Racial Equality
Editor’s note: The is the last of six posts looking alternately at Republican and Democratic priorities that I believe Jesus probably supports. If you’re new to this blog, it would be helpful to start from the beginning. But regardless, recognize that the very predictable reactions of cheering for one and booing for the other are the reasons for the earlier material.
For several election cycles now, various demographics have been identified and studied to see which direction they would lean when casting their ballots. Sometimes it’s as specific as the soccer Moms, other times it’s female voters or college-educated. What needs little studying because it’s entirely predictable is the role of race in elections. In the 2018 midterm elections, black voters voted Democratic by a margin of 90-9. Hispanic voters voted for Democratic candidates 69-29, and Asian voters 77-23. White voters, the largest voting block, were the most closely contested, voting Republican by 54-44. (*1) When there’s such a huge difference between one party and the other based on race, social justice as it relates to race matters is obviously and tragically a partisan issue.
What does Jesus have to say about racial issues? As discussed previously, (*2) Samaritans were the race that the majority culture Jews were most likely to be prejudiced against, and so Jesus made a point of highlighting Samaritans positively in His stories, and going out of His way to treat them with respect and dignity. In His final commission, He commands His followers to bring the good news to the entire world as opposed to keeping it to themselves. (*3) Many translations choose the word “nations” when describing Jesus’ Great Commission, but the Greek word translated “nation” is ethnos, and more literally means “all people groups”. Nothing in the gospel accounts of Jesus supports racial inequality.
Some have argued that the Bible supports slavery, citing various passages where slavery (or slaves) are mentioned and nothing is said about abolishing the institution. The Bible is a library of 66 books, written by about 40 human authors over a span of 1500 years. Unlike some other religions, Christianity never claims that its Scriptures were penned supernaturally, with no influence from human culture or human authors. Some of the Bible is simply descriptive, describing what’s taking place, as opposed to prescriptive, prescribing what ought to be taking place. The difference between descriptive and prescriptive literature is essential to properly interpreting the Bible. Furthermore, when the Bible speaks with more than one voice on a topic, as it often does, the interpretive task is to determine which passage is more time-bound and which is more universal. The following sound universal to me:
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (*4)
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus… There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (*5)
Here there is no Greek or Jew… barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. (*6)
Much of the section on caring for those experiencing poverty applies here, too, in the sense that the Bible consistently roots for the underdog, seeking justice for those who have been maligned.
How serious is our race problem in America?
Some refer to racism as America’s original sin, citing both our historical treatment of Native Americans as well as the fact that while writing, “All men are created equal,” many of the authors owned slaves.
America’s original sin has affected most everything about our nation’s life ever since. Slavery and the subsequent discrimination against black people in America is of such a magnitude of injustice that one would think national repentance and reparations would be called for. (*7)
Formal, official apologies for a variety of national atrocities have come in recent decades, along with reparations in some cases. In 1946 Congress created the Indian Claims Commission after Native Americans had enlisted in disproportionately high numbers to serve in the U.S. Military during World War II. $1.3 billion in reparations was authorized, but a formal apology didn’t happen until 2009. The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 included an apology and reparations for American citizens of Japanese descent who were detained during World War II. California Congressman Norman Mineta, said,
The country made a mistake, and admitted it was wrong… It offered an apology and a redress payment. To me, the beauty and strength of this country is that it is able to admit wrong and issue redress. (*8)
The U.S. in 1993 apologized for its treatment of Native Hawaiians. The country officially apologized for slavery and segregation in 2009, but reparations have never been offered, although the topic has come up in Democratic primaries in the 2020 election.
It’s hard to decide which of our nation’s racial injustices is the most heinous, but in the running is the Tuskegee Experiment begun in 1932, where 600 black men signed up for what they were told was free health care, when in fact they were being monitored to see how syphilis would eventually kill them, with autopsies as the only medical “intervention”. The Experiment continued until 1972 when the story was first publicly reported and the outrage forced it to stop. In 1973 those who were still alive were paid $10 million each in an out-of-court settlement, and a public apology was finally issued in 1997. A similar apology was issued in 2010 for a similar medical atrocity perpetrated by the US government, this time in Guatemala. 700 prisoners, soldiers and mental patients were intentionally infected with syphilis between 1946 and 1948 without their knowledge or consent. (*9)
While a national apology doesn’t change the past, from a Christian standpoint it’s hard to imagine healing and forgiveness without some acknowledgment of the grievance. Reparations can be a thornier issue, but mostly because of the astronomical cost when the crime committed is on such a national scale. Reparations are every-day occurrences in lawsuits, so the objection to the topic is one of scale and proportion, not concept.
Image: truthseeker08/Pixabay
Reactions to the above paragraphs probably vary widely. Some probably stopped reading, perhaps because it’s too painful to consider. Some, especially in younger generations, view the country with shame instead of pride. Others hold to a Manifest Destiny position, (*10) either consciously or subconsciously, and perhaps just filter out inconvenient realities from our nation’s history. Extreme pride and extreme shame wouldn’t be as prominent if the middle ground would be occupied more frequently. It certainly ought to be an option to celebrate the country’s positive attributes, of which there are many, while acknowledging its faults and correcting them where possible.
