 Hello, friends. My name is Reverend Darrell Goodwin and I serve as the Executive Conference Minister of the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ. I'm here to invite you to walk alongside our conference staff as we lead you through a Good Friday experience, as we lead you through a reflection of the seven last sayings of Christ. Tonight we'll be an experience that might be new for you, it might be different for you, to take the words of Christ in this last and tragic scene where Jesus really as a political prisoner was murdered, murdered because he was unwilling to succumb to the status quo, murdered because he was willing to speak truth to power, murdered because he was willing to say that all people were indeed children of God and had a right to a free and abundant life. The same words that Jesus spoke on the night in which his life was taken mimics so many of the words that other lives in our current context, black and brown lives have uttered as their lives were also taken. Their lives were also taken because of things like racism and white supremacy and an understanding that because of who a person was created to be somehow a societal context said they were indeed less than. So we've been invited to say their names, to say the names of those who have been brutally taken away from us, but we've also been invited to contextualize the words of Jesus, the words of Jesus who spoke about the margins, the words of Jesus who spoke about drawing all those who've been pushed so brutally to the edges of our society and to yet again gather them in. Gather them in that we might be stretched, gather them in that we might be touched, gather them in that we might have a consciousness that the same relevant God of over 2,000 years ago is still speaking the same truth to power today. So as we listen to these reflections on the seven last sayings of Jesus tonight, I ask you to contextualize yourself, contextualize yourself in the seven last words of people in our contemporary society who should have still had the right to live in this moment. As you listen to the words that are offered by our staff and you hear the words of those taken so brutally too quickly, I invite you to say their name. Say their name that we might remember that we are still moving to a world where freedom can truly be for everyone, where love can truly be for everyone, where righteousness can truly rain down like rivers of fresh water for what has seemingly been our parched souls. Jesus remember me when you come into your Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom. Sean Bell said these words in response to a friend who held him after they were both shot by police officers. It was the early morning of Bell's wedding day and Bell had accidentally driven into another vehicle as he and friends drove home from his bachelor party at a Queen's nightclub. When they came to the place called the skull, they nailed Jesus to the cross there and the two criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Jesus said forgive them Abba for they know not what they do. As Jesus hung on the cross breathing his last breaths, he said forgive them for they know not what they do. Every time I hear this text I wonder who were the they that Jesus was interceding for was seeking forgiveness for? Was it the criminals that hung to his right and to his left? God forgive them. Was it pilot who washed his hands? Was it Herod who sealed the deal the crowds that shouted Barabbas? Who was Jesus seeking forgiveness for? The ones who knocked him down the ones that spit on his face the ones who whipped him stripped and nailed him. Jesus nailed him to the tree forgive them for they know not what they do. How did they not know what they were doing? Who Jesus was? Why Jesus was? What Jesus was? How did they not know that he was the Messiah come to set us free? I wonder, did they ever really know? Did they know when the curtain ripped in two and the sky turned black and Mary wept? Did they know then? Did they know then when it was too late? Do any of us really know what we do? Really know when we ignore, reject, hurt, forget, sin against? God live with ignorance so as to not feel regret. Do any of us really know the pain that is left from our words and our wounds? What ripples grow when we cast the first stone or the second or the fiftieth? Did undercover officer Ghissar D'Snora and the other officers who shot 55 bullets into Sean Bell's car know? Did they know that these three friends were out at a bachelor party celebrating Sean's wedding to be held the following day? Did they know that Sean Bell the one who was killed would leave behind a fiance named Nicole and two children Jada age three, Jordan just a few months old. Did they know that he was an athlete, loved baseball, loved his family? Did they know or didn't it matter that these friends did not have a weapon hidden in their car? Did they know that this young man's last words to his friend Joseph Guzman who had laid his body across Sean's to protect him were I love you too. Forgive them for they know not what they do. Maybe we all need Jesus to intercede on our behalf. Maybe we are a part of the they that Jesus was talking about because sometimes forgiveness is hard. It's hard to forgive others always hard to forgive ourselves. Hard to forgive others because we believe they had to know what they were doing had to know the impact of their words their wounds. Hard to forgive ourselves because because it's just hard how many times should we forgive they asked Jesus seven times? No Jesus replied not seven times we must forgive 70 times seven. We know the path of forgiveness is one we should be on and yet it is hard so hard. On the 10 year anniversary of Sean Bell's death Nicole Paltry Bell was asked have you forgiven the officers involved in the shooting and she said no I'm going to be honest with you I'm not going to sit here and sugarcoat anything I haven't