Shalom Amidst the Rioting
A Hmong American pastor and a Korean American pastor share recommendations for seeking healing, reconciliation, and justice in a time of deep grief and anger.
By Paul Kong and Raymond Chang
The Twin Cities are burning.
Rioting and looting has overtaken the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Businesses, homes, and cars have been set on fire; people have gotten hurt; and things don’t look like they are improving. The rioting is so concerning that Governor Tim Walz has deployed a National Guard contingent three times larger than the one deployed in the 1960s race riots.
The protesting and rioting we are seeing in the Twin Cities, the state of Minnesota, and at least 30 other cities across the country, is the result of insufficient progress around justice for the African American community in the US.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said,
I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear?
It has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity. And so in a real sense our nation’s summers of riots are caused by our nation’s winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.
I (Raymond) agree with Dr. King. The current riots are not the result of an isolated incident that came out of nowhere. For centuries, Black lives have been valued less than white lives in the US. We have failed to dismantle the effects of racialization and the systems which promote and perpetuate racial inequities. Unequal justice is administered because of systemic and structural racism.
The killing of George Floyd is not separate from but connected to the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and a host of other black women, men, and children whose lives were cut short by police brutality and violence. What we see today is akin to what we have seen countless other times, when riots emerged in response to unjust actions by those sworn to protect citizens.
As a Korean American, I (Raymond) can’t help but see the connection between current events in the Twin Cities and what happened in Los Angeles in 1992, when footage of white police officers beating Rodney King confirmed the concerns about police brutality that African Americans had been raising for years.
The anger is justified. It is understandable and warranted. It doesn’t need an explanation. The unjust killings of Black people have gone on for too long, and it needs to stop.
For me (Paul), a Hmong American pastor in Minnesota whose father is a retired St. Paul police officer, the killing of George Floyd hits home emotionally on many levels. I grieve over his death; I grieve that his friends and family have lost a man who loved others and was loved; and I grieve and am angered by the continuous cycle of African American lives being taken by those sworn to serve and protect them.
My heart aches for the Black community and I pray for justice to come swiftly for George Floyd, his friends, his family, the African American community, and the community at large so we all can mourn appropriately.
Many in the Hmong community, including myself, are angry that, time and time again, we witness Black people living in danger because they are perceived as a threat for merely existing in this racialized society—where people are judged by their skin color or for features that are deemed “Black.”
However, we are concerned with the ways the Hmong community, and more broadly, the Asian American community is being targeted in the Twin Cities (and beyond).
We hold to the words of Dr. King: “...riots are socially destructive and self-defeating. I am still convinced that nonviolence is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and justice. I feel that violence will only create more social problems than they will solve.”
We understand that some people feel so backed into a corner, even with compelling evidence (i.e. cell phone videos), that riots may seem like the only way to claw their way out and be heard. Again, as Dr. King said, “a riot is the language of the unheard.”
Protests serve to bring about social change, but the way forward is not through violence and looting.
We are watching the purpose of the protests get thwarted by violence and looting. People are being attacked for defending their businesses; vehicles and buildings are being burned; some are using this moment to steal from those already struggling to get by. We also know white nationalists and white supremacist groups are using this moment to incite people toward greater violence by encouraging looting in Minneapolis, as Department of Public Safety commissioner John Harrington confirmed. If you have conversations with people on the ground, you will know that the protests, the riots, and the looting are being driven by people from a broad spectrum of racial groups. Many peaceful Black protestors are also mindful that the Black community will ultimately be blamed regardless who does the looting.
We also cannot allow the protests to turn our communities against one another.
As a resident of the Twin Cities, I (Paul) am seeing how the rioting is leading people to target Hmong Americans (and Asian Americans more broadly). In the viral video of George Floyd’s arrest, an Asian-American officer, later identified as being Hmong, didn’t take action to protect Floyd from being killed. Officer Tou Thao’s lack of intervention has surfaced unresolved tensions between the African American and Asian American communities to the point that Hmong (and other Asian Americans who are mistaken to be Hmong) have heard people in the African American community direct their anger toward our businesses and establishments. Such tensions can be traced to a historical, insidious agenda to pit our communities against each other.
Many within the Hmong community are upset by Tou Thao’s inaction. Even my father, a retired police officer, expressed that the other officers (including Thao) should have intervened when they saw Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck. Many in our community feel torn between our desire to support someone from our own community who is minoritized in the ways we are and our anger that he did not live up to the Hmong community value of caring for others, especially if one is in need.
I want to say this to my Hmong Christian community: I know many of us stand in solidarity with the African American community. Many of us are frustrated with Tou Thao’s complicit non-action. But we should not shun Thao or his family. There are already rumors that his family is considering fleeing the state due to fear and shame. Let justice be served, let due punishment come, but we as a community should not be the ones to pile onto the punishment.
Let us direct our energy to bringing about healing instead of perpetuating even more destruction. If we don’t, the cycle of rioting that took place in LA and are taking place today, continue into the future.
We (Paul and Ray) believe that Asian American Christians should ask ourselves what a Christian response is during this time.
First, we need to pray. We need to pray that God’s justice will be served, that those who have lost loved ones will be comforted, and that this country will wake up to the realities of racial injustice. We need to pray for the shalom of our cities. But our prayers should be accompanied by action.
Second, we have to acknowledge the pain and suffering of others. As Asian American Christians, we cannot allow historic racial pain to continue to be a dividing wall of hostility, one that Jesus laid his life down to destroy (Eph. 2:14). I (Paul) have heard Asians say, “The black community doesn’t support Asian protests. Why should we support them?” This kind of thinking deviates from the biblical call to be one body in Christ. We need to rid ourselves of this mindset, instead believing that any protest for justice furthers a kingdom cause.
Third, we need to speak up. Our churches have been relatively silent about current events. We have so bought into the honorary white, model minority myth that we have little to no credibility on issues pertaining to racial justice. Pastors should be applying Scripture in their preaching that will heal wounds and bring forth restoration. Christian leaders need to share their support in social media streams and the streets. We need to walk hand in hand with the African American community.
Fourth, we have to build meaningful bridges toward each other. The Black and Asian American communities are not in sufficient dialogue and relationship with each other. We need to develop friendships of unity and solidarity with one another. There is a three-part series called “Interconnected” (co-hosted by AACC and Be the Bridge) to address interracial tensions between the Black and Asian American communities. As we build bridges, we can connect with local individuals or organizations to pursue justice where needed.
Fifth, we need to seek reform. Things cannot remain as they are. Incremental progress is not sufficient progress. We need to work with our brothers and sisters, and stand with them to seek the change needed. Sign petitions, march peacefully in protest, and find ways to support reform.
Events like this reveal how deep our problems are. But we have a Savior King who entered into the problems of this world to rescue us from the destruction of sin. He sends us as his ambassadors, empowered by his Holy Spirit, to seek the shalom of our society.
Let us take on the heart and mind of God, and serve as the hands and feet of God to bring about a gospel healing that this world desperately needs.
Paul Kong is the assistant campus pastor of discipleship and Sankofa Ministries at Bethel University. He graduated from Bethel Seminary with his MDIV in 2013. His role is the spiritual development of students through discipleship groups and programs. Before Bethel, Paul held leadership roles in nonprofit management, church ministry, and chemical health recovery services.
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