To counter the Black Lives Matter movement, some clever white person created the slogan "All Lives Matter." At one level, this statement is true---all of us, black or white, were/are created in the image of God. But given the American historical record, "All Lives Matter" is at best a pious platitude and at worst a "deceitful slogan." (Jeremiah 7, CJB).
In reality, black lives have never mattered in all of American history. Blacks have routinely been crushed, humiliated, animalized, impoverished, enslaved and killed, even though they are created in the image of God. The BLM movement demands full respect and comprehensive justice, something neither the abolitionist movement nor the civil rights movement fully achieved, despite intense efforts.
Do all lives really matter? When people of privilege parrot "All Lives Matter," do they really mean it? Are they busy at doing Jubilee justice? Are they busy at repairing the world? Are the stopping systems of oppression? Are they releasing the oppressed? If not, they should keep their big mouths shut.
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