and I feel like when it's necessary it will happen but right now we still see people losing their lives we see no one accepting the fact that they've done wrong and the justice system will not convict these officers each and every time there is an officer who walks away from killing an innocent person walking the path of forgiveness is hard and that is our work. We are the only ones who have the power over our choice to forgive and and we are the only ones who can choose to be awakened to know to understand and see the pain we cause the hurt left behind the privilege we are unwilling to admit oh god help us to know the evil we do and help us to stop stop stop before we do it again Jesus interceded for all of us when he breathed his last breath when he spoke his last words and we remember what he said the night before when he said this is my body broken for you this is my blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins forgive them for they know not what they do God forgive us when we know not what we do and God guide us to do only the good that you would have us do amen and amen Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes while Floyd was pinned face down on the ground in handcuffs Floyd was suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill we are called to follow Jesus all the way to the cross to Golgotha to the place of the skull which means we are called to search the deepest caverns of our hearts and ask how we to contribute to Jesus's crucifixion and the crucifixion of innocent people every day last year following George Floyd's murder a group of we local interfaith leaders came together in the town where I was serving to produce a message of lament and hope clergy person after clergy person spoke about standing in solidarity with the family of George Floyd based upon sacred teachings for love of neighbor but two of the African-American pastors among us said things like I hurt and I stand with brother George Floyd because I have sons some among us have a greater chance of ending up like George but a curious and important thing happened many of the clergy started to repent of their own sins of racism as they went down the line of the people who were lined up to speak they named that they wanted to make change starting with themselves back at Calvary the two criminals sentenced to death on either side of Jesus were equally guilty of their crimes but only one was willing to acknowledge who was innocent among them only one was willing to recognize and call Jesus Lord George Floyd was crucified by an officer of the law acting under the assumption that he was superior that he had the right to take a life he would pretend to be equal to Jesus based upon the color of his skin it is a narrative that is reinforced every day in our culture by our laws our heritage and even the images that hang and the sanctuaries of our churches of a white Jesus I as an Asian-American woman who grew up in the south carry my own racism despite my parents best intentions and raising the otherwise because I grew up steeped in the legacy of colonialism and plantation culture every day I have to be vigilant and choose differently from the narrative that those who were in charge wanted written into my relationships and my assumptions and my body which is to say who among us can say I am not guilty of the sins of judging another who among us can say I don't have work to do every year during lent growing up in the circular congregational church we sang the hymn ah holy Jesus the second verse used to stop me short when I was in high school and college who was the guilty who brought this upon you it is my trees and Jesus that has slain you and I dear Jesus I it was denied you I crucified you I used to wonder how did I crucify Jesus and I have grown into the answer that we all did and we all do because we are all imperfect remember Peter who never thought he would deny Jesus and then denied him three times in an effort to save his own life the only one who is blameless is Jesus himself in the same way George Floyd's death and all the deaths of black and brown bodies killed by systems of white supremacy are also things to which we need to confess because the subjugation of black and brown bodies and immigrant bodies is written into our societies it is a communal sin it's an original sin and dismantling it starts right here and I am starting with me will you join me for we indeed have been condemned justly for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds but this man has done nothing wrong if you mean it in your heart I invite you I invite you to say it with me Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom and Jesus replied truly I tell you today you will be with me in paradise amen I'm a Giudiello a guinean immigrant had returned from a mill and was standing in front of his new york city apartment building at about 12 40 a.m when four undercover police officers fired on him dozens of times hitting him with at least 19 bullets minutes earlier Diallo had left a voicemail for his mother excited about his plans to attend college and earn a computer science kin you are kin jesus says to his mother and beloved disciple as the breath leaves his body you who have borne me in body and spirit you who have journeyed with me in ministry and you who have shared with me my greatest hopes and my deepest fears you who have been flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone are now flesh and bone to each other you are kin jesus says to us this night as the breath leaves his body jesus who taught us to pray together thy kingdom come thy will be done you are kin not the way the world defines it but the way i define it i who am god's love and glory justice and grace embodied you are kin you sitting in your homes separated from community by a pandemic you worshiping alone because few in your circle are willing to face the emptiness of this night you who are