White Christian leaders have called on followers to set aside racial differences after the grand jury denied pressing charges to a white New York police officer, Daniel Pantaleo, after choking black Eric Garner to death in Staten Island.
Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission president Russell Moore said, "It's time for us in Christian churches to not just talk about the gospel but live out the gospel by tearing down these dividing walls not only by learning and listening to one another but also by standing up and speaking out for one another."
The incident paved for other white evangelicals to fight against the decision. One of the pleas belongs to the president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Danny Akin. He tweeted: "I weep & pray for his family. I beg our God to bring good out of this tragedy."
Rev. Barbara William-Skinner, National African-American Clergy Network co-chair said, "It just so offends the human spirit of people of every race that it compels them to act," she said. "We don't have to ask young white students and young white adults anymore to act. They understand ... if the system will so violate the rights of people of color today, they will violate everybody's rights tomorrow."
"What often happens when white evangelicals try to speak into this is that we continue to think first in terms of our own position," said Rev. Alan Cross of Montgomery, Alabama. "We should consider what people in the black community are saying, what are they going through, what is their experience."
According to The Guardian, Garner died from chokehold after the police stopped him under the suspicion of untaxed "loose cigarettes." In the video posted online, Garner is heard telling the police, "Every time you see me, you wanna harass me, you wanna stop me ... I'm minding my business, officer."
Then, as Pantaleo had him on chokehold, he complained that he could not breathe. The autopsy report showed Garner's death as a result of chokehold due to compressions to the chest. After court hearings, Staten Island district attorney Daniel Donovan said "jurors found no reasonable cause" to file charges against the policeman.