Black people despair that progress has stopped. A spirit of unity can bring us together

There is a feeling of gloom among Black people when it comes to racial progress in our country. It feels like the current level of racial discrimination, injustice, inequality and unrest in our country has reached an all-time high.

Lives lost because of police brutality and the murders of unarmed black men and women call out for change. We must step up to a higher level. Black people must achieve true equality.

Protests are still taking place across the nation because George Floyd and too many others have died in police custody. The call for racial justice and an end to police brutality is loud and emphatic.

We must pose this question: What is the likelihood of this country finally achieving racial equality? How long will it be before a change comes?

A few Sundays ago, in light of all the unrest about police brutality and murders, in light of the hurt, cries, pain and frustration related to the injustice that permeates our nation, I made an attempt to to grapple with the division in our country.

And so I preached a sermon entitled, “A Spirit of Equality.”

“Spirit” is defined as the qualities that make up the most essential elements of the character of a person, nation or group. It is expressed through the thoughts and attitudes of a particular period in time. People’s spirit reflects their most prominent mental or moral characteristics, or their role within a group or movement. It is a specific emotion or mood, especially one prevailing at a particular time — the quality of courage, energy, determination or assertiveness.

“Equality” is the state of being equal, especially in terms of status, rights and opportunities.

In these times, we need to develop a spirit of equality to prevail. We need an upgrade in our spirit. We need a shift in our spirit. We need a shift in our attitude. We need the mental or moral characteristics or roles in our groups or movements to reflect equality.

Social equality is a state of affairs in which all people have the same status in all respects possible, including civil rights, freedom of speech, property rights and access to goods and social services. The spirit of equality in status and opportunity requires that everybody be equal in both these regards. Governments must not discriminate on the basis of gender, caste, religion or geography.

Unity does not just happen. We have to work at it. Often, differences among people can lead to division. We need to learn to appreciate people who are different from us. Spend time together and see if you can learn to like others you didn’t know before.

When we develop a spirit of equality, old prejudices are forgotten. We must ignore inherited exclusive privileges or social distinctions of the past to foster genuine unity.

We need to work on promoting and fostering equality. We can’t continue to sit silent while stifling, unjust and damaging prejudices and hierarchies remain.

A spirit of equality means my me, my person matters. My life matters. My dreams matter. My hopes matter. There is no discrimination because of my color, my race, my sexuality, my culture, my status, my income or my address. We are all of equal status. A spirit of equality means my breath matters.

If I can’t breathe, you can’t breathe. If I’m down, you’re down. If I’m up, you’re up. If I hurt, you hurt.

A spirit of equality means we are one in spirit. When we develop a spirit of equality, we all will rise up together.

Rev. Dr. Faith A. Allen is pastor of Jamison Memorial Temple Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Kansas City.

This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 5:00 AM.