(Atlantic) Several citizens, local law enforcement and emergency responders gathered at Sunnyside Park in Atlantic Wednesday evening, took a knee and prayed to show the world that Atlantic hears you and stands with you.
Pastor Benjamin Winford said racism is alive and to not speak about it is another attempt to remove ourselves and wait for the next person, generation or culture to fix it.
“It’s easy for us in a small town to be so far removed that we look at the world and think to ourselves ‘it’s not my problem’, but I’m telling you tonight it is our problem. A human being was treated so poorly that his life was taken from him. He was murdered and that’s not okay with me. So, people have gone to the streets to protest amid the tragedy of our fellow human being George Floyd, that is his name, and be it known what happened was atrocious and unnecessary and I pray that justice is served swiftly as it should be,” said Winford.
Winford wanted to remind the community that what one person does or says is not a blanket statement for those that all wear the uniform, just as what one protester does or says is not a blanket statement for those peacefully assembling.
Winford said we are here as a community to say enough is enough and we will no longer remain silent on either side. “We get mad when we hear Black Lives Matter, but in this moment in history that’s the life that matters because they are oppressed and they have experienced things that many of us here have never and will never experience and so their life does matter. Our brother George Floyd was killed by an officer, but not all officers are killers. So, men and women in blue, dispatch, EMS and firefighters, I stand with you tonight.”
Winford said we can all educate ourselves, listen without making a preconceived notion of what needs to be done or what should be said, but to listen with an open heart and an open mind.
“Loving the world is actually not a hard thing to do; it’s when your neighbor is in need you respond and you meet the need, when your neighbor is down and out you’re that shoulder to cry on, when an officer is down and out you lift them up, and when a man is murdered you go to the streets and protest because God has allowed us to live in a nation that allows it,” said Winford.
You can listen to Pastor Benjamin Winford’s full speech by clicking here.