weary and worried by the weight of life you who have known pain and disappointment and disconnection in family you who have been on a cross have wept at the foot of a cross have condemned another to a cross you kin this winter someone who was very important to me died unexpectedly he was sick but none of us including him knew just how sick but through his death kin were born earlier in life some of his family had disowned him for who he loved and how he lived despite this perhaps because of it he created kin wherever he went he found kin among colleagues and friends among neighbors and members of his extended drag community when he got sick he created a social media group to keep everyone updated and to receive the love and the care we could only provide in memes and memories in words of encouragement and prayer when he died that space became our sacred space and we became kin we shared the flesh of grief and the bone of love we shared the dna of joy and the blood of hope we shared the multi-generational bonds of mutuality and the family tree of inclusion and even though most of us will never ever meet we will always be kin on february fourth 1999 amadou diallo was standing outside his apartment in the Bronx when four police officers came upon him and before he could even speak fired 41 shots killing him instantly the NAACP president at the time Gracie Mufume called it excessive force at its worst crucifixion the spreading of smallpox among indigenous peoples chattel slavery cages for immigrant children misogyny police brutality against black bodies excessive force at its worst mom i'm going to college amadou exclaimed this to his mother the night before he died these would be the last words she heard him speak to her unlike mary katia adu diallo was not present at her son's death she heard those words over a telephone line across the atlantic ocean nevertheless she knelt at the foot of his cross and received them both as a lament and a commissioning woman here is your son here is your mother agony grief sorrow hope promise new life all spoken in those words mom i'm going to college so much hope and promise and on the other side of those 41 bullets so much grief and agony and sorrow and new life since then katia adu has accompanied other mothers like her including Gwen car the mother of eric garner in their grief and sorrow they have become kin she went on to create the amadou diallo foundation whose mission is to advocate for racial equity and promote education for students of african descent young people who dreams of college have become her kin these bonds of kinship carry on the long tradition of kinship in the african american community where the systematic separation of families began on slave ships and continues to this day in those bonds they share the flesh of grief and the bone of love they share the dna of joy and the blood of hope they share the multi-generational bonds of mutuality and the family tree of inclusion this kinship is stronger than all the death defying forces of our world excessive police force family disownment systems of oppression a global pandemic because it is flesh and bone of our savior whose very body is dying this night here is your mother here is your son mom i'm going to college flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone love one another as i have loved you amen we do not know the last words of leiline extravaganza cuba let polanco a transgender afro latinx woman who died at rikers island in a solitary confinement cell after staff failed to provide her with medical care that could have saved her life following an epileptic seizure video footage shows several employees laughing just outside her cell as she remained in medical crisis cuba let polanco was in jail because she could not afford the 500 dollar bill and about three o'clock jesus cried with a loud voice that is my god my god why have you forsaken me what a horrifying image already we know that jesus is thirsty there is no doubt the pain is excruciating perhaps the weight of his body is causing his flesh to rip in the areas where he is nailed to the cross and there is blood everywhere and finally it seems jesus can take no more he cries out my god my god why have you forsaken me now these are strong words to forsake someone is to abandon them it is to renounce them or to give them up to be forsaken is to journey into forgotten places my god my god why have you forsaken me now these words are a variation of a lament that we find in psalm 22 when a suffering righteous person cried out that psalm promises vindication and celebration and i have no doubt that in using this language jesus who was fully divine was pointing to the coming resurrection and god's victory over evil and yet this jesus on the cross was also fully human and i believe that as a human he felt the human emotions of abandonment and i wonder if leiline extravaganza cuba let polanco felt the same sense of forsakenness as she lied dying in her jail cell in solitary confinement on new york's rikers island on june 17 2019 i wonder if she felt abandoned when no one came to her aid as security guards and others peaked into her cell but failed to provide her with medical care when she suffered an epileptic seizure i wonder if in those moments leiline thought as though she was like jesus in her moment of greatest vulnerability on display for all to see i wonder if in the midst of the trauma and horror she was experiencing leiline found herself thinking my god my god why have you forsaken me like jesus leiline extravaganza cuba let polanco was an outsider jesus was a poor dark skinned revolutionary who challenged the establishment so much that he was considered an enemy of the state leiline was a 27 year old transgender afro latinx woman and her crucifixion began long before the day she died alone in a jail cell she succumbed ultimately to the deadly mix of anti-transgender bias racism and poverty