We Who Believe, We Keep Coming
Exactly one month before Sandra Bland’s death, I got a call to preach a Women’s Day Luncheon at DuPage AME Church (the church home of Sandra Bland) in Lisle, IL. As most Women’s Day events, I approached this invitation with great excitement because this day is one of the most celebrated events in the life of the congregation and I awaited a wonderful time of gathering with one of the largest AME churches in the Chicago metropolitan area. What was peculiar about this preaching assignment was that it was just three days after the shooting of the Charleston Nine in 2015, which shifted my entire sermon. I preached the Luke 18 narrative of the persistent widow or wise woman who petitioned the unrighteous judge incessantly with the plea “Grant me justice against my opponent” (Luke 18:3, NRSV).
The title of that sermon “We Who Believe, We Keep Coming” reminds me of the persistence of the faithful. With every odd stacked against her, this wise woman kept coming to the judge to petition for justice. This woman was not going, but she kept coming. Coming indicates an arrival in the flow of movement or progress. In the Spirt of Ella Baker, my petition to the multitude of grieving and justice-seeking women present was “we who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.”
Exactly one month later, I got the news that a 28-year old young woman named Sandra Bland from Chicago was violated by a police officer in Texas, arrested without just cause, taken to jail and found hung in a jail cell.
Bland’s story arrested me in ways no other narrative of police brutality had done before. The degrees of separation narrowed for me.
Sandra was 28. I was 28 in the summer of 2015.
Sandra was from Chicago. I am a native Chicagoan.
Sandra graduated from an HBCU. I am an HBCU graduate.
Sandra was a sorority girl active in Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated. I, too, belong to a Black Greek letter sorority.
Sandra was a millennial and a justice seeker of our time. I occupy space as a millennial preacher and intellectual activist.
Sandra was a woman of faith, a member of DuPage AME Church and we happened to be in the same room at that Women’s Day Luncheon a month before her death struggling with our response as “thinking women of faith” to activate amid the terrors of our time.
As we #SayHerName and remember the legacy of Sandra Bland I share this story for three reasons.
First, we do not always know who is in the room. But there is POWER in our midst. As we realize our individual voices, we make space for the collective sharing of power. It is possible that when and where we enter somebody has just what we need to continue the journey.
Second, the work of Justice is ongoing. It is not a one-time act or a one-person effort. Justice seekers today are here because of the countless freedom fighters who paved the way. Warrior women, like the Luke 18 woman and Sandra Bland, know the significance of our justice efforts may extend beyond our lifetime. The question is still, will the Lord find us faithful to the pursuit of justice?!?! I sure hope so. This is my prayer and the enduring challenge of my call.
Third, as a new Texas transplant by way of Chicago, Sandra Bland’s narrative comes back to me often as I walk, drive, and live in the deep South. All across our world there is meaningful work to do toward dismantling oppression at the crossways of race, gender, sexuality, class, and so forth. Often, the most liberative strategy of resistance for justice seekers is showing up. Keep believing and keep coming!
Check out this sermon audio “We Who Believe, We Keep Coming” here!
