According to vocal and controversial activist Shaun King, literally and figuratively dismantling “white supremacy” does not just include toppling over the monuments devoted to slave owners and Confederates. King recently suggested that all images and monuments that depict the “European” version of Jesus should also be destroyed.
King, a Morehouse College graduate and writer, made the remarks over several tweets Monday in the midst of protests that were riddled with attempts to topple the Andrew Jackson monument in Washington, D.C. On Monday, the activist began tweeting about the need to remove the statues of the "white European" who has been projected as the representation of the Christian faith.
"They are a form of white supremacy," King tweeted about the monuments.
"Always have been," King tweeted. "In the Bible, when the family of Jesus wanted to hide, and blend in, guess where they went? EGYPT! Not Denmark. Tear them down."
By Wednesday, King told his followers that hundreds of “white Christians” had threatened his life due to the comments.
King continued the thread with more pointed language, stating the monuments including Italy’s Pietà, devoted to Jesus and his mother, referred to as the Virgin Mary, are “tools of oppression.”
King has made headlines many times before Monday. For some, King is heralded as an informed voice who amplifies the efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement. Others consider the Kentucky native an opportunist who has drawn doubt due to some of his unfulfilled fundraising campaigns for social justice, as The Daily Beast reported last month.
King’s current headline-making statements about tearing down portraits and effigies of Jesus that depict him as white have received mixed reaction during the last day.
Some argued there are alternatives in art and the Christian community to the “white” version of Jesus.
A Indian folk depiction of Jesus, where he is of blue-skin, traditionally an attribute of Hindus gods like Krishna and Rama. pic.twitter.com/h293msorqw
— Prad Nelluru / Πραδ Νελυρυ (@pradnelluru) June 22, 2020
Excuse me Talcum X? pic.twitter.com/c5xqijNR3D
— Leftist disrespecter and ACAB in the bio blocker. (@Wow_ThatsLame) June 22, 2020
I can’t get behind you on this one bcuz now you’re crossing the line into religious freedom and expression. Depictions of Jesus are as different as the country in which he’s represented. This one’s an over-reach.
— baffledbebe (@baffledbebe) June 22, 2020
Some responded to King’s tweet by suggesting that he made the comments only to “incite” more unrest and vandalism.
Oh, @shaunking isn't actually going to go after anything himself, he's just hoping to incite someone else to do it 🙄
— OwlixB is looking forward to Halloween 🇻🇦🦉 (@OwlixB) June 22, 2020
A few agreed with his stance.
True: There are modern examples in which caucasian Jesus was arguably made for racial reasons.
— Justin David Miller (@justinmillervo) June 23, 2020
Also True: The Church has portrayed Christ diversified based on the dominant local culture, including European ones.
Nuance is an ally of goodwill. We desperately need more of both.
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