Racial injustice is an issue that must be addressed by people of faith, according to several local religious leaders who responded recently to the Aiken Standard’s questions about the death of George Floyd and its ramifications.
Even though the arrest and methods of restraint that were associated with Floyd’s fatality happened in Minnesota, the problems caused by inequality that it highlighted have been seen in other areas of the country recently and in the past.
The struggles of African Americans are far from over, many believe.
“A whole lot of people say that things are getting worse now,” said the Rev. Paul Bush. “But to be honest with you, from a black perspective … things really aren’t getting worse, they are only getting seen. They are now being videoed. They are now being recorded.”
Bush, an African American, is the president of the Concerned Ministers Fellowship and also is a past chair of the Aiken Chamber of Commerce.
In addition, the Aiken Standard spoke with the Rev. Westley Guyton and the Rev. Grant Wiseman.
Guyton, an African American, is the senior pastor of Randall Branch and Oakwood Baptist churches. Wiseman, who is white, is the rector of St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church.
“My personal reaction to it was that I just felt so hurt,” said Guyton of Floyd’s death.
It was difficult for Guyton to watch the videos that showed the final minutes of Floyd’s life while the knee of a white policeman pressed down on his neck.
“My goodness, I can’t really even put into words how I felt about it,” Guyton said. “He (Floyd) was down on the ground and pleading for his life, and they were like nonchalant, like he was a dog, not even a human being. I felt really traumatized by it.”
Aiken residents should not ignore what took place, Guyton believes.
“We need to be alert as to what is going on and not just be passing it off and thinking that, ‘OK, it’s not us,' because it is us,” Guyton said. “We have incidents in Aiken as well, but a lot of times we don’t hear about them.”
Asked for examples of injustice or inequality, Guyton mentioned the process involved in obtaining loans.
“When you go to banks and you fill out your application, they say we (African Americans) get the same interest and everything as everybody else, but I don’t believe that,” he said.
Guyton also expressed concern about the lack of businesses owned by African Americans along Laurens Street and in The Alley, which make up the center of Aiken’s downtown business district.
“I think it needs to be more open to the black community so they can establish businesses there and not be pushed aside,” said Guyton, who recalled that there were more African American-owned stores in that area when he was growing up.
Guyton also has noticed inequality locally in opportunities for health care and housing, especially for African Americans with low incomes.
“There are so many issues, I can’t even name them all,” Guyton said.
Both he and Bush agree that exercising the right to vote is one of the best ways to battle injustice and inequality.
South Carolina’s primary elections are set for June 9.
“I’m just hoping that everybody gets out and votes because we need to have people in office that are going to be concerned about everybody, not just about people of a certain color or a certain (economic) status,” Guyton said. “We need somebody who is going to bring their views to the table and not just be seen at election time. Once they get in office, they are going to be in contact with you, and their door is always going to be open as well.”
Bush considers voting to be the top way to effect change.
“The No. 1 word is vote,” he said. “We’ve got to register and vote. We have to make a difference in the polls. My advice to everybody who protests or marches or does a rally is that our words must line up with our actions. If we are as passionate as we are about this now, then we need to show that same passion in June and November (during the general election).”
Bush also would like to see Aiken leaders and businessmen stand against inequality with some impact financially.
It would involve adopting a pledge that states, “We will not allow bigotry and racism. We will be more cautious about and more conscientious of who we are hiring,” Bush said.
He added that there also should be “financial boycotts” of businesses where examples of “prejudice, bigotry, inequality or injustice” are found.
Wiseman agreed with Guyton and Bush about the importance of voting.
“I don’t care how you vote, vote,” Wiseman said. “Vote for those things that are morally correct and right. Ask our legislators to find ways to continue to lift people up rather than tearing them down.”
Describing his reaction to Floyd’s death and what has occurred afterward, Wiseman used the words crushed and angered.
“I am crushed that we are still at a point in this country’s life where that kind of thing (Floyd’s death) happens more often than it should,” Wiseman said. “I’m also angered by the way some people are so callously reacting in response to it on both sides. Yes, we should be protesting that someone like that died the way he did, and we should be standing up and expecting change. But I also think we shouldn’t be doing it in a violent way. I’m also angered that people are trying to use God and churches as a backdrop for saying and doing things that are antithetical to what the Scripture says.”
In Aiken, the response should be “to continue having conversations like they have had in the past several years,” Wiseman said. “With the Citizens Review Board and in other ways, (the Aiken Department of) Public Safety has gone out of their way to create a better relationship with all of the people of this city. Some good work has been done, but we’re not there yet.”
