race and the death penalty

Anyone who thinks racism is dead in our country needs only to look at the death penalty and our justice system as a whole. This photograph was taken by my friend Scott Langley at an execution in Austin, TX just a few years ago. Racism still takes many forms in our society, and the death penalty uncovers some serious problems with race in our justice system and our society as a whole.

With the ongoing debate over immigration reform and other hot topics, it is obvious that racism and discrimination still exist in our society and that as our society and culture change, the face of racism will change as well. Sure, it might not look like it did in the Jim Crow south, but it still exists, and I would argue, there are those who would love nothing more than to reinstate Jim Crow laws.

As Christians, we should be on the forefront of equality movements and denounce racism as it exists in our country today. Unfortunately, we as a church seem to be afraid to take bold stances in controversial times. I say it's time we got ourselves into a little trouble.