This past month, protests and riots have been breaking out in Minnesota and across the world after the death of George Floyd. Groups such as Black Lives Matter have taken action to seek justice for the death of George Floyd and others who have been killed mercilessly by police. As a church, what should we do in issues of injustice in America? Should we unite with the world in protesting against racial injustice against blacks? I want to move on now and talk about Black Lives Matter to help you better understand who they are.
The Black Lives Matter movement was founded in 2013 in response to Trayvon Martin’s murderer. It’s also a global organization in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, and their mission is to do away with white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on black communities by the state and vigilantes. One fact that I would like to highlight about this movement is that it affirms the lives of black queer and transgender folk, disabled folk, undocumented folks with criminal records, women, and all lives along the gender scale.
Patrise Cullors
I introduce you to the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Movement, Patrise Cullors. She was born on June 20, 1983 and is an American artist who identifies herself as a queer activist. Cullors is married to Janaya Khan, who’s also one of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter. She’s also an activist, author, and amateur competitive boxer, and identifies herself as black, queer, and gender-nonconforming. Next, I want to point you to an interview from 2015 that Patrise Cullors had about Black Lives Matter that I want to point out to you.
The one thing that she said in this interview that stood out to me is that she and her fellow organizers are “trained marxists,” making it clear that the main foundation of this movement is Marxism, and what they promote in this movement is marxist ideology.
Marxism
What is marxism? It’s a social, political, and economic theory originated by Karl Marx, that focuses on the struggle between capitalists and the working class. Karl Marx was born in Trier, Germany where he studied law and philosophy at university. He was also a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, and socialist revolutionist. Marx was also an atheist from his childhood and was against religion. He believed that religion had certain practical functions in society that were similar to opium in a sick person, because it reduced people’s suffering and provided them with hope that gave them strength to carry on. Marx also viewed religion as harmful because it prevents people from seeing the class structure and oppression around them, thus religion can prevent the necessary revolution. I’m reminded of this quote from the Spirit of Prophecy, where Sister Ellen G. White says,
“At the same time anarchy is seeking to sweep away all law, not only divine, but human. The centralizing of wealth and power; the vast combinations for the enriching of the few at the expense of the many; the combinations of the poorer classes for the defense of their interests and claims; the spirit of unrest, of riot and bloodshed; the world-wide dissemination of the same teachings that led to the French Revolution—all are tending to involve the whole world in a struggle similar to that which convulsed France.” -{Education 228.2}
The reason why the Black Lives Matter movement is marxist is because one of the strategies they’re trying to fulfill is defunding the police. They have been planning to do this for three years and the organization has gotten a few democratic mayors to agree with them. Eventually, I believe the next thing they will try to do away with is the Bible because of how it was used and interpreted during slavery.
I am willing to be corrected but that’s my opinion, seeing how everything is being played out in Bible prophecy. Because of the police brutality that’s been taking place, they feel that defunding the police will solve the problem and as a result get justice. That’s one of the reasons we saw so much rioting and looting taking place in America and other countries across the world over the death of George Floyd.
Seeing events of police brutality is upsetting to me as an African-American. And as a Seventh-day Adventist believer, we shouldn’t unite or support a movement like Black Lives Matter because of their marxist agenda they are trying to fulfill and also for what they’re all about. As God’s end-time people, we shouldn’t get side-tracked by all these events we see happening, from the Coronavirus to the racial tensions in America. God’s word says,
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” (Matthew 24:7 KJV).
God’s word is coming to pass brothers and sisters, and we should view all these events through the lens of prophecy. Our work in these last days is to unite as a church body to finish the work in getting the Everlasting Gospel out across the world so Jesus can come and take us home. Let us remain faithful and get ready, get ready, get ready.
My name is Musa Nkosi. I’m a graduate of Jefferson Christian Academy and also a recent graduate of Southwestern Adventist University, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications. In the future I’m planning on either being a Bible Worker or a film producer.