Sometime between 486 and 465 BCE, the Bible tells us, a disagreement took place between a husband and wife because they did not agree on the way the wife should be presented at a banquet. The cost of the disagreement was the wife lost her crown as queen of the kingdom. The name of the wife was Queen Vashti, and her husband was King Ahasuerus of Persia. King Ahasuerus decided to find another wife. Esther, a disguised Israelite teenager, was chosen as the new queen.
Queen Esther, like Queen Vashti, also ended up disagreeing with her husband. Her objection was the unjust laws and customs directed at the Israelite people. She, too, risked losing the crown and being sentenced to death. Both queens felt it was their time to reject unjust discriminatory laws and customs based on gender, racial-ethnic identity and class.
March 2016 is a time to remember women like these and to advance a vision of justice for all people. This year is an opportune time for selecting leadership for and by all people. In the days of Esther and Vashti “Israelite Lives Mattered” and “Women Lives Mattered,” despite the dominant rule of the Persian Empire. In similar fashion, younger and older men and women today are risking their lives when calling for “Black Lives Matter” while affirming “All Lives Matter.”
Queens Vashti and Esther were change agents of the systems and structures of the Persian kingdom for all the people when they took their stances. They promoted dignity and challenged the plight of the Israelite people who were treated unjustly while the dominant culture benefitted from their oppression. Today, all of us benefit in some way from the privilege and wealth of our great country, the United States of America. Still, many are left behind because of hunger and poverty, just like in the days of Queens Vashti and Esther. Women and people of African descent are disproportionately affected by this.
We, like Queens Vashti and Esther, are called to stand up for all and not just the few. This means changing public policies so all are fed and living lives of dignified means. This year we have a responsibility of ensuring the right leaders are elected who will stand up for all people here and abroad. Now is the time to determine who you will vote for and hold accountable after the elections. Bread for the World has resources to assist with your discernment process. Please go to our elections pages at bread.org to learn more.
This year, Bread for the World will also host an international Pan African women of faith consultation addressing these issues on June 9–11 in Washington, D.C. Contact me at awalker-smith@bread.org about this.
Dr. Rev. Angelique Walker-Smith is the senior pastor for Pan African church engagement at Bread for the World in Washington, D.C.
