The words “I can’t breathe” are fixed in your mind if you have seen the video of a police officer kneeling on the back of George Floyd’s neck which caused his tragic death on May 25, 2020. Handcuffed, face down, Floyd pleaded for his life while repeatedly saying, “I can’t breathe.”
His death sparked protests against racism and injustice across the world. From Washington DC to San Francisco to Seoul to Cairo to London to Buenos Aires and to other countless large and small cities, people are crying out to end racism and injustice.
As the protests increased, our daughter, artist Hannah Griffin (pictured above), called and said, “I want to be a part of history. I am making a sign and will join a peaceful protest march today.”
Anyone who has ever experienced racism can identify with the words “I can’t breathe” because racism seeks to stifle a person’s voice and devalue their life. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated,
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
You stand in a key moment of history and we challenge you to examine your own life for any intentional or unintentional ways that your thoughts, words or actions reflect racism and injustice. In the book of Psalms, David wrote these words,
Search me, God, and know my heart . . .
see if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)
As you examine your life, also listen carefully to people who are suffering due to racism and injustice, and then take a stand with your words and actions.
Dare to ask God to be part of the solution to end racism.
God’s passion for His people can not be extinguished. Do you embody this same passion?