Christian Reinvestment: If Not Now, When?
By: Gfc, Grown Folk Conversations
Tags: Social Justice, Investing, Christianity, Faith, Tithe

Radical Stewardship

Religious Reinvestment & Cultural Accountability: If Not Now, When? If Not Us, Who?

Tithing and donating your time, talents and money as an act of faith and community justice

Photo by Christian Dubovan on Unsplash

Christians and Black and brown people of all faiths need to invest in social justice & use all our resources including our time, talents and money to invest in our communities to make real impact and lasting change.

I am by no means a theological scholar, but I have studied theology and I’m a lifelong Christian and the Bible speaks of bringing your “first fruits” and taking care of our community as part of the Christian faith. Watching how Christianity has been politicized and evangelists pray over men that they know support and promote racist, oppressive and biased policies is the antithesis of being Christ-like.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever see my faith weaponized, and blatantly used to promote racism and bias. (I know it’s been used to justify slavery — but it was hidden for a while). I feel like we are somehow in a Twilight Zone or a weird, racist nightmare — literally trying to pull us back to Jim Crow era level segregation, discrimination and domestic terror.

Once again, I’m not naïve in thinking that racism went away — I was part of a group of students that desegregated my elementary school and helped integrate my high school. Yet, my faith in God and love and respect for humanity sheltered me from the harsher realities of racism.

I grew up with my grandmother and the first and last thing she did was pray and read the Bible. She believed in forgiveness and not to judge others as the Bible said. She also taught me that bringing your first fruits didn’t just involve money, but your time and your talents.

There are so many talented, wealthy Christians and Black and brown people of faith who could be using their first fruits to improve our communities and I ask: If not now, when do we step up and if not us who — do we expect to save us?

I’m not talking about charity — I’m talking about self-sufficiency through education and economic development, support and empowerment. Faith without works is dead.(James 2:14). Jesus talked about helping the poor. It’s hard to hear a word or feed the spirit when people are in need or their bodies are weak from hunger and thirst.

Who do we expect to teach our communities financial literacy, basic business skills, marketing and promotion? Who’s suppose to improve our quality of life and give us coping strategies to handle life’s challenges and stay resilient? Who’s going to help heal our sick and tired minds, bodies and souls?

I can’t confirm if any of these people or organizations are Christians, but they are Black and their work is tied to the Black/African American communities:

Iyanla Vanzant — is trying to Fix Our Life on TV and on Facebook she’s helping us sustain during the pandemic — but we need more

Taraji P Henson — Started The Boris Henson Foundation to help provided free, culturally competent mental health services, therapists and counselors

Marian Wright-Edelman started the Children’s Defense Fund and expanded the Freedom Schools movement, the Black Community Crusade for Children and servant-leadership teacher training nationwide. Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson will take the reigns and lead the charge starting December 2020 — but we need more

Lebron James — Started the I Promise School and there are many others helping to improve the quality of education for Black and brown children — but we need more

New Voices Foundation is helping Black and brown women launch beauty brands and new VC funds are expanding — but we need more

There are countless urban and community farms and food pantries to feed our hungry families — but we need more

What are we — as Christians and Black and brown people of faith and our allies doing individually and collectively and to help our communities?

What skill or talent has God blessed you with that you can share with the community?

I don’t think this country is going to apologize for past and present physical, financial, socioeconomic, psychological and emotional atrocities that they’ve committed against our African ancestors and their descendants. If they’re not going to acknowledge and try to make amends to our communities to restore us, when are we -meaning Black and brown people going to invest in ourselves?

Who do we think is going to invest in US? We have some of the most brilliant minds and richest Black people in the world sitting on millions and some on billions. We have to invest in ourselves! I’m urging us who have more to give more, but wisely. We’re seeing small groups like the 19 families that brought 900+ acres in Georgia and Killer Mike and others are starting an online bank to help Black and brown people, but we need to do more in an organized effort.

The idea that our Black and brown artists and creatives don’t have a support system or union like SAG — David Banner discussed this on N.O.R.E.’s podcast. I would love to see this. Black artists should not die destitute after they’ve devoted their lives to entertaining and enriching our lives with their art and talents. I need the hip hop and Black thespians to take the lead with this. Our artists need mentoring, coaching and organized health services and other resources.

The fact that every culture or ethnic group can have ethnic pride, leadership and banks and investment groups except Black people needs to stop. More and more organizations that are supposed to support Black/ African Americans are not run by Black or African Americans. While I believe in inclusion and unity, I also believe that our lack of leadership and ability to safely and successfully mobilize, organize and thrive is partially internalized racism and historic effort to disenfranchise us to maintain the status quo.

Frankly, we are the only group that is criticized for wanting to have representation in leadership. I’ve seen African American organizations that are primarily run by everyone else except us, so if we can invest and we can lead our own people — we should do it. How do we expect for anyone to respect us, if we don’t respect ourselves?

Make no mistake, this is not a cry to say we are above and we want to be segregationists, but just like every other ethnic group meaning Irish, Italian, Asians can be prideful and unapologetically led and push their communities’ needs and agendas, African American people should, too.

Shaming Black people for having ethnic pride or wanting to organize for justice, equality and better quality of life is racist. Every ethnic and cultural group has the right to celebrate their culture and traditions — as long as it doesn’t oppress, discriminate or hurt another group.

So I urge all of us to invest our time and talents in our communities. Our communities are hurting and we should have a creative union that helps similar to SAG for Black and brown artist. Some of our brightest stars have died in poverty.

I want to be clear, I’m saying Black and brown because not every person of African descent is African-American. Some of us are Afro-Latino, others are multi-ethnic want to be included and while maintaining pride in all their cultural/racial identities and intersections and that should be allowed.

We need to invest in us! We need to lead us unapologetically with love and an open spirit for our brothers and sisters with various identities, and allies, but with boundaries. African-Americans need to take the lead in helping ourselves. Reparations would be nice and should be seriously analyzed, but in the meantime, we can’t keep expecting everyone else to help and lead us. When other people lead, even with the best intentions — they push their agenda and minimize our ability to help ourselves. I don’t know why I woke up at 6 this morning to write this. All I know is there are too many things to fix in our community and if not now then, when and if not us, then who? Who’s going to save us?

I’m going to start start by reaching out in my inner circle to see who needs help and give 10% of my time, talents and money to organizations that help improve the quality of life of my people and I urge others to do the same.

If you have some suggestions of some worthy causes, business, and organizations, please leave them in the comments.

Thank you for reading.

Sources

1 Timothy 5:8 — But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.

Proverbs 3:9 — Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

Malachi 3:10 — Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that [there shall] not [be room] enough [to receive it].

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