Lecrae faced an onslaught of criticism after he seemingly allowed white Atlanta pastor Louie Giglio to get away with essentially equating slavery to a “white blessing.” After enduring hours of negative comments on social media, the Christian-based rapper has issued a response.
On Tuesday (June 16), Lecrae shared a video to his Twitter account assuring his fans he “wasn’t OK with it.”
“Even as I sat there, I was very uncomfortable and I was processing on like, ‘Man, what do I say in light of this?'” he explained. “There’s been a lot times where as I’ve navigated white supremacy or racial injustice where I just been tryin’ to figure out, you know, where I wanted to lash out honestly in anger.
“And there’s other moments where I’ve been like, ‘Alright God, give me the grace and the wisdom on how to deal with this. In that moment, I was processing like, ‘Man, what do I do?'”
Lecrae says he ended up “having a conversation” with Giglio right after Sunday’s (June 14) discussion and on the evening of Monday (June 15).
“I let him know my views and my perspectives and obviously I wasn’t OK with it,” he continued. “We can’t just be virtue signaling and doing this because it’s the ‘in’ thing to do to talk about race on platforms. I didn’t have any ulterior motives other than to help and articulate some of what’s going on in our world and our culture.”
Lecrae Faces Twitter Backlash For Allowing White Pastor's 'White Blessing' Comment To Fly
He went on to thank the protestors on the front lines, especially Black women, while pointing out he would never concede to changing “white privilege” to “white blessing,” noting, “that’s a privilege in itself.”
Prior to the video, Lecrae offered another response via Twitter and agreed Giglio’s “choice of words wasn’t the best.”
“But I got his point,” he wrote. “Who’s putting their career, freedom, and life on the line…me. If anyone has a right to be upset it’s me. Grace and love lead me tho. He’s learning. He’s not shying away or silent tho. It’s a marathon. Not a sprint.”
Silence is a form of consent
It is true that sometimes silence can be a form of consent, but I don’t believe it’s always automatically true in every situation.
Martin Luther King also said, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” From what I’ve heard of Lecrae’s music (and I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t heard it all), he’s anything bu silent on issues of racism and injustice.
It does seem like he was (is) wrestling with how to use his platform to engage people in relational ways that will truly challenge them and lead to further dialogue, not in ways that will alienate people – which often ends a conversation before it even has a chance to start.
This is how a Christian responds.
1. Thanks for the criticism
2. Spoke to the person privately first ( not putting him on blast )
3. Didnt take his words with the assumption of hate.
4. Processed his response before clapping back.
5. Thanked his critics again.
Sometimes we have to think before we speak especially when it’s comes to religious belief. When in shock from words coming from a priest one may need to gather their thoughts first. Hell keeps an open door so all you have to do is walk in. The devil is always there to welcome you with a smile. In the heat of a moment ignorance is more likely to appear when sometimes silence speaks volume. What people expect and what’s true is two different things. I’m sure collecting his thoughts allowed his voice to be heard in a way that was way more powerful and beneficial for his people. Stop beating your own people every chance you get. It gives others the permission to do the same. United we stand, divided we fall.
order through chaos. using violence to get what you want.
The main point of the oppressors religion was to enslave your MIND. If you have KNOWLEDGE (meaning you know) then there’s no need for Faith(belief in unverified thought). I suggest you all go watch Dr. Ray Haggins and get your minds back. When you learn WHY, your SLAVE MASTERS gave you THEIR spiritual system, which was passed down to us from our illiterate ancestors,,,, you will began to innerstand why we are STILL lost. When you actually look at all the things you are expected to BE LIE ve as a Christian, any THINKING man will see the fallacies and falseness of it all. Now take THIS pill of truth.
I understand what the article is about, but the issue is not so much about how we respond to insanity, but understanding that a supposed “man of God glowing about his “white blessings” is insane. Imagine if I took all of the $#!t out of your apartment or home and three years later, when you finally caught up with me, I said that all of your stolen stuff was my “black blessings”, would you be as “understanding and logical” as all of these commenters below? Would you quote Dr. King then? I think not…