Open Letter to the American Church: In Response to Donald Trump's Tweet on the Death of Edwin Jackson

To the American Church,

Enough is enough. I’ve had enough. Many God-fearing hard working people have had enough. Many people of all ethnicities have had enough. We have all had enough of the deceptive, divisive, disrupting, inhuman and inhumane rhetoric that is being echoed through the once most prestigious elected position in the world: The office of the President of the United States of America. Time and time again I have sat back a refused to address him personally because I realize that President Donald J. Trump is not the real issue. The ideology and factions that built, promote and encourage his linguistic ferocity are the real issue. Those who voted for him yet refuse to hold him and his accomplices accountable for his rhetoric and actions are the real issue. Those who sit in the corner in complicit silence while refusing to acknowledge the pain most black and brown people feel as we are constantly degraded and attacked are the real issue. There is a sickness in America that was originally birthed in 1619 that must be cut out like the wretched cancer that it is.  There is a heinous spirit that plagues the soul of America that has allowed for some of the most egregious crimes against humanity to happen with little to any restitution to those whom have been wronged.  I realize that I can not afford to silence myself because there is a voice God has given me that is necessary for this generation and I have not the time to waste with hopes that someone else will answer the call.  

I actively choose not to speak about individuals because it does no good to join in the fray in condemning a person’s actions in the heat of the moment or in the company of the angry.  Productive and relationship forming conversations happen when we listen to one another and seek to outdo one another in showing honor to our fellow man. Each person is made in the image of God therefore there is a level of respect I will give to any person regardless to what they have done or who they might be.  For me there is no exception to that rule because I know that I have myself been forgiven for my trespasses and sins.  

Yet that does not mean that it is not my duty to call out injustice when the powerful continually seek to victimize the poor and mitigate the pain that people of a lesser economic or social class might feel.  On February 4th 2018, I witnessed one of the most inhuman and unpresidential things I have ever witnessed and I was so deeply hurt that I was compelled to write:

On February 4, Edwin Jackson was killed in a tragic car accident at the age of 26 just weeks after wrapping up another season with the Indianapolis Colts.  Edwin Jackson was an Atlanta native and attended high school at Westlake High School and I have served in a ministry capacity at this high school.  A staff member of the ministry I serve with is the chaplain for the Atlanta Falcons football team and he, along with a police officer, was assigned with the laden opportunity to deliver the news to Edwin’s mother and family at a church at 9:00am on a Sunday morning.  As any person (except for one person in particular apparently) can imagine it is extremely difficult to hear that one’s child, brother or relative was killed in such an unfortunate way.  

What I expected from the President of the United States was empathy, understanding and grief at the loss of such a young life in such an unfortunate way. Perhaps even prayers and condolences for the driver of the other vehicle because the death of Edwin will likely torment them for the rest of their lives.  That pain may even feel unbearable for stretches of time but God is faithful to bring healing to us should we sincerely ask for it. 

Instead, what I heard was nothing short of disgusting, improper and truly repulsive.  I was in the middle of a meeting when a fellow staff person showed me the tweet that Donald Trump wrote in response to Edwin’s death and it reads: 

So disgraceful that a person illegally in our country killed @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson.  This is just one of the many such preventable tragedies.  We must get the Dems to get tough on the border, and with illegal immigration, FAST!

Despicable. If you are having trouble understanding as to why I was so utterly offended by this then please keep reading.

Edwin Jackson is a person. Edwin Jackson was a young man. Edwin Jackson was once a child with dreams, feelings, fears and hopes for a bright future like every child.  Edwin Jackson has a mother that loves him more than the beat of her own heart. Edwin Jackson has a younger brother who idolizes him and unashamedly proud of the young man Edwin has become.  Edwin Jackson was a friend to many people.  Edwin Jackson laughed, he cried, he blushed and he even embarrassed himself from time to time.  At 26 years old Edwin Jackson may have had more money than most folks his age but he still struggled with the same question all of us have in our mid-to-late twenties.  “How can I make a difference in the lives of the people I love and in the world?” Edwin Jackson was a young man with much promise and potential who had already substantially impacted the lives of so many people around the world. 

Yet the President of the United States of America saw it fit to minimize this young man and all of his feelings, fears and plans for the future that are no more and rather turn his death into a racist and partisan political message to serve as a martyr to rally the support for his base and his ‘America First’ political agenda.  I believe that if our nation took enough time to stop and truly think about what was being communicated by the President through the lens of humanity instead those of far-right conservative ‘America First’ politics they would be reeling in horror as the man selected to lead the free world is so willing to politicize the death of this young black king in order to galvanize support for his vision of America.  

I fervently condemn the intentional language used by President Donald Trump because it dehumanizes the importance and sacredness of human life by using it to embolden a political position built on the structure of racism and social exclusion of black and brown folks. Whether or not the driver of the other vehicle was an illegal immigrant is inconsequential in addressing the death of Edwin Jackson.  While the President later attempted to clean up his dereliction of empathy in his next tweet his thumb and his heart had already spoken.  It was clearly shown in his first tweet that he saw Edwin’s death as an opportunity to promote his own self-interest instead of using that as an opportunity to simply console Edwin’s family.  While the death of one young man in a car accident may not shake the entire world it has turned the lives of Edwin’s family upside down.  Those are the people who matter most in that moment.  Not this ‘America First’ political agenda that is built and substantiated by ‘white fear’ of black and brown foreigners who seek to rob ‘true patriots’ of their ability to hold gun and Bible close to heart.  

To the Jackson family: I, and other are with you and we are actively praying for you and your family.  If there is anything that I, or we, can do to support and love you during this time we are here.  

Sincerely,

Cameron Friend