What you are feeling is valid.

It is okay to be angry. It okay to be frustrated. It is okay to be saddened or even speechless. What you are feeling, right now – in this moment, is real. Don’t pretend to be okay, because you don’t have to. The burden of making sense of what is happening all around us is not yours to bear.

Yesterday, many of you experienced something new. The new thing you felt wasn’t the evils of police brutality. It wasn’t the shock of seeing black skin devalued and treated as disposable. No, it wasn’t that. Unfortunately, you have seen and experienced those things before. You’ve come up against racism before. You’ve endured discrimination. These headlines are your life’s experience.

What you felt yesterday was a tipping point.

That collective frustration that stirs a united spirit into meaningful action.

As Christ followers, systemic racism should well up these springs of righteous anger within us. Christ gives room for right discontent; he demands it from us. Nehemiah 5 reminds us of how God has emboldened the people He has called to stand up for each other.

Accept the encouragement and prayers of those who offer them.

Then ask of them what they intend to do about it.