I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:14 (NIV)
I’ve been struggling with how to support BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color’s) voices. I want to dialogue with their work in relation to our faith. I struggle, of course, because I am not part of the BIPOC community myself. I’m a middle-aged white guy. I’ve always had the microphone when I wanted it, always had an opportunity to speak my mind and be heard. When I operate in my own settings, in the churches of the Protestant mainline, I know I’ve had tremendous privileges.
We Have One Mouth, But Two Ears
I also don’t ever want anyone to think that I intend to speak FOR people of color about their experience. It’s not my place. It’s unjust to assume I know what it’s like to experience what they experience. Sometimes we need to just shut our mouths and open our ears if we’re going to hear voices of color in our culture.
Now I’m writing this as a part of my blog, so obviously, you’re stuck with my voice for this post. Hopefully I’ll lead us in a direction where we can also hear the voices of people of color in their work. In that hope, for the month of March I’m going to be celebrating the work of Chadwick Boseman once a week here on my blog. Each week I’ll lift up a different Chadwick Boseman film and I’ll provide links for you to see it. I’ll also describe how it has informed and expanded my faith in God.
42 FTW!
The film I’d like to begin with is called 42, and it’s a biographical piece about the life of Jackie Robinson, the pioneering player in American Baseball who broke through the color barrier and established black folks in baseball history.
It’s not a baseball move, in the sense that it’s not just about baseball plays or games. 42 is far more about relationships, justice, and how people learn to truly respect one another. Several times in this film Robinson has to choose to take the hard path, rather than the easy way out. He rises to the challenge again and again, in so doing, he provides a way for justice to ring out. I believe God blesses our efforts when we strive this way. And I believe that God has called for the blessing of all people, and not just for some.
Pressing On
Boseman was just 35 when he filmed 42 (he died at 43 years old of natural causes) but it catapulted his career in a very big way and led to a string of hit films. From 2013 to the year of his death in 2020, he starred in fourteen films! He chose roles that had impact and power, and in many of his films he is featured among casts filled with other people of color.
It’s a real gift to the world that he brought such intensity and hard work to his roles, and he reminds me that no matter how long we’re on this earth, we have time to make an impact. Some will do so quickly, as he did, but others will need time to work in to what God has in store for them. The point is that we press on, trying to do our best work in whatever time we have.
Next week I’ll focus on the film Marshall, another biopic, this time about Justice Thurgood Marshall. In the meantime, I hope you’ll consider seeing his performance in 42, and give some thought to early civil rights pioneers like Jackie Robinson, and what they had to go through just have a chance.
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