Wise Words from Dr. Alveda King

September 23, 2016

There has been lots of unrest in Charlotte the last couple of days. Folks are angry, some are protesting, others are rioting. What sparked all of this was the fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott on September 20, 2016. The forty-three-year old African American man was killed by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer, Brently Vinson, who is also African American. Police report Scott was armed, albeit the narrative that he was unarmed is being widely circulated.

Complicating matters was the shooting death of twenty-six-year old Justin Carr. Authorities indicate this was a civilian on civilian murder.

Now, I don’t know if I have all the facts straight. Neither do I claim to know all the answers. But, I do think that if we are going to make this right, then there needs to be some display of civility. Non-violent peaceful protest is something we can do. Agitating, disrupting peace, rioting, looting, such things can never be tolerated. They may be the exception to the rule, but they are stealing the microphone and platform, and they wind up being the ones who get heard instead of the ninety-nine percent of the good folks who just want to peacefully voice their concerns.

I never really watch much of Fox and Friends, but I came across this interview with Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She commented on a statement by a young man, who purported to be the brother of Keith Lamont Scott, and said, “Just know that all White people are F— devils…All White cops are F— devils, and White people!” Dr. Alveda King’s response was very profound. She said, “All White cops and all White people are not devils. All Black people are not angels. We were remarking on the beauty of that city of Charlotte, and we got people from every ethnicity, who go to church and pray, and go to work, and go to school. And so their own peace is being disturbed not by protestors but by rioters, and there is definitely a difference…let it be righteous justice not angry I have to kill and loot justice.”

Acts 17:26 tells us God “made from one man every nation of mankind” (NASB). There is a real physical connection between us all, everyone is the offspring of Adam and Eve. We are all their sons and daughters. There is more to our essence than the accent of skin color. The antidote to racism is to love instead of hate, as opposed to hate for being hated.  

—WGN

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