Sunday, January 9, 2022

The Real Controversy

When asked whether his painting features an image of Jesus or George Floyd, the artist answers “Yes.” It brims with the biblical proclamation that the risen Christ will be found in those that society considers “the least.” Meanwhile, Mary recovers her original skin tone and looks at us with eyes that wonder whether we will respond to the injustice—or just move on. Mary bears witness with Ella Baker that true freedom will not come until the killing of Black men, Black mother’s sons, is as important as the killing of white men, white mother’s sons.  

 The icon was hanging from the wall at Catholic University in D.C.—until it was stolen. Twice. It became a controversy when conservative news outlets scorned it and recruited folks to sign a petition to remove it. The real controversy is that Jesus and George Floyd were both crucified by agents of the state hired to protect and serve powerful elites in an unjust society. Jesus and George Floyd were both considered criminals, but I believe the Roman soldier at the foot of the cross spoke for them both: “Truly, this man was innocent.”

No comments:

Post a Comment