Why We Can't Sit: A Special Pastor W. Eric Croomes Comment.

In Why We Can't Wait, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. trumpeted the urgent need for immediate action against the forces of racial injustice, particularly in the context of those who were urging cautious restraint and to "pump the brakes", as Dr. King put it.

Similarly, as the nation recently watched in horror as two civilians were gunned down by masked armed ICE agents in Minnesota, we are faced with the same moral dilemma as our civil rights forebears.

This is a dark moment in our history. Our mission to declare the righteousness of Christ; dismantle the oppressive systems arrayed against the poor, the immigrant, and the disinherited, and to disciple change-agents for the kingdom of God cannot be overstated in this prophetic moment.

Today, I served in a high school classroom and was tasked to count the number of students planning to walk out of class in protest of ICE immigration raids. The students were mostly Latino, but several white, Black, and Asian students were supporting their efforts.

Across social media recently, I have read a distressing number of posts by my Black brothers and sisters, claiming this is not our fight, that Black people have no dog in the fight to deport millions of immigrants (at this point it appears not to matter whether they are US citizens or not!).

We should just stay home, sit down and mind our own communities.

Nothing could be further from the truth! It is indeed our fight.

First, we've been minding our communities since we've been in this country.

Second, the clock is being reversed on all rights, if not now - it’s coming down your street!

Observing these teens today, surrounded by their classmates from different stripes of ethnicity, I was reminded of the marches led by Dr. King and others, marches not comprised of just Blacks, but whites, Asians, Native Americans and more.

It has never been just about us. It has always been about all of us together standing against oppression.

Third, I believe God's plan for salvation is built on the presumption of human equality and dignity. In fact, I include such language in my personal mission statement!

No. This is our fight, too. The good news of salvation and hope is for all of God's people.

Isaiah writes, "The mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it." (Isaiah 2:2)

To suggest the current state of affairs in America is not our "business" is to go against Scripture, and it also marginalizes the actions our ancestors took in the struggle for peace and justice.

 In his ‘Letter From a Birmingham Jail’, Dr. King wrote “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

I suspect that those who are advocating withdrawal are motivated by fear and uncertainty. But I suggest that those qualities alone will be our undoing, if we give in to them.

I know this also: God is always on the side of peace and justice.

This is our prophetic moment.

Pastor C. can be reached at: info@pastorwericcroomes.com