Of course, what this meme tries to say is absolutely true. And maybe it's a well-meaning effort to rise above the tensions that divide us and recognize that we are one, human race. But well-meaning and true as it is, it obscures a deeper truth about the vulnerability of some who are part of that one race; it minimizes the need for us to stop the violence, prejudice, and injustices that endanger the lives of people of color.
Religious people cannot dismiss this call.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15). While the whole race (a single flock of one hundred sheep) mattered, there was one sheep that became particularly vulnerable and endangered. That one needed special advocacy and protection; that sheep needed someone who would focus every effort on rescuing and protecting it. The shepherd left the ninety-nine and went to save the one.
All lives matter, yes. But right now, the violence against black and brown people makes advocacy and protection on their behalf non-negotiable. Of course, violence is perpetrated against people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. But the disproportionate injustices toward people of color require us to do all we can to save them from all that endangers them. In doing so we save us all. If we do this, the "joy in heaven" (and on earth) will be eternal (Luke 15.7).
This is why we're rising up. The Lord of Life requires it.
As Jesus taught us, "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one who found themselves in danger, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one and save it?"
There is a danger in using this parable/metaphor: it could perpetuate the white savior complex that has often fostered an unconscious white supremacy; I have no intention of perpetuating that scourge. I simply want to counter the easy dismissal of the Uprising by white people who don’t understand the urgency of the movement; an urgency Jesus inspires. White people have too long kept this injustice alive; we have to aggressively help undo it.