding technology for the past 10 years because how could you have never heard of Hamilton???
Anyway, during Alexander Hamilton’s first big number (My Shot), he says this,
Scratch that this is not a moment, it’s the movement
Where all the hungriest brothers with something to prove went?
Foes oppose us, we take an honest stand
We roll like Moses, claimin’ our promised land…
So…
For real, now what?
How do we guarantee that this isn’t a series of moments but a movement? The movement that will finish what was started 157 years ago. The movement that will put to death a portion of our history that should never have been allowed to come to life.
And y’all are not ready for the next reference. You’re really not. I’ve mentioned a series and a musical so now it’s time for a movie. (And it happens to be another song too.)
But before I do, I’m going to explain why I picked these. Because they are tangible tools that you can use in teachable moments. We live in age now that TV and movies and music help raise our children. They helped raise me. Imparting lessons, some clear and some subconscious. Your children, and possibly other people, will recognize these references. And hopefully be receptive to their use.
So here we go!
In Frozen II, there’s a song that Anna sings after the worst that could happen, happens. (Yep, I’m referencing the Frozen franchise. And if you haven’t heard of it, then seriously, have you been on the moon?)
These lyrics haunted me.
Take a step, step again.
It is all that I can, to do
The next right thing.
I won’t look too far ahead,
It’s too much for me to take
But break it down to this next breath,
This next step,
This next choice is one that I can make.
So I’ll walk through this night
Stumbling blindly toward the light
And do the next right thing.
And, with it done, what comes then?
When it’s clear that everything will never be the same again
Then I’ll make the choice to hear that voice
And do the next right thing.
But to some friends that are saying that they don’t even know what the next right thing is, then I tell you to remember who we serve.
If you do not know the next right thing, then ASK. And keep asking. Pray that you won’t miss the next step that you are supposed to take. Be it small or monumental. We do not serve a silent God.
And this isn’t just for white people. This is for all people. For all the mothers and fathers and grandparents and aunts and uncles and husbands and wives and brothers and sisters and children that are looking around and asking, “Now what?”
We do the next right thing to continue this movement, not moment, which will help break the wake of slavery that is still smacking into our brothers and sisters.
Yes, these quotes and songs are clever but we don’t do it because Emmanuel Acho said to. Or because Lin Manuel Miranda said to. Or because Kristen Bell said to.
We do it because God said to.
Over and over again.