Even when apologies and reparations have taken place, the impact on those involved lasts for generations. The statistics shared in the section on caring for those experiencing poverty indicate a very strong racial correlation to poverty. It’s well documented that incarceration rates and severity of punishments are heavily influenced by the race of the (alleged) perpetrators. In 2017,
Whites made up 64% of the U.S. population but only 30% of the prison population;
Blacks were 12% of the general population and 33% of the prison population;
Hispanics were 16% and 23% respectively.
Fortunately, the gaps have shrunk some in the last ten years. (*11) Median net worth of White families in 2016 was 4.6 times that of Black families for those in the lower income brackets, and 4.0 times that of Black families for those in middle income brackets. For White to Hispanic families, the ratios were 2.9 and 3.4 respectively. (*12) Inequal access to quality education contributes to both the incarceration and net worth statistics.
Part of the challenge of talking about racial inequality and racism is that our worldviews vary dramatically by culture. White, European culture views life individualistically, while both Black and Hispanic cultures view life more collectively. I discovered in our monthly meetings of African-American and Anglo pastors that when we talked about racism we weren’t even talking about the same thing. My starting point was individual –
does this individual person view other races as inferior to his/her own?
But their starting point was collective –
are there systems in place that favor one race over another?
I remember a meeting where an African American pastor asked the question, “How many of you have given your son ‘the talk’?” I thought at first he was referring to sex, but in fact he was referring to how to act if you’re stopped by a police officer. Every African American in the group had had that conversation with their sons, and it never once crossed my mind to talk to my sons about how to act if they were pulled over by the police. The reason for the difference, if you’re like me a few years ago and have never considered the question, is that whether or not a person is given the benefit of the doubt has a huge correlation to their race. That isn’t only true of the police; it’s true of the general public walking down the street.
A friend of mine, Grady Scott, linked the following post on Facebook on August 21, 2019, from Shaka Senghor:
Last Friday night I was standing outside of a barbershop in Cincinnati, OH, with a small group of mostly black men, when this officer walked over to a group of us. He looked around curiously and said “I don’t see a car blocking an intersection” while shaking his head. I asked him what was he talking about. He said someone called and reported that we had a car blocking the intersection. He paused for a minute and shook his head again. In that moment we both nodded and acknowledged what had just happened. Someone basically saw our group and made a false report. I asked him how long he had been on the job and he said 10 months. He asked what we were doing at the barbershop and so I told him about the barbershop challenge Men of Courage and Ford Fund had sponsored. I asked if he wanted to come inside. He said he wanted to, but didn’t want to spoil the fun with his presence. Again, we both nodded and acknowledged the reality of distrust between the community and police officers. I offered to take him inside so he could meet the owners and establish a relationship. I told him that someone has to take the first step to healing these relationships. He said he wanted to, but was unsure of what the reaction would be. I told him it would be cool and that Jerome Bettis (*13) and a host of other amazing people were inside. He lit up like a lightbulb and said “No way The Bus is in there”, with a kid-like smile. I said hold on, I’ll grab him and have him come out. Jerome Bettis came out and the officer stood there with his mouth agape before saying, “If my dad was still alive he would be so excited, because you were his favorite player”. We all stopped and sat in the moment before they went on to take a selfie together. It was one of those moments that reminded me of our human-ness, our frailties and our similarities. In that moment we were all just men navigating the world without the mask we are taught and trained to wear. I could have taken my offense to the call-out on the officer and accused him of being a racist cop. He could have believed the caller and acted based on stereotypes about black men in groups. But we chose to just see each other and talk like humans. It’s ultimately a decision we can all make. When he lit up like a kid at seeing his dad’s sports hero, I saw a little boy and the uniform no longer mattered. We can collectively choose to see beyond the uniforms we all wear. It’s not easy and there is a lot of work to be done, but if we can at least start seeing each other, I believe things will get better. #writingmywrongs
Race isn’t our identity – our identity supersedes our race. But neither is race of no consequence. Our racial and cultural heritage are part of our gifting. Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t believe the goal is to become “colorblind.” The goal is to see the strengths that each color and culture bring to society as a whole, as well as to every workplace, congregation, and group of friends. The tragedy of racial separation, let alone racial inequality, isn’t just the injustices that aren’t addressed, but also the blessings that aren’t experienced. I’ve been so blessed by the cross-cultural experiences of the last nine years that I can’t wait to keep growing. Three of the books on my reading list are educational just from their titles, and all three came recommended by trusted sources who are moving toward greater racial interaction and racial equality.
Beyond Colorblind: Redeeming our Ethnic Journey, by Sarah Shin
Multiethnic Conversations: An Eight-Week Journey Toward Unity in Your Church, by Mark Deymaz and Oneya Fennel Okuwobi
Driven by Difference: How Great Companies Fuel Innovation Through Diversity, by David Livermore
Racial equality must be a priority for all of us, not just half the country. We will likely end up with a variety of recommendations, some of which may remain partisan, but the conversation itself can’t be the territory of only one party. When all of us decide that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “dream” is long overdue, progress will speed up significantly.
Page ???
Jim Wallis, God’s Politics, p. 308.
https://www.history.com/news/reparations-slavery-native-americans-japanese-internment
https://www.history.com/news/the-infamous-40-year-tuskegee-study
The 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable. In a broader sense, the belief puts the country in a special or privileged position which makes it easier to avoid taking responsibility for sins.
Very famous NFL star, who played for the Rams and the Steelers, in case you didn’t know. Nicknamed The Bus.