As many of you know, my professional background is working in the area of sexual violence. When I got my Master’s in Applied Behavioral Science, I chose to specialize in sex crimes. Not the most uplifting topic, but one that I feel is extremely important to shine a light on. As one who has dealt with this topic extensively, I know that it touches many lives and many times it is not taken very seriously.
Let’s imagine that one day, I come across an up-and-coming organization called “END SEXUAL VIOLENCE FOR ALL” and, agreeing with the name, I decide to look into becoming a supporting member of the organization.
But, upon my study of their website, I find that they have a few other things they are looking to promote. Those are:
- Work to remove the game of football from our culture. Football produces potential rapists.
- Insist that all firefighters be female. It’s time to allow females to be the heroes.
- Ban all religious institutions. It is common knowledge that all religions are misogynistic and therefore need to go.
None of these things have much or anything to do with ending sexual violence. So, I call up one of the leaders in the organization and say, “Hi, I’m a little concerned about the things you promote on your website. I was looking at becoming a member but I can’t agree with these other things.”
The lady says, “Oh, so then you are for sexual violence?”
“Well, no, of course not, but I thought you were for ending sexual violence for all and some of these things don’t have anything to do with ending sexual violence. In fact, I find some of these things to be really bad things to support. Why isn’t your focus fully on sexual violence as your title states?”
“Oh, it is our focus, but only for ending sexual violence for women over the age of 90.”
“Well, it’s important to protect those women, too, but that’s such a small demographic, why not actually work to help end sexual violence for ALL victims like your title says?
“That’s not what we do here. Look, you are free to start your own organization that focuses on protecting all women and men from sexual violence, but our focus here is women over 90.”
AND THE PHONE CLICKS OFF
When George Floyd’s life was taken from him on May 25th, 2020, nearly the whole nation was rightly outraged by the show of police brutality at the hands of Derek Chauvin. The vast, vast majority of Americans were united in condemning what happened; even other police officers were appalled at Chauvin’s callous and fatal actions.
The organization BLM rallied the nation into protests. Millions of people donated their money and lent their support to BLM and all was heated frenzy for weeks. Emotions ran high and they are still running high. But, then things shifted very rapidly and the narrative went too far. In the time since George Floyd’s death, we have been told that America is inherently racist, the police need to go or at least be severely defunded, and it’s time to “tear down all American systems.”
When this all happened, I refused to rush to an opinion on the matter, other than to say that police brutality is bad. I have a few boundaries I set for myself and one of those is to give at least two days before drawing a conclusion on an issue or recent event. I need time to gather information and think. I do not like being forced to go along with what everyone is saying just because everyone else is saying it. I need to think for myself. I was ridiculed for questioning the narrative that the media and the BLM organization were presenting to us.
As Catholics, we know that all people are created in the image and likeness of God. We know that God loves all people and wants people to be treated with dignity no matter their sex, race, age, or nationality. So, naturally, as Christians, we affirm that Black people matter; of course, they do and no true Christian would ever say that they don’t.
While it is right and good to affirm that black people matter, it is dangerous to support the Black Lives Matter organization. At the height of the frenzy over George Floyd, our family sat down at the kitchen table to read about the Black Lives Matter organization. My husband brought up their website and read it out loud to me and our two teenage daughters. What they support and stand for is troubling, to say the least.
In a very clever move, the three co-founders picked a name that no decent person would argue with–Black Lives Matter. They draw a line in the sand and say either you support Black Lives Matter or you are a racist. Nobody wants to be called a racist and so, therefore, the organization is given little resistance. But, I wonder how many Americans took the time to look into the Black Lives Matter organization?
The first thing of note is that there is an interview with Patrisse Cullors, one of the founders, from 2015 where she describes herself and another founder as “trained Marxists.” This is highly troubling.
When you look at their website, there are some of their “collected efforts” that seem positive, such as:
“We work vigorously for freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension, all people.” AND
“We are guided by the fact that all Black lives matter, regardless of actual or perceived sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, economic status, ability, disability, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, immigration status, or location.”
All seems good there and if that was it, there would be no cause for concern. However, there are a few problems.
One problem is that their platform seems more concerned with LGBTQ issues than true concern over the loss of actual black lives. Two of the founders identify as “queer,” so you can see where this is coming from. As Catholics, we can affirm the dignity of those in the LGBTQ community, but we cannot support the behavior that comes along with it as it violates the natural law and Scripture.
And then, there is this troubling statement:
“We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.”
There is no mention of fathers in this statement and they want to “disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure.” The “collective care” of everyone is a very Marxist thing to say and it implies that your children really aren’t your own but rather the State’s or the whole community’s. In college, I had to take numerous classes that looked at Socialism and Communism and one of the goals of Communism is to break up the nuclear family. Get fathers out of the picture because then families are easier to control. And…that’s exactly what they did in Communist Russia.
Just the use of the word “comrade” in their writings is very curious. Animal Farm, anyone? During the French Revolution, the leaders and the mob would call each other “citizens.” Many socialists have adopted calling each other “comrades.” And in Communist Russia, they, also, came up with a word to make everyone the same–tovarisch.
But, you might say, “This doesn’t seem all that bad.”
