Physical pain is at the core of both stories.
 | By Eleanor Barkhorn Editor at Large, Opinion |
Today is Good Friday, when Christians around the world remember the crucifixion of Jesus and look ahead to the celebration of his resurrection on Easter Sunday. |
For Esau McCaulley, a contributing Opinion writer, it is an opportunity to reflect on bodily suffering — specifically, the bodily suffering that Black Americans have experienced over centuries. |
Esau opens his essay today with a description of his cousin's funeral. She died at the age of 28 of complications from AIDS — a death that was hastened by the fact that, as a poor Black woman on Medicare in the 1980s, she had trouble finding doctors who would see her and accept her insurance. Her funeral was the first time Esau saw a corpse, and he writes that he "struggled to reconcile the body that lay in the coffin with the vibrant person I once knew." |
He goes on to relate his cousin's pain and early death to those of Emmett Till, Martin Luther King, Jr. and countless other Black Americans who were lynched or murdered. This history of abuse, Esau writes, has given Black Americans a special connection to Jesus' story: "Since the time of the hush harbors, Black Christians have found solace in the idea that the God they worshiped knew the trouble we'd seen." |
But, as Esau reminds us, Jesus' story does not end with his death on the cross, and neither will the stories of Black people who perished from murder or neglect. Esau writes: "I find encouragement in a set of images more powerful than the photos, videos and funerals chronicling Black death: the vision of all those Black bodies who trusted in God called back to life, free to laugh, dance and sing." |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com. |
Contact us If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment