'They've Had a Lot of Practice': What the Black Church Can Teach America About Forgiveness

The wrongful death of George Floyd is now seared into the consciousness of America. The cell phone video of the incident led to a moral explosion around the world and became the catalyst for seeming cultural change in the US. But racial reconciliation advocate David Bailey said it had been mounting. 

"Race relations in America always stays at a simmer and then as an incident comes in it takes it up to a boiling point but it's always there," Bailey said.

In this case, the boiling point closely followed the deaths of jogger Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, shot by Louisville, Kentucky Police serving a no-knock warrant.

Forgiveness: A Part of Any Ongoing Cultural Shift

Pastor Bill Haley's Coracle ministry focuses on spiritual development and action. He says forgiveness should be a part of any ongoing cultural shift, especially among Christians.

"I would like us to get to a place where white Americans are constantly asking for forgiveness from black Americans for what we've done and for what we do and for what we allow and sometimes what we even support," Haley said.

He's quick to point out, though, that unsolicited forgiveness has been a norm for black Americans. 

The Black Church & Forgiveness: "They've Had a Lot of Practice"

"In fact, I think the black church is the teacher for the country on what Jesus meant when he said to forgive other people," Haley said.  

"They've had a lot of practice."

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One of the biggest examples came last year in a Texas courtroom from a young man named Brandt Jean.

"I forgive you and I know that if you go to God and ask, He will forgive you," Jean said.

Those words came about a year after Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger killed his brother, Botham Jean, in his own apartment. After working a long shift, she had somehow mistaken Jean's apartment for hers and shot him because she said she was afraid.

Forgiveness That is "Ph.D.-Level Christianity"

Brandt Jean then went even further. 

"I love you just like anyone else," Jean said. "I don't even want you to go to jail."

Then he turned to the judge.

"I don't know if it's possible, but can I give her a hug, please? Please?" 

The judge consented and Jean and Guyger embraced.

"When we watched Brandt Jean offer forgiveness in that courtroom, we're watching God enter the room because forgiveness like that is not a human act," Haley said.

"Forgiveness is Ph.D. level Christianity because it's so very difficult. To be called to forgive means that something of value has been taken from you."

While Haley saw Brandt Jean's act as honorable, he understands why some were infuriated.

"Because black people are always being asked to forgive, and it's a lot to forgive," Haley said.

"I think too often, particularly in conservative Christian spaces, we can be very forgetful of the 500-year history of our country," Bailey said.

Bailey says an expectation for blacks to forgive goes back to slavery. On top of that, he says, justice isn't just.

"If the black man killed that white police officer because he got confused about where he was, that's not going to be a thing," Bailey said. "That brother is going to jail for the rest of his life, might get the electric chair."

In this case, the judge sentenced Guyger to 10 years in prison.

"It seems so hard to have a police officer suitably punished for an action that is egregious and clearly over the line," Haley said. "Ten years seems merciful."

Four officers have been charged in George Floyd's death, one of them with second-degree murder. A trial has yet to happen. 

The Challenge For Christians

For Christians, these situations present a challenge.

"When you're a Christian, it just adds a new level of complexity because you've got to see both the sin and the effects of sin, the consequences of sin," Bailey said. "But then you also have to see the opportunity for grace and forgiveness through God."

It's not something Marquis Jefferson was ready to do in October of last year. 

"I don't want no hug," Jefferson said.

An officer in Ft. Worth, Texas shot and killed his daughter, Atatiana Jefferson, in her own home while she played video games with her nephew. Soon after, her father made this declaration.

"That's my one and only daughter. I'll never forget this."

Sadly, Jefferson died just one month after his daughter was killed. He suffered a heart attack, literally dying from a broken heart. 

"Unforgiveness is not the answer, not showing grace is not the answer," Bailey said. "But exercising grace and exercising forgiveness without truth is also not the answer."

From a legal perspective, whether or not a person gives or receives the grace of forgiveness has nothing to do with how one is punished in most cases. It can, however, have an impact in the court of public opinion and more importantly in the eyes of God.

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