For most, it’s hard to know what to say in this period of racial unrest. If you say nothing, many condemn you as an oppressor. If you do speak up, you’re often attacked for not speaking up sooner, not saying the right thing or not saying enough. Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard couldn’t remain silent any longer, though, when he began sharing his feelings on social media.
Tyler shared the first of a two-part post saying, “My heart has been hurting for a weeks now and as I’ve been processing all that’s going on in our country, it’s hard for me to find the words to say. Although the perfect words may not flow out I refuse to be silent. I hope you all can hear my heart.”
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He continues, “I feel guilty for being naive enough to think that racism, and hatred, due to skin color is a thing of the past. Racism is real in 2020, but doesn’t have to be our future. We, especially the white community, have the opportunity and the obligation to create real change in history. I hope and pray that we can lean on love, grace, forgiveness, compassion, and empathy moving forward. This isn’t and shouldn’t be about a political, religious, or cultural agenda. This is about humanity.”
Tyler expressed his grief and mourning to those who have lost love ones in the protests.
“Please know that you all are on my heart and in my prayers every day and have been for weeks. I will continue to pray for healing, comfort, and peace that I know first hand only God can give, through this unimaginable time. Also know, we will stand with you and fight for justice. Your loss with not be in vain,” he wrote.
He also expressed his gratitude to law enforcement who police with benevolence. “We support the good ones and know you guys are fighting a tough battle right now,” he said. “Just know that y’all are making a difference for the better and showing the world that if people can be taught to hate than people can also learn to love.”
In part two of his post, Tyler encouraged others to join him in taking a stand against hate crimes and racism. “I, for one, can only speak on behalf of myself and my family, but we choose to stand for what’s right, we stand for justice,” he wrote. “We will let love be our template and our compass. We will see people’s hearts, not their skin color. We will make a daily effort to reflect Jesus to the world and the people around us because He’s loved ALL of us first.”
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Brian Kelley also took a moment to address the murder of George Floyd.
He shared a photo of Floyd and wrote, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Black Lives Matter! Praying for the family of George Floyd and standing for justice for his killers who should be prosecuted to the fullest extent! We cannot be silent, we have to come together to put an end to this. I can’t sit here and say that I have experienced racism as a white man, but my heart is with all of our African American brothers and sisters who have and I stand with you all and will continue to! Tolerating racism is racism. Praying for our nation and praying for peace. God help us!”