like many transgender people leiline struggled to find and maintain adequate employment discrimination and other barriers disrupted her efforts to obtain further education to survive she used the only thing she had her body in 2017 she was arrested charged with prostitution and a low level drug crime now the courts mandated that leiline enrolled in a human trafficking diversion program not surprisingly as a person with so much instability and trauma in her life she missed one or more classes then on april 13th 2019 leiline was charged arrested with a misdemeanor assault charge her bail was set at $500 but a few days later a judge ordered her release but leiline never got to leave because she had not fulfilled the requirements of the diversion program her $500 bail remained and because she was poor leiline could not come up with the $500 for bail so she was sent to the rose m singer center for women on rikers island at one point a psychiatrist would not authorize solitary confinement for her because she suffered from epilepsy but although she had already suffered multiple seizures at the facility she was ultimately cleared for solitary confinement where she spent 17 hours alone in a cell each day policies state that inmates in solitary confinement are to be observed every 15 minutes but on the day of her death leiline was left alone for periods as long as 57 minutes and this is what the family's lawyer said about this by leaving her locked in a cell unmonitored the jail created the risk of leiline suffering a fatal seizure this is not a case of a mistake or a medical problem that slipped through the cracks this was a thought out decision to put a person in a situation where the risk of injury and death were obvious and known what are we to do with this the late dr james comb known as the father of black liberation theology referred to jesus as a first century lynchi and at core lynching is a violent punishment or execution without due process for real or alleged crimes and with that definition in mind i want to suggest that leiline extravaganza cuba let po anco was a 21st century lynchi sure we could focus on the jail where she died as the site of her lynching but leiline's alleged crime was far more than a misdemeanor prostitution or drug charge her crime was that she was born an afro latinx woman in a racist world her crime was that she was a transgender person in a world that does not fully embrace people who do not fit neatly into our gender categories her crime was that she was a poor person in a society in which poverty is seen as a personal and moral failure and for this she died and we are all implicated just as surely as we have stood by and sheared as she was hanged from a tree but we can be like the two women who watched as jesus was crucified then became the first witnesses to the resurrection as god defeated the power of death and demean and initiated resurrection for all we can witness the trend the resurrection by working truly working to end racism we can witness the resurrection by transforming the systems of justice in which people languish in jail for years without having been convicted of any crime simply because they are too poor to pay bail of a few hundred dollars a system in which as equal justice initiative founder brian stevensson says you are better off to be rich and guilty than poor and innocent we can witness by doing everything we can to end gender-based violence we can witness to the resurrection by ending our obsession with wealth and our current brand of capitalism and remembering that god created this world with enough for everyone and then getting busy to make sure everyone has enough of what god created that i believe is consistent with with the life and work of jesus it is i believe a fitting way to honor his death and in doing so we will demonstrate ourselves not as mere allies but as co-conspirators with leilain and others who have most certainly cried my god my god why have you forsaken me jesus remember las vegas police said they spotted byron williams riding his bicycle without a safety light at about 5 45 a.m on september 5th 2019 williams ran into an apartment complex then followed police orders to stop and fall to the ground williams said i can't breathe at least two dozen times while police laughed joked and continued to hold him face down with his hands cuffed behind his back jesus thirst is understandable he has been kept awake all night beaten tortured and publicly humiliated he is so weak that he cannot carry his cross by himself he has been physically restrained his body has been mutilated and he has propped up to die slowly in the heat of the day anyone would be thirsty but i find myself asking whether jesus thirst is about something more than water in the sermon on the mount matthew 5 6 jesus proclaims blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled the word we translate is righteousness could just as easily be translated justice and we could render this beatitude blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice for they will be filled it's important to note that jesus does not say blessed are those who want justice or who think justice is a good idea or who are willing to consider the possibility of justice jesus uses the words hunger and thirst he uses words that describe dominating biological necessities if we hunger all we can focus on is our hunger if we thirst all we can focus on is our thirst because we know and our bodies know deeply that we will not survive without water or food in the same way people of faith will not survive without justice and righteousness byron williams died while in the custody of the las vegas police department in september of 2019 his death was ruled a homicide byron williams last words were i can't breathe repeated at least five times oxygen is as necessary for life as food and water breathing is as necessary for life as eating and drinking perhaps we should