My prayers and thoughts go out to the families whose lives have been shattered by the murder of their loved ones.  I feel very sad and appalled about what has happened in Charleston, South Carolina.  A 21 year old white man decided that he was better than 9 other human beings.  He decided that he could take the lives of 9 other people because of his apparent hatred of their color and what they represented to him.  It is a shame what we see in America today.

So many people spend a lot of energy denying that racism and prejudice in America is alive and very strong.  What kind of upbringing leads a 21 year old to shoot and kill 9 people who are attending a church service, having a time of prayer?  The more we deny the racism and prejudice in America, the more murders will occur as a result of it.  America needs a gut check!  America needs a reeducation about race and race relations.  America needs to confront the truth about its past, its apathy about the present, and strive to redirect its future towards harmony.  America and all of its citizens must lift a hand to dismantle the hatred rooted in racism and prejudice, which is so readily supported by privilege and entitlement.

“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.