Responsible Church Leaders Should Be Educating Their Congregations About Racism and Serving the Community Concerning the Black Lives Matter movement.

Abstract

As our society wrestles with systemic racism, it is imperative that houses of prayer undergo the same reflection. African-Americans have been disappointed with majority Caucasian congregation church leaders who have the capacity to change minds and attitudes during this time of national reckoning over race but are not engaging their worshipers with honest educational conversations about social justice, race, and police brutality. Black lives matter. This is an obvious truth considering God's love for all God's children. When Black lives are systemically devalued by society, our outrage justifiably insists that attention be focused on Black lives. When a church claims boldly “Black Lives Matter” and attempts to educate their churchgoers about the societal and subtle ills of racial profiling, microaggressions, and privilege at this moment, it chooses not to be silent about a racial injustice for those in need. The paper explores the importance of this topic through current event literature.