rephrase the beatitude to read blessed are those who hunger and thirst and gasp for righteousness for justice for they shall be filled but they really we will only be filled if we commit ourselves to making righteousness and justice a reality for everyone and until that happens we will continue to hunger and thirst and gasp for justice sandra bland was found hanged in a jail cell in hemstead texas on july 13th 2015 three days earlier bland was stopped by a texas state trooper who accused bland of changing lanes without signaling when she moved over to let him pass as their exchange verbally escalated he dragged her from her vehicle and arrested her charging her with assaulting a police officer in a recorded phone call to a friend bland wondered aloud why she was arrested and jailed when we juxtaposed jesus crucifixion with sander bland's death we see many disturbing connections our gospels depict jesus death coming at the hands of the romans and certain religious leaders as they perceived him as a threat to their power and the structures upholding it consequently he was crucified to preserve their power and send a strong intimidating message to onlookers to stay in line yet jesus was not guilty of violating roman law in fact john and luke's gospels record pilot is saying that they found no case against him and thus his resulting crucifixion was way out of proportion to his situation the picture we have of jesus at the end is of a person betrayed alone a victim of fear and jealousy mocked misunderstood and humiliated on good friday darkness has its hour evil triumphs over good as an innocent peaceful loving good man is executed by the authorities but not just any man an outsider a palestinian jew not a roman he was not a real or true roman either in skin color or cultural or ethnic heritage jesus was a member of a minority community living under an oppressive power controlled by others different from him fast forward to sander bland a young african-american woman whose only crime was that she failed to turn to use her turn signal indeed she would say in a phone call just hours after she appeared in court where her bail was set at five thousand dollars i'm just still a little lost for words honestly at this whole process how did switching lanes with no signal turn into all of this i don't even know who was sander bland who was the woman represented by the hashtag judging by the hundreds who came to her funeral service at her home church to page african methodist episcopal church to mourn her death and the remarks that were delivered sander bland was much beloved a beloved daughter sister sorority sister friend co-working worker and a strong sister in christ relatives and friends eulogized her by recounting happy memories of sander's christian faith and activism church leaders remembered sander as a smart fourth right woman who once sang in the youth choir and had participated in the church's girl scout troop after graduating from college she returned to the page serving on church committees and befriending older members of the congregation one leader remembered her as an eager energetic educated christian who was excited about the future and who helped organize the church's recent women's day event sander bland's funeral celebrated her commitment to her sorority her involvement in church her musical skills her college degree from prayer of uanm and her social media posts critiquing race relations in america like jesus sander bland's life was snuffed out too early at 28 she had just landed a new job with her alma mater she was young smart talented energetic personable and committed to social activism in order to make the us a more just society she had so much ahead of her so much to contribute so much more blossoming to do and so sander bland's misdemeanor traffic violation led to her being verbally assaulted physically mistreated jailed isolated and within a few days mysteriously dead while in police custody like jesus her death was way out of proportion with her situation sander bland like jesus was an outsider relative to the dominant culture a member of a minority community living under a system that was controlled by others different from her as with jesus evil would not have sander bland blossoming and darkness would have its day like jesus she was a victim of a death dealing system that privileges some while oppressing others that uses violence to maintain itself and that stands in opposition to the god of life whether it be pharaohs egypt herids and pilots rome or our united states with its racism and white supremacy all our societies characterized by death dealing systems that violently slapped down any who challenged them in their power even as they try to bring life to all sharon cooper sander bland's sister once wrote my sister died because a police officer saw her as a threatening black woman rather than human black americans mere existence is perceived as such a threat to police officers that were consistently asked to pay for our freedom with our bodies and sometimes even with our blood throughout the ages in times of pain and distress the people of god have cried out how long oh lord how long as abel's blood cried out to the lord for justice from the ground so too sander bland's blood cries out for justice from the grave as the heber's cried out to you oh god at the slang of their children as you saw their misery as you fully knew their sufferings and delivered them dear lord so too hear the cries of your people in this land at this time see our misery especially the differing damage racism and white supremacy is doing to each of us know our various sufferings and deliver us from these evils as you oh lord were moved to pity by the groanings of the israelites in the time of the judges and delivered them from their oppression here our groanings and deliver us from the racist and white supremacist systems dealing death and oppression and infecting us