As you know, when I am quiet here about something major going on in the world, I am not quiet in my head. I created this community with a very specific three-tiered mission (create positive community, teach women to love themselves, strengthen aviation marriages), and it is very important to me that I weigh all current issues with prayerful consideration as to their relevancy and effectiveness within the parameters of that mission here.

Believe me, this year has forced me to my knees over and over again. And this past week has been no exception.

As I’ve watched with heavy heart and indescribable sadness the recent events unfolding in our world regarding the death of George Floyd, I’ve carefully considered my response to it with regards to my personal life as well as with my public one.

As a pretty solid rule, we don’t discuss politics in this community. They really don’t add to or enrich our mission here and in fact can be detrimental to it, as they tend to make people really ugly really fast. We instead choose to concentrate on the threads that bind us together rather than on the things that could drive us apart.

However, as a somewhat public figure whom God has, for some unknown reason, seen fit to allow the stewardship of a platform which reaches tens of thousands (I know I know…I am as flabbergasted as you are!), I also feel there are defining moments in life when I have an absolute moral and social obligation to make a stand and to establish my definitive line in the sand. This, friends, is one of these times.

I WILL NOT TOLERATE RACISM.

That is my unwavering declaration and promise to the beautiful people of color who add such richness and depth, not only to this community, but to my personal life as well. I stand with you against hatred. You are beautiful, precious, loved and created in the image of God just as surely as I am. Your life matters to me.

I WILL NOT TOLERATE RACISM. That is my unwavering declaration and promise to the beautiful people of color who add such richness and depth, not only to this community, but to my personal life as well. Click To Tweet

I feel strongly that to be silent on this matter is to be at best complacent or at worst condoning of the hatred that is rampant in our world. I can do neither and still sleep peacefully at night. My followers deserve more of me than that. My friends and family deserve more than that. My commitment to love people like Jesus deserves more than that. Our world is broken right now – shattered beyond recognition, and my heart right along with it. God has burdened my heart with such a love for people as demands the utilization of my gifts and platforms to make the world a better place. I cannot do that by my silence.

One voice will be quickly drowned out by the clanging noise of our society, but many voices raised together in a peaceful cry for change create an unmistakable harmony that will ring above and beyond the immediate chaos and into eternity. So I cry out with you. I see you. I love you. I want you to know this of me without an inkling of a doubt. I am for you.

This is not a political stance, it is a human stance. Every single person deserves to be treated with the same dignity, love, and respect as every other.

This is not a political stance, it is a human stance. Every single person deserves to be treated with the same dignity, love, and respect as every other. Click To Tweet

I will continue to run this community with a zero tolerance policy for hatred, stereotyping, and racism. Here we will judge people by the content of their hearts and not by the color of their skin. We will choose compassion and kindness over hate. We’ll intentionally seek out the good in one another, pray for one another, try to see other’s perspectives with clarity, celebrate all people for their uniqueness, and strive to be even better – together. And I will escort anyone who can’t abide unapologetically to the door.

I don’t even have to bother asking if the people of this community stand with me – I know they do! Because I already know the beautiful hearts and the incredible character of the people here. It’s an indescribable honor to lead you, even in troubled times. Thank you for that.

We’ll intentionally seek out the good in one another, pray for one another, try to see other’s perspectives with clarity, celebrate all people for their uniqueness, and strive to be even better - together. Click To Tweet

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

As long as God gives me the breath to speak, this community will continue be a beacon of light that allows darkness no foothold. We will love so deeply that hate will flee from our midst. And we will never, ever tolerate racism and hatred. This I pledge to you.

Be kind. Love one another fiercely. Love mercy, seek justice. Be a blazing beacon of hope. This dark world needs more light right now.

**Throughout this post, I shared just a few pictures of the innumerable men and women of color who have touched my life. I cannot imagine my world without the rainbow of faces that bring joy, love, and meaning to my world. Thank you for being you. Color is beautiful. ❤️

I love you, family.

Angelia