Reparatory justice and the Church

Jamaica is at a place in history when people are tired of a false sense of independence and emancipation. Successive governments have given lip service to moving towards becoming a republic. The Church, if ready to be an agent of liberation, may avail itself to support the call for reparatory justice and support the quest for a republican form of government.

We in Jamaican church spaces would do well to reflect deeply on these words from Yoel Omowale who honestly notes in Blackology, “You can sing ‘Break Every Chain’ in every key and in every church service until you are blue in the face. Until there is a strategic takedown of oppressive political and economic systems that hold the keys to certain chains, they will remain unmoved by the unified chorus of black lament. Too much injustice and victim silencing have occurred with biblical injunctions concerning black folk, which leaves me ambivalent about the tenability of conservative religious spaces for black radicalism and liberation in this nation.”

It is shocking to see how easy it is for us to placate angry people with prayers and comforting Bible verses, while ignoring action for liberation from mental slavery. Just like our ‘Independence and Emancipation’ the status of republic will really only make sense when we are independent, emancipated, and republican in our thinking and ways of being. While religion may provide agency for spirituality, it is not any more, a guarantee than, it is a guarantee that liking healthy nutritional choices will make you healthy. Liking and actually doing are two different things.

Who wants to see a Jamaica in which our best humanity is experienced and defined on the basis of how we treat the most vulnerable among us? Who wants to see a Jamaica in which state servants are accountable and subject to the highest standards of probity? Who wants a Jamaica in which a tribal approach to politics is no more?

I regret to admit that even in the Church, we often find agents of tribal politics. The Church has a wide reach in Jamaica. It is such a pity that it is dividedly so. Churches could make a valuable contribution to education around reparatory justice. There is an abundance of information from the Caricom Reparation Commission.

We must of necessity challenge those who committed crimes against humanity to make right and accept responsibility for the terrible atrocities committed against those stolen and enslaved. Today our people across the Caribbean continue to pay with their lives for the evils of the Transatlantic slave trade, native genocide, and racialised societies. Bible and song have been used to lull our people into an airy-fairy anticipation of pearly gates and golden streets in the next life.

This other-worldly type of theology truly becomes an opiate that only serves systems of injustice which thrive on the silenced voices of the masses. People become so focused on being saved to get a literal crown in glory, that they forget to even use their crowns of intellect and wisdom. People become preoccupied with denominational differences, that they fail to see how by being divided, they lack the capacity for nation building.

A church that fails to advocate for people lacks relevance. Salvation must also be inseparable from concerns around powerless, voiceless, jobless, hungry people right now. Eternal life must be about a quality of life inspired now by timeless values of compassion, peace, love, and justice.

Speaking of advocacy, those who would work for our ideal Jamaica, must unite around those things that they are able to work on together. An interesting feature of the Advocates Network is that members know that they do not have to fit into a monolithic presentation. The members have different views and perspectives. They cannot be stereotyped. There only interest is good governance, human rights and justice for all. They come from various walks of life, whether political, religious or neither. It is therefore not unusual for individuals to refrain from representing a matter which he or she finds inconsistent with a personal value or belief. And this is fine.

When it comes to the matter of reparations and a republican form of government, the Advocates Network is unswerving in this great vision for Jamaica. Will we in the Church be able to stand united for this great work and vision? We may fast, sing and pray, but let us be clear that we must also do the work of getting clear what kind of Jamaica we want, whether under a monarchical or republican system of government.

It is a safe place to be in when politicians are not condemning you, the way they are promoting ire against human rights groups and agents at this time. In which space are you or the Church right now? Is your platform available for giving voice to the oppressed and the vulnerable? What would Jesus do?