There is a deleted scene in the show The Office in which Michael Scott walks into the conference room the day Barak Obama was inaugurated and tells Darryl and Stanley, the two Black employees, that since we have a Black president now, racism was officially dead.

This is a comedic moment, not because it is so absurd but because it rings true to life. I have lost count of the number of white folks who have told me that racism can’t possibly still exist in this country any longer, citing the election of a Black man as evidence.

But those of us who live in darker skins, who have accents, who immigrated from “third world” countries, who are clearly not white…we know racism and racial strife are far from dead in the USA.

We live it.

We experience it not just from people around us in outright harmful comments or unintended microaggressions that still cut deeply but also from systems set up to benefit a group over others.

So many of us choose to be vocal, to speak up, to tell our stories, and to invite those who do not experience racism daily into consciousness, which is the first step in any anti-racist journey.

Because we know it will take all of us to make changes and move towards a more racially just world.

Racial justice conversations should happen around every kitchen table, regardless of how racial issues affect the participants. But it is a conversation that can be approached from many different angles. Depending on who you are, your personality, background, ethnicity, profession, and sphere of influence, this conversation will take you down a different path.

Finding the one that suits you best is key to being an effective advocate.

For this month’s theme, we were challenged to think about how God equipped us to be part of the racial justice conversation with a clear voice. What unique superpower we were given.

I pondered this for a while and realized a few things:

I am a teacher by profession and vocation. I have a higher degree, and I’m pursuing a terminal one. My schooling trained me to do research thoughtfully and to investigate and dig into confusing and contradictory information to separate the biases and opinions from the facts and the truth.

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

James Baldwin

I also love history, and I believe it is vital to our understanding of the present. So, I tend to use my education on synthesizing complex information to make connections, explain the intersection between historical events and our modern reality, and analyze current events and their significance.

And I have a modest gift for writing and explaining what I have learned in ways that make sense to others who may feel overwhelmed by all the content thrown at them on social media and the news.

This is my passion, so I make the time.

Looking at it all, I believe my unique superpower is bringing awareness and educating others.

My goal is to be bold but, fair-minded, and trustworthy so people know I do my due diligence and they can believe what I say.

When it comes to the racial justice conversation, what I post on social media is guided by two quotes I live by:

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (George Santayana)

and

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” (James Baldwin).

Because the present is built on the foundation of the past and we carry the past with us to the present. So, we need to know and understand it to keep the good, improve the bad, and reject the ugly. And we need to realize how what is happening right now directly relates to what happened then.

That’s what I do. That is my clear contribution to the work of racial reconciliation and racial justice in this world: articulately, accurately, and unashamedly.

But each of us has a unique God-given ability that can propel us to make a difference for racial reconciliation and racial justice in our spheres of influence.

Perhaps you can enact change through boots-on-the-ground activism through your professional environment or an organization fostering racial equity.

Perhaps you are a prophetic voice among your friends and family on social media, speaking boldly and consistently about these issues.

Or perhaps you build personal relationships that lead to transforming conversations around a cup of coffee in their own time, with patience and persistence.

There is no one-size-fits-all model for engaging in these conversations. But I believe with all my heart that nobody is off the hook when it comes to having them.

We belong to each other, interconnected in our humanity, imago deo all of us.

What happens to you happens to me.

Find your superpower and use it to dismantle racism and change the world.