The Human Race

Survival of the fittest and other terrible thoughts

What I long to see in my lifetime is that we humans can recognize the eternal value of all of us. I want to see people lose the dread of somehow losing the race, and take up the truth, that we are all human, equally eternal souls, equally valuable with an incalculable worth, and that we can help each other see it. Every day we can strive for the good of those we meet to finish with dignity, and recognize a win for one is a win for all. A defining human trait is that survival is not just for the fittest, and our worth is not about survival.

The following are images I've been carrying around with me since 2017, found in the EJI Equal Justice Calendar, these images sparked this thought, and serve as a reminder.

Ella Baker at the mic — Civil rights activist and organizer Ella Baker was one of many black women who played crucial roles in the fight for racial justice in America.

White boys waving racist signs and flags in front of a house — Teenage boys wave Confederate flags during a protest against school integration in Montgomery, Alabama, 1963.

On August 9, 1938, Otis Price, a 22-year-old black man, was lynched in Perry, Florida, for walking past a white farmer's home while the farmer's wife was bathing in an open doorway. A white mob seized him, slit his throat, riddled his body with bullets, and then left his corpse on the side of the road. In summer 2016, volunteers with EJI's Community Remembrance Project collected soil from the area where Mr. Price was killed. (Kirsten LeJoudis)

Police line in street, black boy sitting on curb — Daquan Green, 17, in Baltimore, Maryland, 2015.

Police in riot gear detaining woman in flowing black and white dress — Police detain Ieshia Evans during a protest against police brutality in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on July 9, 2016, days after police shot and killed Alton Sterling.

The Equal Justice Initiative is home to a yearly calendar "EJI Calendar") depicting the history of despicable events surrounding discrimination and animosity toward people of color. The history of injustice is not necessarily an indication of our future, but the reminder is powerful, when every day we can see just how many terrible things we've done as humans, running in this race, trying to get ahead by any means necessary.

I would like to remind us that there is a different way, and Jesus offers us to walk that narrow path together. At the end there's no winner, since we're all guilty of trechary and sin; no loser, since all are created in the image of God; just us and a glorious celebration, and everyone is invited. Your survival and your fitness is not a ticket to the Kingdom of God.