When I was a kid I thought of Jesus as my personal superhero. \u00a0My maternal grandmother Emogene gave me a children\u2019s bible\u2014filled with colorful pictures depicting the works of Jesus. I loved that book and the promise that it held. \u00a0\u00a0I likened its gospel message to a comic book filled with villains, action, and Jesus as the Saviour with the mysterious powers. He walked on water, fed the masses, healed the sick, and stood up to the bullies. And the most exciting part of the Good News message was that I too could grow up to be just like Him.\u00a0 for Jesus said, \u201cVery truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these,… .\u201d (John 14:12 NRSV).<\/p>\n
It was Jesus, along with the Super Friends, Davey and Goliath that were all part of part of my imaginative childhood faith formation that good and God could conquer evil. This was the 1970s and unfortunately, Saturday morning cartoons didn\u2019t feature many examples of racial diversity.\u00a0 However, I enjoyed Davey and Goliath because 1)\u00a0 he was Lutheran and 2) he had friendships with Jonathan Reed and Cisco both people of color. The mission of the all-white main cast of Super Friends ( Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Robin and Aquaman), each with their unique powers, was to fight injustice, to right that which was wrong and to serve all humankind. Who wouldn\u2019t want friends like these?<\/p>\n
This week, Starbucks the American coffee company chain was pulled into the national spotlight, when a store manager in the Center City section of Philadelphia, refused restroom access to a black man because he hadn\u2019t made a purchase. \u00a0Starbucks store guests, Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson both 23-year-old black males arrived at the Starbucks for a professional business meeting with a local real estate developer Andrew Yaffe. \u00a0\u00a0After denying access to the restroom, the store manager called 911. Police officers responded by arresting the two men for trespassing and escorting them away in handcuffs. The treatment of the two men ignited protests and a sit-in at the establishment. Subsequently, the charges against the men were dropped; the manager was removed as an employee from the location; an apology was issued from the Philadelphia Police Commissioner and a personal apology from Starbuck\u2019s CEO Kevin Johnson; followed by a commitment to educate its employees on implicit racial-bias across 8,000 stores. Implicit racial bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.\u00a0 The goal of the training is to promote conscious inclusion and prevent discrimination within and across the organization.<\/p>\n
At the heart of this story for me is Melissa DePino\u2014a 50 years old white female that videoed and posted the incident on Twitter. Although the story isn\u2019t about Melissa DePino –it is about what she did in the moment. DePino wasn\u2019t just a bystander while two people of color were handcuffed and humiliated –she used her very human powers to be an upstander. To view the video click pic.twitter.com\/0U4Pzs55Ci<\/a>.<\/p>\n @Starbucks<\/a> The police were called because these men hadn\u2019t ordered anything. They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why it\u2019s never happened to us when we do the same thing. pic.twitter.com\/0U4Pzs55Ci<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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