On January 22, 2021, America lost a legend, Hammering Hank Aaron. Hank Aaron is a baseball legend and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. In addition to setting a career record for home runs (755), Aaron also had the most runs batted in (2,297), most extra-base hits (1,477), and total bases (6,856). Hammering Hank was selected to 25 All-Star Games, the most all-time. Nothing short of a fantastic career and a hero to many.
“I’m not trying to make anyone forget the Babe, but only to remember Hank Aaron.” ~ Hank Aaron
Hank Aaron stood for social justice and wasn’t afraid to speak up:
“We didn’t get to where we are today because we sat back and kept our mouths closed or scratched our heads or sat and didn’t do anything,” “I think if you have an opinion, you should voice your opinion. And if you voice your opinion, then let people know that it’s your opinion and you’re not speaking for anybody else.” ~ Hank Aaron
Hank was a first-class athlete and a first-class human being. Because of the color of his skin, his life wasn’t easy. When Hank (a black man) broke Babe Ruth’s (a white man) home run record, many white people were outraged. Hank and his family lived under constant harassment and received many death threats.
“It really made me see for the first time a clear picture of what this country is about. My kids had to live like they were in prison because of kidnap threats, and I had to live like a pig in a slaughter camp. I had to duck. I had to go out the back door of the ballparks. I had to have a police escort with me all the time. I was getting threatening letters every single day. All of these things have put a bad taste in my mouth, and it won’t go away. They carved a piece of my heart away.” ~ Hank Aaron
The reality is racism is alive and well in America. If a legend like Hank Aaron experienced this kind of hate and oppression during his life, then imagine what ordinary everyday people of color have experienced their entire lives. We have come along way since the Civil Rights Movement. As little as sixty years ago, who would have ever thought a person of color would be the President of the United States of America, but yet it happened. Now we have the first female ever to be elected as the Vice President of the United States of America. Still, we have the first female person of color to become the United States of America’s Vice President in Kamala Harris.
By the year 2050, white people will no longer be the majority demographic in America. One out of three people will be Hispanic. If you are white, does this reality frighten you? If so, why? Especially if you presuppose that we are all created in the image of God, and we are all God’s kids. It’s a huge disconnect to say you love the Lord your God from your whole heart and your whole soul and your whole mind and your whole strength and still despise and dehumanize people who don’t look and live like you.
Lord, I have many ugly isms and phobias embedded in my heart. I didn’t ask for them, but yet they are there. Please remove anything in my character that prevents me from loving and treating everyone equally. I thank you for the life of Hank Aaron and the legacy he left behind for America. I know his soul will be with You in eternity. Lord, help America heal from her transgressions and become a beacon of light to other countries for what is possible when a nation puts its will in line with Yours. A nation committed to justice, righteousness, and shalom. In Your Spirit and Name, I pray these things. Amen.
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