NORFOLK, Va., -- Bishop E.W. Jackson, former candidate for Lt. Governor of Virginia, is President of STAND (Staying True to America's National Destiny.) He has called for racial reconciliation instead of protests over the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
"Instead of burning the American flag and calling to shut down the country with a walkout," says the Bishop, "we need to be coming together around the vision of 'one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.'"
Jackson has expressed sympathy for Brown's family and regret that a young man's life has been cut short, but has opposed treating Michael Brown as a civil rights icon. "He committed a strong arm robbery of a convenience store and then wrestled with a police officer for his gun. We must acknowledge the truth: Michael Brown contributed to his own demise. Black folks are being exploited and manipulated by people like Al Sharpton who stoke fires and then return to their wealthy lives in the very country they condemn. It is absurd."
Bishop Jackson also has a message for Christians. "We should not be participants in lawlessness - burning flags, torching buildings, trying to shut down the country. Our young people need jobs. What good does it do to destroy your own community and cripple the American economy? We need to come together with people of good will to pray and work for healing in our country. We need to pray for the police officers as well as the young men who are often a danger to the community as well as the police. Instead of 'hands up, don't shoot,' we should be lifting our hands in prayer asking for God's grace to guide us and bring us together. That is what Dr. King would be doing. That is what we should be doing."
Bishop Jackson is organizing a coalition of clergy to hold a National Service of Reconciliation.
