Juneteenth: Pursuing Love, Compassion & Justice

Juneteenth (also known as June 19th) 2021

Friends,

One year ago I wrote to you and shared some of my reflections on the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and too many others.

I wrote that letter a year ago on June 19 as a way to help recognize Juneteenth—an annual holiday celebrated for more than 150 years by the Black community to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. That idea and promise of freedom for the Black citizens of the United States continues to carry special resonance, especially as our nation continues to mourn the loss of Black lives that impacts our communities.

My colleague, Michael Nixon, vice president for Diversity & Inclusion, plans to share some additional thoughts on the meaning and purpose of Juneteenth in the context of the American story in an upcoming Divino post. Incidentally, Juneteenth this year also offers us the opportunity to recognize and reflect on this year’s 100-year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, whose effects and implications continue to ripple through history. I hope you’ll take the time to read Michael's message on the meanings and implications of Juneteenth and to reflect on its implications for our lives as God’s children.

As we reach Juneteenth this year, I want to again assure you that Andrews University is committed to stand against racism and remains fully committed to taking measurable steps toward an ethic of consistent and equitable love, compassion and justice. That means to always view and treat each other as God’s children, as true brothers and sisters who are ultimately and unquestionably worthy of respect, protection and care.

There have been some significant developments in the stories I shared a year ago, including those related to the killing of George Floyd, whose death galvanized last summer’s protests and inspired ongoing movements to challenge and seek to change how each one of us cares for and better protects one another, regardless of the other’s role and position in society.

As you know, Floyd’s death led to a trial this past April that captured the attention of the entire world. During that trial, Derek Chauvin, the policeman responsible for Floyd’s murder, was ultimately convicted of second- and third-degree murder and manslaughter charges.

The trial included some remarkable moments of bearing truthful witness as we seek justice.

First was the witness offered during the trial by Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo, who testified during the trial that Chauvin had breached regulations and showed disregard for police principles which call Chauvin and other officers to respect “the sanctity of life.” Chief Arradondo’s unusual and honest testimony is an important reminder of the power of a truthful witness.

The other was the remarkable story and witness of Darnella Frazier, a 17-year-old who was out shopping with her 9-year-old cousin the day George Floyd was killed. Floyd’s arrest was unfolding outside the store where Darnella went shopping with her young cousin, and as she stood outside that store on a Minneapolis sidewalk, she recorded the tragic last minutes of Floyd’s life and his ultimate death with an unwavering 10-minute cell phone video. It was that 10-minute video that galvanized protests, helped inspire continuing reform efforts in Congress, and was key evidence in Chauvin’s murder conviction.

A footnote to the story of that video came earlier this month when Frazier received a Pulitzer Prize for her video. That sort of international recognition of Frazier’s actions that day reflects the power and central importance of bearing witness wherever and whenever it’s most needed, regardless of your age, role or even what you may perceive as the limited power of your voice.

As I’ve noted earlier, those stories I shared with you a year ago are far from the only ones of racism, hatred and violence that have so often broken our hearts and troubled our souls over the last year.

If you’ve been reading some of the letters over the last year from Michael Nixon, you’ll have also read and thought more about ongoing acts of violence, racism and hatred against our Asian brothers and sisters during this COVID-19 year, as well as ongoing acts of hatred and violence against those in Muslim and Jewish communities. And, tragically, killings of unarmed individuals by police officers continued to inspire protests.

Even some of the issues surrounding the global COVID-19 pandemic itself have led to a disappointing array of stories that illustrate mistrust, hatred and sometimes even violence when we disagree with one another or with the safety protocols put in place by our government.

These are heartbreaking stories to hear, not just for the hateful acts themselves but also in how they relate to a growing culture where it’s easy to minimize the views of others while also relying on rhetoric that assumes the speaker’s reality is right, irrespective of evidence. These are challenges that not only impact the wider society, they are also reflected in our own communities and even within the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Throughout this last year, we have continued to encounter stories of racism, hatred and violence that continue to break our hearts and trouble our souls. Michael has also spoken out against ongoing acts of violence, racism and hatred against our Asian brothers and sisters during this COVID-19 year, actions that demonstrate attitudes and evil actions that darken our world and are far from God’s calling for His children.

Even some of the issues surrounding the global COVID-19 pandemic itself have led to a disappointing array of stories that illustrate mistrust, hatred and sometimes even violence when we disagree with one another or with the safety protocols put in place by our government.

These are heartbreaking stories to hear, not just for the hateful acts themselves but also in how they relate to a growing culture where it’s easy to minimize the views of others while also relying on rhetoric that assumes the speaker’s reality is right, irrespective of evidence. They are challenges that not only impact the wider society but are also reflected in our own communities and even within the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

That’s a tragedy, because I believe there is no better way for our community and our church to be disrupted from its ultimate mission than for us to spend time arguing over issues which are not related to our salvation and/or, worse still, to actively disparage the actions of others because we might not agree with something they do. In these situations, sometimes the “us” and “them” start breaking into smaller and smaller groups until “them” can be anyone who isn’t in alignment with our social and theological perspective. I think in these moments Jesus’ response to his disciples’ concern over those who were not part of them is exactly right: “for whoever is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40). How much more energy would we have if we spent time focusing on what mission we could achieve together rather than worrying about what someone else might be doing wrong.

What I’m trying to reflect on here is at the heart of our Andrews University mission statement and particularly its summary, “Seek Knowledge, Affirm Faith, Change the World.” If this mission matters, then what we do as individuals and a University should follow what God says—we should reason together, even wrestle with the complexity of different challenges and different perspectives together.

It’s that commitment to biblically driven knowledge and understanding that is behind Andrews University’s pledge to clearly stand against racism and hatred, to commit to being an anti-racist institution.

So, let me close by sharing some thoughts I shared with you a year ago but that are increasingly relevant in today’s world.

As World Changers committed to the possibility of a world dedicated to justice and equality, Andrews University once again makes the following institutional commitments to all of our campus community both here in Berrien Springs and around the world, commitments that are driven by the values of God’s Kingdom.

1. We will only be satisfied when Andrews University is a safe place for all, and we will keep working until we ultimately reach that end.
    
2. We commit to educating our Andrews University community on how to recognize their own unconscious bias and how to listen openly to others.
    
3. We will inspire our Andrews University World Changers to passionately model justice and equity in their own dealings and lead others with integrity, using power to uplift and inspire hope.
   
   In total we are fully committed to becoming a truly anti-racist institution. We are committed to seek a world influenced by God’s kingdom, a world where humility, compassion and care are central.

Once more, these are truths that are crucial to our operations and our lives as members of the Andrews University community. These truths are the faithful witness and power we must offer in response to the truly heartbreaking times we face in our world, challenging times that too often continue to be filled with anger and fear.

As a result, I’m convinced that we will greet moments like Juneteenth not only as a time to acknowledge and better understand the disappointment and challenges in the history that precedes us but also as a time to chart and inspire a path of hope forward for ourselves and our world.

I believe that the World Changers who continue to study and are inspired at Andrews University can and will articulate and pursue that path of hope and positive change for our entire world, a purpose clearly defined by our mission.

May God bless this journey as together we seek to impact a world that so desperately needs our faithful witness and which will be changed by pursuing God’s answers of equity, love, compassion and justice, now more than ever.

Andrea Luxton
President