Inconvenient but Not Impossible
Reverend Monica C. Jones, Ph. D., Contributing Writer
It always seems impossible until it’s done–a great man who gave his freedom for the freedom of others said that. Nelson Mandela was willing to view the world from behind bars for much of his adult life because he viewed a future of equality for his people. A cell was his home, but he walked from prison to the presidency. It was a lifetime commitment, but it was not impossible.
As our wonderful missionaries conclude their Quadrennial, I hope their plans will be to not set foot in Florida again as an organization until that state’s hateful educational and social policy has ended. I hope and pray that would be the same decision for any other AME Church connection-wide event. It should apply to every justice-minded group, as well, including the remainder of our Greek organizations, such as my own. The Alphas have made the sacrifice, and we all should follow. It would involve renegotiation and canceling contracts, but it is not impossible.
None of us, whether secular or faith-based, can afford to ignore the racist, bigoted, slavery-rationalizing policy coming from the various legislative bodies in Florida. In just a very short time, the governor and local legislators have passed laws that put innocent voters in jail, declared that our African-American history is no longer valid, and informed us that we should be pleased to have been slaves because we have learned skills that are useful in the workplace.
In the days of our fight for civil rights, we were willing to walk to work, do without conveniences, and even be beaten in order to see justice done. We saw our friends and loved ones jailed; we saw our children blown to bits in churches; we saw our beloved King shot down on a balcony, but we fought on. It was a terrifying experience, but it was not impossible.
Today, the sacrifice of losing a few dollars should not be an issue for people who understand what it means to give up much in a moment to achieve a lifetime of freedom. All of us may not be able to march or protest in the streets, but we can certainly protest with our pocketbooks. After all, we are accustomed to putting our very lives on the line for what we know and believe is right. We have done it for generations; our church was founded on this premise. Let us not forget the greatest activist of all made it clear that with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). No matter the cost, we must say no and prove that we mean business by not planning engagements, vacations, or mass meetings in Florida. It will be inconvenient; it may even be unpopular. In some instances, it will be costly, but it is not impossible.
The Reverend Monica C. Jones, Ph. D., is the Director of Christian Education Ministries and an associate minister at Big Bethel in Atlanta, Georgia.
