Stand Your Ground

I remember being in the 3^rd of 4^th grade and getting in trouble for something I didn’t do. We were lined and returning to the classroom after lunch, when my teacher gave the instructions, “no talking.” Of course, right behind me two students started and whisper and the teacher heard them. While her ears were good enough to hear them talking, they weren’t good enough for her to realize that I wasn’t one of the talking students. I was found guilty and informed that before going to recess I would have to write “lines.” I told the teacher that I wasn’t the one that was talking, but she wouldn’t listen to me. As we returned to the classroom and were given our “lines” to write, I sat there upset. After all, I was being punished for something I didn’t do.

The teacher told us that once we completed our “lines” we could go to recess, but I refused to accept punishment for something I didn’t do. She even went as far as saying, “Well Simone, sometimes the good have to suffer for the bad.” That day I wasn’t going to suffer for anyone or anything I didn’t do. I stood behind my decision, didn’t write the “lines” and missed recess. When I went home that evening I told my parents what happened. They listened and told me sometimes the good do get mixed in with the bad, but that doesn’t mean you have to consent to a punishment you don’t deserve.

My message to you this morning is – “Stand Your Ground.”

I know for many of you, your first thought with this phrase is the George Zimmerman trial. While his actions were questionable, the idea is notable. We have to stand firmly in our beliefs. We can’t allow ourselves to be swayed by the crowd or emotions that engulf us in the moment. I could have easily written the lines, just to go and play during recess. But I guarantee my willingness to concede would have been seen as guilt in the eyes of the teacher. Instead I stood my ground, firmly stating that I had been wrongly accused.

Never give in to anything, “just because.” It may seem simple this time around, but the next time may be a bigger matter with more meaning and moral weight attached to your response. Teach the younger generation to stand firmly as well. Though our young black men are being profiled, encourage them to stand out differently, by pulling up their pants and not looking and walking like penguins in Happy Feet.

Looking like the crowd makes it easier to be labeled as the crowd.