But, here’s the thing. We have been told and we see for ourselves in their writings that they specifically say that “all Black lives matter.” If that is true, then where is the outcry for the hundreds upon hundreds of black lives lost in interracial violence? Chicago has been losing the lives of black people right and left and there are no demonstrations, no protests, no uproar about any of this. You aren’t even allowed to ask why this isn’t a concern without being called racist. But, it is a concern–a huge concern. If you affirm that black lives matter, you should be most concerned and focused on the area where you are losing the most black lives to violent action. There are two places–interracial violence and abortion.
These numbers are not trending downward either. Recently, there have been at least five young black people killed collectively in Chicago and Atlanta. And I have to ask, where is the Black Lives Matter organization? I call foul on an organization whose very name says, “Black Lives Matter” but is unwilling to address the problems where thousands of black lives are being lost. Now, Don Lemmon of CNN has told us and Terry Crews that “The Black Lives Matter movement is about police brutality and injustice in that manner, not about what’s happening in Black neighborhoods.” The website says, though, that “all Black lives matter” and “We intentionally build and nurture a beloved community that is bonded together through a beautiful struggle that is restorative, not depleting.” I’m do not see the concern over the black lives being depleted and they specifically talk about building “beloved communities.” When it comes to the deadliest areas for black people, they fall silent and are nowhere to be found.
We have good evidence that the Black Lives Matter organization is pushing a dangerous agenda while hiding behind the guise of racial justice, making it hard for people to disagree with them. We should be very wary and tread with caution. In fact, in one article I read off the BLM’s website, they are in full adoration of Fidel Castro (deceased Communist leader of Cuba) and even thank him for providing sanctuary for four specific men–four men that are accused of, been convicted of, or admitted to killing American cops.
We can, however, as Catholics, support and affirm that Black people matter. It is important that we see the difference between recognizing the dignity of black people and seeing that the Black Lives Matter organization is problematic. This is not to say that all people who support the organization are gunning for Communism. I think after George Floyd’s death many people just wanted to help and support the black community and show that we are not a racist nation. With the outpouring of support, one is hard-pressed to say that we are a racist country to our core.
We must use discernment when looking to support a particular organization. We must look into the founders, read their website, and see what they are saying. Just like in my example at the start of this blog, we must look to see what the whole package entails.
An organization that doesn’t allow for questions or criticism without labeling someone as a racist is suspect. The Black Lives Matter organization is not the arbiter of whether or not a person is racist. You do not have to be a card-carrying member in order to prove that you, do in fact, believe that black lives matter. We don’t want to lend support to something that may cause us to inadvertently support things that go against our Constitution, our moral codes, and the teachings of our Catholic Faith.
Let us always be thoughtful, discerning, and charitable people, Catholic Pilgrims.
2 responses to “As Catholics, We Should Affirm That Black People Matter. Supporting the BLM Organization Is Another Story, Though.”
This post feels counterproductive. Do you really need such a long post explaining the various reasons that the Black Lives Matter Foundation (which is, arguably, not quite the same as the movement that the hashtag indicates) doesn’t align with your morals? Would it not be more productive to say something along the lines of “The Black Lives Matter Foundation is not something that I, as a Catholic, can put my support behind for reasons x, y, and z. However, that doesn’t mean that Black lives do not matter or that our community should deny that black lives matter. I have done some work to look into other organizations/charities/nonprofits that are working to end racial disparity in the U.S. since this is obviously an important topic, here they are.” I guess I’m just not sure what you’re trying to accomplish with this post other than to turn people away from the movement. Although you note that Black lives matter, this post seems more likely to turn people away from making any effort at all or becoming fearful of speaking out against injustice in case they accidentally put their support behind an organization that might not share every single one of their values. I would also push back on your points about abortion and interracial violence. I don’t think it’s fair to find one organization with a focus on ending racism in policing and get upset that they aren’t addressing how racism manifests itself in other ways in our country. There are organizations that are focusing on the disparity of adequate health care in black communities and racism in the health care industry. “Black on Black crime” is a topic that comes up over and over in conversations about race in America. Both of these things point to larger systemic issues in our system. Furthermore, just to emphasize my point, if those two topics are important to you would it not have been better to write a full post about those instead of this post denouncing an organization with an anti-racist goal? You mentioned in another post on the topic that you don’t believe America can be inherently racist because that implies that America has no chance of ever changing. I appreciate the faith that you have in our ability to change as a nation, and I was hoping that further posts on the topic might explore that further! Please don’t take my comments as an attack in any form. I don’t disagree that everyone should take the time to discern if the organization they are putting their money/support behind is a worthy one. I am just concerned that this post focuses too heavily on what the movement is doing wrong and not how people of your faith can contribute and join in without compromising their beliefs and morals.
The website says that “All Black lives matter.” Why should that not include the death of millions of black babies and thousands of black people dead in the street? What I’m concerned about is supporting an organization that pushes a dangerous agenda just because we don’t want to be labeled a racist. We can certainly support black lives and fight against injustice without supporting an organization that promotes a dangerous ideology. I make it very clear that there is a difference in supporting black lives as opposed to the organization BLM. If the website, in fact, said that their clear focus was on ending police brutality, then fine. Be that organization. However, what you find is that is clearly NOT what they are only about. In fact, that has very little to do with what they say at all. Which is why I say it’s clever. They get you to buy in and support them with something that is easy to support–ending police brutality–but then you come away giving money to an organization who has a lot more on their plate than just police brutality.