Today, we remember a legend.
On this day in history, Harambe would have celebrated another birthday. An icon that became part of internet history, American culture, and an entire generation’s timeline.
Tomorrow marks 10 years since we lost him. Ten years since the moment the world stopped scrolling and collectively mourned something bigger than a meme.
He became a symbol of loyalty, strength, chaos, unity, and the strange beauty of the internet bringing millions of people together for one cause: never forgetting Harambe.
Everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news. And somehow, a decade later, his legacy still lives on.
Gone, but never forgotten.
Rest easy to a true patriot. 🕊️🇺🇸
May 27, 1999 — May 28, 2016
Forever in our hearts.
HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve grown up in & had leadership positions in several churches over my life so I want to talk about this.
The litmus test here seems to be: who will immediately agree to give cash?
There are many problems with this:
First, spend any time with people who have dedicated their professional lives to helping people in poverty and they will tell you that direct cash without any relationship is one of the least effective ways to help.
Second, if the call is asking for money to spend on formula, and the response is “We’ve got formula and would love to give it to you,” that is extremely helpful, but would fail this test.
Third, most churches I’ve worked with set up processes for people to go through to get direct aid *to ensure aid goes to the most people where it’s most needed for legitimate needs.* There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a filter layer to prevent people from scamming or using aid for stuff it shouldn’t be used for.
Fourth, in every church I’ve worked in, every single administrator or leader would immediately help anyone who needs help, and did a lot of this privately. The idea that a formal process with a filter is indicative of something larger about a church’s attitude towards poverty is just untrue- it is a straw man that lets people feel good about perceived moral superiority but isn’t at all rooted in the real world practices of local churches.
Fifth, this knowledge isn’t cool in some circles, wasn’t taught, or has been lost, but the church as an institution- in a variety of its forms around the world- has been at the forefront of charitable giving and social work forever. Nietzsche’s main critique of the Christian faith was that it elevates “weakness” (meaning, Christians go out of their way to serve & prioritize the downtrodden, as modeled by Jesus who spent his life serving outsiders and let Himself be killed rather than fight back).
Between 2015-2019 I was VP of an international faith-based nonprofit that supported missionaries in 65 countries. This included OB-Gyns in rural Ethiopia; educators in Latin America; underground church leaders / social workers in Eastern Europe; running an orphanage, school, and hospital in Uganda—all funded by voluntary donations, mostly by networks of Christians in US local churches. I have seen stories of supernatural generosity and sacrifice that made me weep.
Christians are certainly not the only people capable of charity, but charity is *baked into the Christian faith*- it is not optional or nice- based on the theological truth that Jesus is God’s charitable gift to humanity, and new life in Christ is a gift, the response to which is a lifetime of gratitude and service to others (which includes helping the poor).
I’ve spent a lot of time criticizing the American “church” (quotations because there is no singular church but a huge number of varying associations) the past decade largely because we’ve gotten in bed with Trumpism for the sake of power- in contradiction to the dynamics I’m talking about here. So I’m not defending something indefensible.
What I am saying is that (1) this is a performative stunt that works because of social media outrage mechanics and (2) if you’re actually interested in how local churches help poor people your best bet is to interview them about it, or join and help.
Many churches do fail at this miserably. But the fact remains that the Christian church has been one of the greatest forces for helping the poor around the world throughout modern history, and churches in America remain some of the most charitable organizations that exist. You can’t have a real world conversation about this without acknowledging those two facts.