By Sister Larretta Rivera-Williams, RSM
I cannot recall a time when I was afraid to live in the United States.
I remember the 1968 riots in Winston-Salem, but I was sheltered by family and naïveté. I remember riding the swings at the fair and feeling afraid as the speed increased; all I had to do was scream, and the ride would end. I walked away safely.
I remember the assassinations of Malcolm, John, Martin and Robert. Were they honored with cheers and respect at sporting events? Were they given the recognition they deserved by the National Football League?
I do not fear life when I am inside the convent, but then I recall the mass shootings — innocent children shot or bombed while attending church.
Is any place safe? What about the family members and friends who are too young to remember 9/11 — they have always lived in the age of terrorism. Only in recent years have they had to worry about the neighbor next door, police brutality, murder on public transportation, and blatant racism.
No longer silent. No longer silent are the racist slurs, the hateful rhetoric from public figures, the irrationality of government, the friend who has shown “their true colors.”
Are you like me — a professed Christian questioning what has happened to the nation’s moral fabric? Are you a white person who will stand at my side, offended by the way immigrants and people of color are treated? Are you concerned? Are you, like me, afraid?
If so, then we can no longer be silent.
Look around. It is no longer safe to be a person of color. Those are the immigrants ICE searches for — the brown and the black.
I have asked God why. Then I remember: God is always with us. “Thy will be done.” Have no fear.
God, help us. Shield us with your armor of protection — peace, hope, love.
North America is being turned upside down. The lining of integrity and the freedoms we once took for granted are being slowly eroded.
I have no formula to return us to the unity we once seemed to have. I only know this: we can no longer be silent.