Princess Jones.

(OPINION) As we reached the 100,000 mark of lives lost to COVID-19 in America, another tragedy happened, or should I say tragedies. Their names were Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, all black Americans that were killed unjustly. As a black woman, these names and faces were scarred in my head. As my heart broke for the injustice and the brokenness, I did something I’d never done before: I attended a protest.

There have been many protests held to support victims and condemn police brutality. However, I never went because it seems so many other agendas had overtaken the protest. It’s like a “Wizard of Oz” moment when Dorothy finally pushes the curtain back, and she finds nothing but tricks from an old man. That’s how I felt with the previous Black Lives Matter protests (among other movements) that promised justice and upholding good. But the minute you pull back the curtain all you found was revenge, anger and bitterness, all things that aren’t helpful to unite the nation.

So today I went out on a prayer march. There was a guy with a bullhorn; he was shouting, “We come in peace!”

I saw people of many colors, smiling, holding signs, passing out masks, flowers, water.

I felt wary of the free water. Why, I thought? Was it because of the people who were passing them out?

I wasn't sure if I could trust them. I smiled back, and took the flowers, saying thank you.

I looked around some more, there were chants.

Chants of names I recognized, but all for such sad reasons.

Jesus.

I said His name as I said their names.

George Floyd.

Ahmaud Arbery.

Breonna Taylor.

That was just the beginning.

What Do We Want?! PEACE!

On June 2, as many gathered to protest in Brooklyn, so did the Christians for a prayerful protest. As my friend and I walked closer to the starting point, I was worried for many reasons. I was concerned that I would get mixed with a crowd that was focused on rage, as well as get too close to the 8 p.m. curfew New York City had implemented.

Before we began, James T. Roberson III, the leading pastor at Bridge Church NYC, reminded us not to get distracted by those who have hate in their hearts. He made a point to distinguish ourselves.

“Some of you are with us because you love God, some of you are here because you love attention,” he said. “We have been told by the police that Antifa has already penetrated our ranks. Their goal is to commit violence tonight; their goal is to be able to bring attention to their cause by disrupting a city. We want to bring a blessing to this city. We want to bring grace to this city. Because we are a peculiar people, we protest differently.”

In that moment, it reminded me of how Christians are supposed to fight — that we aren’t given a spirit of fear, but of victory.

As we walked from 98 Fifth Avenue to the 78th precinct, we stopped to hear the speaker. I honestly didn’t hear what he said because the other protesters had their own chants going. Among them was “No Justice, No Peace.” As people started chanting that, my friend turned to me and asked, “What do you think of that?” I told her that this phrase was very misleading because Jesus gives us peace even in the midst of the storm. If Jesus gave Peter peace while he walked on water during a storm, surely, he can give us peace even as we walk in this storm of injustice.

America, like many nations, doesn’t have a clean beginning. But in 2020, we should be further along with treating all races as equals. I believe that we have to do better at recognizing when the enemy tries to divide us by race and be careful not to masquerade hatred as justice.

As we wrapped up the protest, I felt empowered to continue standing for justice and not be afraid of how others chose to fight for justice — to trust that God will continue to show us the way to fight this battle.