55 years later… and the “American Problem” Persists
Its persistence demands action
On March 15, 1965, President Lyndon Banes Johnson (a historical figure that was as conflicting as any, fighting both for and against civil rights issues at various times) addressed a joint session of Congress to urge the House and Senate to pass a voting rights bill that would make good on the substance of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. His speech was inspired by, and followed shortly after, the “Bloody Sunday” Civil Rights march on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965 (pictured above). 55 years ago in that address, LBJ said these words, which resonate with the events we’re living through today [some language edited; emphasis mine]:
“I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy. I urge every member of both parties, Americans of all religions and of all colors, from every section of this country, to join me in that cause…
…In our time we have come to live with the moments of great crisis. Our lives have been marked with debate about great issues -- issues of war and peace, issues of prosperity and depression. But rarely in any time does an issue lay bare the secret heart of America itself. Rarely are we met with a challenge, not to our growth or abundance, or our welfare or our security, but rather to the values, and the purposes, and the meaning of our beloved nation.
The issue of equal rights for [African Americans] is such an issue.
And should we defeat every enemy, and should we double our wealth and conquer the stars, and still be unequal to this issue, then we will have failed as a people and as a nation. For with a country as with a person, "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
There is no [African American] problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem.”
While some things have changed, many of the underlying, fundamental systems of prejudice and injustice referenced in this speech persist today.
We still have an American problem when it comes to how our country treats African American men, women and children. The recent cases of Ahmaud Abery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd stand as tragic reminders that African American men and women continue to be not just discriminated against, but killed in the streets and in their homes by both civilians and police officers. Often being killed with nothing happening to their killers until a public outcry arises — and even then, justice is far from certain.
In the North (Minneapolis) and in the South (Georgia), local systems are neither protecting African Americans in life nor prosecuting those who wronged them in death (at least until goaded into it by the public).
This is not a regional, local or individual problem. This is happening everywhere. This is still an American problem.
It is not a problem that hinges on guilt or innocence, as if choking someone to death in the street (a clearly cruel and unusual punishment) could be justified by the victim’s previous criminal record.
To realize this is so, we need only ask ourselves one question: “Even if someone was guilty of a crime (and why must we start by assuming they did something wrong?!), where was their due process?” Where was their day in court? Where was the verdict given by a jury of their peers, with counsel present and evidence presented?
Nowhere.
Instead, they were killed without any due process. They were killed for reasons their white peers would not have been.
55 years later, the oppression of African Americans is still an American problem.
It is not a problem of acting in the moment or of ‘reasonable belief.’ It is a problem of devaluing and dehumanizing the lives of African Americans — of Americans, of people made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). These brothers and sisters are people who once had no vote, but who now continue to have no guarantee of protection, due process, true equality or justice.
If we adjust only a few words in LBJ’s speech which were about voting, we see how these nationwide, systemic problems of injustice and inequality remain deeply embedded in our society [emphasis mine]:
“Every American citizen must have an equal right to [due process].
There is no reason which can excuse the denial of that right. There is no duty which weighs more heavily on us than the duty we have to ensure that right.
Yet the harsh fact is that in many places in this country men and women are kept from [breathing] simply because they are [African Americans]. Every device of which human ingenuity is capable has been used to deny this right…
…For the fact is that the only way to pass these barriers [of human ingenuity] is to show a white skin. Experience has clearly shown that the existing process of law cannot overcome systematic and ingenious discrimination. No law that we now have on the books… can ensure the right to [due process and equal justice under the law] when local officials [and citizens] are determined to deny it…
…Allow men and women to [live] whatever the color of their skin.
Extend the rights of citizenship to every citizen of this land.
There is no constitutional issue here. The command of the Constitution is plain. There is no moral issue. It is wrong -- deadly wrong -- to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to [breathe] in this country. There is no issue of States' rights or national rights. There is only the struggle for human rights…
…But even if we pass this bill, the battle will not be over. What happened in Selma is part of a far larger movement which reaches into every section and State of America. It is the effort of [African Americans] to secure for themselves the full blessings of American life. Their cause must be our cause too. Because it's not just [African Americans], but really it's all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice.
And we shall overcome.”
Indeed, the battle is not over some 55 years later. But as Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd have reminded our country, we have not overcome… yet.
This is America’s longest war — the war for equality for all people. Of which 55 years is only a chapter. And the hard truth is, we are losing. This is what demands action. For we may yet overcome.
To echo the words of LBJ in his speech,
Brothers and sisters who do not have black or brown skin, we must join with the cause of those who have black and brown skin. Because, it’s not just the black and the brown, but really all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice which persists even now (1 Cor. 12:26).
Silence is not enough for we who do not share black or brown skin. Disgust is not enough. Sadness is not enough.
We need to stand arm in arm with our fellow Americans — our fellow image bearers — for this cause.
We need to stand up for it in all the conversations, situations and relationships we can. We need to do that with wisdom — preparing for what we would say or do — but we need to do it nonetheless.
We need to let it influence our prayers, thoughts, speech, desires, actions, habits and even our voting.
We need to demand and act for national legislative reform. We need laws that value and protect the lives of all Americans — no matter the adjective that describes what kind of American they are. We need laws that enforce penalties which convey to offenders the value of the life they’ve taken or abused — an American life. And where such laws already exist, we need nationally mandated, thorough enforcement of them.