While in a small village in the beautiful coastal city of San Pedro, Cote D’Ivoire, I was taken aback by all the beauty I saw in all the people of the village. Their deep chocolate skin was kissed so sweetly by the sun and their smiles ever so glistened as they beamed with an immense amount of joy and happiness. I was reminded so much of the beauty I see in my people half way across the world in the United States. The beauty that emerges from Black Americans who have faced centuries of scrutiny and oppression and who still against all odds continue to shine so brightly…All of these enjoyment in the moment quickly faded as we began to show a film about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. While the story itself is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard….something was just not right about this portrayal of the Messiah’s life. On the screen was the face of a Jesus who time and time again Hollywood and media alike have been trying to depict as the “face” of Jesus. This portrayal is no other than a blonde haired, blue eyed, white Jesus. A Jesus that for centuries has contributed to the white washing of Christianity and caused many black and brown people to feel a disconnect to the most high. I watched this story play out on the projection while I watched the beautiful black faces watch the screen. I was then reminded of how I myself have often times felt a disconnect to The Creator because of this image. An image that makes it so hard for me to relate to. It’s no secret that white Europeans and white Americans alike have been the cause of so much hurt, genocide, and destruction to black and brown people all over the world. Ironically so, it’s confusing whenever I, as a black women see this same face portrayed as the one who has brought the most immense amount of love that our world has ever seen. While, I am not saying that white faces in general bring evil or animosity…it’s the fact that this same depiction of Jesus is first and foremost inaccurate and secondly has been used as a way to control black and brown people for centuries…..
This is not a depiction of the Jesus that I know. And while I know this, still there are times where I feel like he doesn’t understand me and can’t get me whenever all I see when I think of him is this inaccurate representation of who he was. While bringing this to The Most High….I was reminded how Jesus not only knows me and understands me but lived a life of such pain and heartache that it somewhat resembles that of black Americans throughout time. The Lord reminded me of a poem I once heard that wrote, “Jesus died the blackest way possible, with his hands up, with his mother watching crying at his feet, while he’s hanging from a tree.” In this moment Jesus reminded me of how he in fact gets me like no one else can. The Holy Spirit then continued to speak to me through art. He gave me a vision of himself being lynched from a tree at the cross…He then gave me the lyrics to Billie Holiday’s iconic song, Strange Fruit. I am not saying all this to continue the debate of what Jesus might have looked like or say he was a black man like we know today, but to encourage my fellow kinfolk of color that Jesus Christ understands you. He sees you! He knows every bit of your struggle! He weeps when you weep and wants nothing more for you to find comfort in him. You are not alone.
Peace and Blessings,
K.L.M.
