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I hope that the Black men who are quick to criticize Louie Giglio will also take a look at Lecrae and realize that a lot of y’all are one conversation, speaking engagement, platform, and Good Ole Boy invite from being him. Lecrae was the picture of Black men’s complicity.
The power dynamics in this situation are not lost on me. Lecrae was on that man’s stage at his invite. I get that y’all think that there are rules and decorum and stuff. But what was happening there was white supremacy and patriarchy.
I want to extend abundant grace to Lecrae for being put in a difficult spot. But as I extend grace to my brother for being oppressed right to his face, I also want to express frustration with a dynamic that I see among Black Christian Men.
Black men often sacrifice their prophetic voice for a chance to sit with white men. Instead of speaking to the powers that be, they nod their heads and give consent to the white man’s oppression instead of bringing the truth.
Black men get the privilege of political maneuvering, having private conversations, writing letters, sending texts and emails, and everything else when it comes to white men.
Black men will even repeat white men’s oppressivness back to them and validate it as truth instead of challenging it.
And I see this mess in Christian spaces all the time. Black men will not challenge white men who are authority figures out of some misguided sense of honor and propriety.
Y’all will straight up let somebody disrespect and dishonor you and everybody else because you want to “honor the house” or some such nonsense.
I just feel really disappointed and let down because I am so tired of seeing Black men be elevated in this conversation who fail to take the opportunity to ask hard questions and to speak truth to power.
And to be clear, I wasn’t expecting Lecrae to act a fool. But I was expecting him to say, “I get what you’re trying to do brother and this ain’t it. You are so concerned with white folks feeling bad about the word privilege that you’ve bone up with a teaching that is harmful...”
Some friends pointed out to me that Lecrae might not have the tools/range to do what needed to be. I’m willing to allow for that, but this is also why we need to 1) elevate more black voices 2) study and learn for ourselves 3) be willing to speak even if we don’t have clarity
I would much rather hear somebody say, “This is problematic. I don’t have all of the language for why this is so, but I feel a check in my spirit.”
Aaaaaanyway. There’s my two cents. Don’t spend it all in one place.
Actually let me say one more thing. I just listened to Lecrae’s explanation. I just want to say that even in light of the explanation, what I said stands. I know that it’s a lot to be onstage, to think about what the other person is saying at to respond. But we have to be ready.
This coulda been a learning and teaching moment instead of a PR nightmare.
