I am allowed to be angry, but …

I remember this exact photo. My emotions are almost palpable as I stare at this photo again. The immense grief that was within me as I stood on these steps could not be put into words. 

Cape Coast Castle was built on by European traders. It was one of the largest commercial forts for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. It was used to hold Africans who were captured from their homelands and then made slaves. They were loaded onto ships, completely naked, beaten, cuffed in chains, and then sold in the Americas.

The deep historical and far-existing pain for my ancestors flowed through every vein of my body. Immense anger, confusion, despair, and anguish plagued my heart this day. I didn’t crack one smile. I couldn’t. 

When I witnessed the murder of George Floyd, I remember feeling just like I felt when I first stepped foot on the grounds of Cape Coast Castle. 

I was angry, confused and numbed by such a sinful act. I was so angry I couldn’t speak. 

But in the midst of my anger I was met with God’s truth and his love. His truth broke through my heart, like the sunrise bursting through the seams of a new day. Then my tears broke through my eyes and ran down my cheeks like waterfalls. The truth was this: I am allowed to be angry, but …

“Be angry and sin not, let not the sun go down on your wrath” (Ephesians 4:26). My anger should not be fleshly, carnal, or sinful in nature. Unrighteous anger justifies sinful behavior. Unrighteous anger produces bitterness and leads to a heart that seeks revenge.

Read the full version of this piece at f3ashley.com.

ASHLEY MONEET WILLIAMS is a registered nurse and a member of the Kleinwood Church of Christ in Spring, Texas.

Filed under: Cape Coast Castle Church of Christ George Floyd Opinion