We are Black Presidents and Deans serving at schools of theology, departments of religion and African American Studies across the nation. Our co-signers include but are not limited to Black faculty and administrators who comprise the Black theological and religious intellectual thought-group of our time. We were raised and nurtured by Black men and women who had an unquenchable thirst for justice and liberation. Their ancestors bore on their shoulders the weight of oppression and carried in their hearts the hope of better lives for their progeny. This was a communal work. We understood - and even now understand - ourselves as members of a huge tribe of people who cared for our journey through this life. The survival and thriving of Black people in this nation and globally is our unapologetic commitment.
Black people are three times more likely to be killed by officers than are White people. In less than one month, our nation has been shaken by reports of the murders of three unarmed Black citizens of this country: Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. We mourn their deaths and the murders of so many more whose names we have uttered and those whose names we have not known to call. History has shown us that the rule of law is a luxury to white America and an ever-moving goalpost for Black and Brown people. This must end. Those of us who are committed to the Kin-dom of God and to the creation and thriving of the Beloved Community know that this reality cannot come to fruition in the absence of justice for Black people in the United States and around the world.