迈克尔·A·奥巴马总统的讲话. 托马斯论种族主义和罪恶

Once again our hearts are heavy as we witness another unjust, 悲剧, 一个有色人种的无谓死亡. There is no need to ask why this happened, as if we don’t already know. 如果我们扪心自问，我们都知道. Hatred and violence—the sort that led to the death of George Floyd—are rooted in one of the deepest of human sins, 种族歧视. 每一个基督徒, as a devout follower of the Lord who loves each and every human being sacrificially, 必须谴责一切形式的种族主义, 无论是含蓄的还是明显的, 鬼鬼祟祟的, 轻蔑的或暴力的. We are called to love all our neighbors as ourselves; those with a different skin tone, 种族, 语言, 性别, 等. 包含在这个命令中. 因此, 作为基督徒和人类, we grieve deeply over the 悲剧 and senseless deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna泰勒, 埃里克·加纳, and so many others who have suffered indignity, 种族主义的创伤, and even death at the hands of bigots and racists.

欧文康考迪亚大学, 作为一所路德基督教大学, 谴责一切可怕形式的种族主义. We know that these deaths should move us to more than condemnation. 这需要我们国家采取行动, 状态, 城市, 校园, and most importantly in our individual interactions with each other. Some people have taken to protesting peacefully in the streets throughout the nation. 这是第一步, but one that has been undermined by others who have succumbed to more senseless violence, 破坏, 和抢劫. 而不是, we must look beyond the present moment to address the structural and institutional 种族歧视 that exists in our communities. Even the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately infected and killed people of color at a much higher rate due to the lack of accessible and affordable healthcare. Many of us are paralyzed about what we can do as individuals. 作为基督徒, we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves, yet 种族歧视 vehemently attacks that qualifier, “作为自己.”

At Concordia, we know that some of our students of color face incredible challenges. 仅仅庆祝多样性是不够的. We must build a community that endeavors to remove inequities and biases on 校园 and create safe and nurturing environments for all students, 尤其是对有色人种的学生. 但这具体意味着什么呢? 老实说，我也不确定. 我怎么能, 作为协和女神的主席, even start to understand what obstacles students of color face on our 校园? I have told myself over the years that I could empathize with students of different backgrounds other than my own, but now I realize that such a sentiment is utter foolishness. 我怎么能 understand what it is like to be a person of color in the United States? 然而, I am very willing to listen and learn from others who do know, those in our midst who have suffered from acts of 种族歧视. And I know there are many others on 校园 who want to do the same. While we might not understand or even be able to fully empathize, we know that many Concordia Irvine students and their families are hurting deeply right now. 我们可以理解. 作为基督徒和人类, we know what it means to hurt deeply and to feel sorrow well up in our bones. We’ll start with that aspect of our shared humanity… and we’ll listen intently and with vulnerability. 然后我们将根据共同的愿景采取行动.

本周我们将开始 大会堂系列. 明天下午, I and others administrators from 欧文康考迪亚大学 will meet virtually with two student groups, 黑人学生会 Nuestra称Voz秘鲁, 欧文康考迪亚大学's Hispanic Club. 目的? To listen intently to specific concerns and needs. We administrators will join ourselves to our students of color and work jointly on solutions that continue to address 种族歧视 on our 校园. 本周晚些时候, 欧文康考迪亚大学 athletes will join a 市政厅, and then Friday we’ll open the discussion up a little wider. 但这仅仅是个开始. I am committing to working with student leaders 在欧文的康考迪亚大学 to create a community where all feel welcomed and loved as individuals, just as Christ has called us to love one another sacrificially.

For many Christians, Sunday was the celebration of Pentecost. This Christian holiday commemorates the birth of the Church as Christ breathed the Holy Spirit upon his followers who in turn began proclaiming the gospel in the specific 语言 of all those gathered in Jerusalem from every part of the world. What is not 状态d explicitly is that each of these individuals—from places as disparate as Rome, 北非, 埃及, and the Middle East— represented each race and 种族 from antiquity. 教会, 就在那天, 不仅仅是犹太人的教会, 而是为了地球上的每一个民族. 作为一所路德教会大学, Concordia Irvine strives to welcome each and every student, 来自世界各个角落, 加入我们的学习社区. Where our Lord calls us all together in community, there is no room for bigotry or hatred.

Our heavy hearts grieve with the family of Mr. George Floyd over this senseless and wasteful death. Likewise we deeply mourn with the communities of color around our nation as they struggle with hatred and try to manage their fear over the coming days. May the Lord bring each community, family, and individual the peace that only Christ can give. We pray that the Lord will use every one of us to build Concordia University into a community where each and every person is welcomed and loved deeply and richly.

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虚拟市政厅

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