in our country oh god we know that how we treat one another affects you for you have said through the prophet Jeremiah my joy is gone grief is upon me my heart is sick for the hurt of my poor people i am hurt i mourn and dismay has taken hold of me is there no balm and gilead is there no physician there why then has the health of my poor people not been restored oh that my head where a spring of water in my eyes a fountain of tears so that i might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people oh god you know our sufferings you know our pain you also are the balm that can soothe our deep wounds you are the physician who can heal us and guide us to wholeness you are the shepherd who can lead us safely through this darkest hour so we turn to you once again dear god and ask how long oh lord how long it is customary to end a good friday service in darkness and silence as we participate symbolically in the death of christ in keeping with this practice the screen will fade to black and the service will end following this final sermon jesus americ garner died on july 17 2014 after a new york city police officer placed him in a prohibited choke hold while arresting him in staten island garner was accused of selling individual cigarettes from a package garner repeated the phrase i can't breathe 11 times while multiple officers pinned him to the ground fiction is a long torturous and painful death crucifixion itself is not only the punishment for a crime but the process by which one dies fear crucifixion is also punishment it is a debilitating agonizing dehumanizing and humiliating way of dying a human body is nailed to wood that wooden structure is staked into the ground and the body hangs under the piercing heat rays of the sun for hours life slowly leaves the body of the one being crucified spectators are gathered around some are cheering some are looking in awe and wonder and some are gathered mourning and are in sorrow but they all gather and why the roman officials are also part of the own lookers making sure that the body remains on the cross until there is no longer any life assuring that the sentence of death is fully executed on the one presumed guilty in the hours that jesus hung on the cross in excruciating pain dying a slow death in what strength he had left he did occasionally speak tradition holds that his the last words spoken before his last breath taken were father into thy hands i commend my spirit after offering this final plea jesus breathed his last breath and the spirit of life left him the empire had indeed constricted his breath and obstructed his freedom to move and to breathe and the consequence was death nationalism has continued since that first century crucifixion to crucify and choke out the life of those they seek to minoritize marginalize and silence in 2014 eric garner suffered a public crucifixion eric garner an african-american male 43 years young just about 10 years older than jesus when jesus was crucified died at the hands of the new york police department the state's empire boasts as new york finest in fact the state of new york in the 19th century adopted as his nickname the empire state well the empire state's finest caused the death of eric garner via chokehold in a public spectacle mr garner was pursued by two police officers while walking down the street on a hot july day his alleged crime was selling cigarettes and cheap goods without legal permission because new york finest represent the state empire authority one officer executed the takedown of eric garner via a chokehold captured on a cell phone video the officer said that because mr garner was suspected in gauging in legal activity they approached him and ironically they themselves engaged in what is considered illegal activity as the new york police department had banned for more than two decades before this event the use of chokeholds chokeholds are defined as any police maneuver that puts any pressure to the throat or windpipe which may present prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air while the public gathered eric garner like jesus uttered what would be resounding and profound last words under the crucifying control of the new york police officers chokehold and while spectators gather eric garner crying with a desperate voice i can't breathe i can't breathe having said that 11 times he breathed his last breath and eventually died on this good friday while we are still witnessing the disproportionate victimizing and crucifying and choking out of the breath of life of those from black and brown communities how can we move forward from being complacent or complicit bystanders to being bringers of new life as agents of transformation we can do this by con by confessing on this good friday the last day of holy week by examining and confessing our sins that have been a chokehold to the liberation and the freedom of those in the embodiment of black and brown by confessing our sins that when we want to go out and believe and champion that we are in a post racial society i can't breathe by confessing the sin that's causing a chokehold of black and brown bodies when we see young african-american males with hoodies on that we cross over to the other side of the street because we immediately assume that they will bring harm i can't breathe when we as hiring officials look at the resumes of those from historically black colleges and university as less qualified than those who have graduated from predominantly white institutions i can't breathe when we set up structures that keep people impoverished when they we deny them adequate health care and adequate education and the tools in their communities to be productive citizens i can't breathe when we do not confess our sins of institutionalized racism or implicit bias when we don't recognize that just being in black and brown bodies and driving and being pulled over by those who swear to protect and serve