Allies for healing and transformation

I could only watch a little bit of the video of the brutal killing of Tyre Nichols before I had to turn it off. I had seen enough. My heart broke and my stomach turned for that young man who suffered a horrible death. It is hard to understand what was going on in the minds of those officers.  They beat him as if they had a score to settle with him, or as if they were seeking revenge. I cannot understand such cruelty and violence.

My heart is sick for my parishioners at Immaculate Conception Church in Scotlandville. They share with me their pain, hurt, sadness, anger and fear. I cannot possibly know the depth of their pain.  I have not had the same experiences as they have had. My parents did not have to have the “talk” with me.  I grew up thinking that a police officer was my friend and would help me if I were in trouble.
I truly regret that all the progress, albeit baby steps, which has been made in healing relations between the police and community will be undone and go back to point zero again.  My goddaughter and her husband live in Los Angeles and are trying to make their way into television.  They recently participated in a show with parents, sharing about their parenting experiences.
Hashim shared how difficult it is raising his Black children in this world. He related so movingly how he was walking with his six-year-old daughter.  A police car drove by them.  His daughter grabbed his hand and stood in front of him as if to protect him. He was in tears as he shared this story.
Even though, I cannot personally know firsthand the feelings of my Black parishioners, I desire with all my heart to be a White ally. I desire to support, to accompany and to work for change together.
I ask my White Catholic brothers and sisters to join me in being an ally. Let us embrace our Black Catholic community which is an integral part of our Diocese of Baton Rouge as brothers and sisters.  I encourage you to find a way to learn more about the richness and the holiness of Black Catholic history and culture. I invite you to come and worship with us at Immaculate Conception Church in Scotlandville and at any of the other historically Black churches in the diocese.  You will be very welcome.
Consider something you can do. I always tell my parishioners, “Everybody can’t do everything, but everybody can do something.”  What is your something? Can you write to your elected officials, asking them to support criminal justice reform so that a young Black man like Tyre will not die again?  Can you reach out to co-workers of another race or ethnicity and learn from them and their experiences? Can you participate in a Black History Month program?
Let me tell you one simple thing we can all do in our parishes.  Ask in your parish if the congregation can pray together the Diocesan Prayer for Racial Harmony a couple of times during the month of February and beyond, maybe monthly. Continue to pray it on your own.  It is a simple thing, but it is a concrete way of being in solidarity with our brothers 

and sisters in Christ.

The virtue of solidarity challenges us to see another’s problems as our own, to see the suffering of another as our own, to see their hunger and thirst for justice as our own.  I know it would mean a great deal to the Black Catholic community to know that people were praying for racial healing and transformation all over the diocese.

Father Clark is the pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Baton Rouge.