photo courtesy of MICHELLE STOCKER — The Capital Times
I am way late on this post, but its not too late. Rev. Alex Gee, a friend of mine and pastor among many things in Madison Wisconsin, is speaking out on racial profiling and why he is concerned about life in Madison for an African American. He is raising some great points.
I am posting it here for three reasons:
- We all need to care about this issue he raises. It affects us all.
- Alex talks about this really well and he is a great leader in this area of racial reconciliation
- Alex is a GREAT prophetic voice and he wants to talk about this more…well beyond the lines of Madison. He intends to write some things here at RTA and I hope you learn to love him and follow him as you grow in your own ethnic journey. As a white male, I find him a very safe person to interact with about ethnicity and ask questions. He is not looking to bust my chops but help me learn. We need people like this in our lives and I hope he can be a good friend to the RTA community. Feel free to tweet him or FB him. He loves interacting.
A huge part of being prophetic in America is speaking out about and working against racial inequalities. If we are going to release and accept prophets in this land, then we better start listening up on these issues and not deafen our ears.
Here is an excerpt
I had just finished my presentation about the mass incarceration of African-American men to a Downtown Rotary luncheon when a woman from the audience approached me.
“Wonderful presentation, Dr. Gee!” she told me, adding she was intrigued by my data and insights about Wisconsin’s mass incarceration phenomenon.
She added, “If you don’t mind, I must tell you that I am so glad that you are not some angry black man!”
This well-intentioned white Rotarian had just heard how Wisconsin has an epidemic and leads the nation in the incarceration of African-American males between 20 and 24 years old.
Giving these kinds of presentations typically takes a toll on me because of the bleakness of the subject matter, the pain in my soul unearthed by the topic and the typically blank stares by people who wonder why we are still talking about racial disparities in 2013.
“I am an angry black man,” I responded. “Why would you think I wasn’t angry over what is happening in and to my community? Is it because I put on my best face and ‘safe’ black voice for you today?”
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Thank you for this, Alex. As a campus staff worker with IVCF, I have a platform to raise these questions and issues, to call for repentance, and to partner with local ministries (or simply with campus groups) to put conviction to action. I just have to make it a priority in the midst of other ministry “things”. It’s too easy as a white leader to put this off for “later,” a sin of selfishness or fear or ignorance. May the Spirit convict us through your call to justice.