By Their Strange Fruit

Friday Fruit (05/24/13)

2013-05-23T23:24:00.004-04:00

On Fridays, BTSF offers links to other discussions about race & Christianity. It's an opportunity for you
to read about racial justice & Christianity from other perspectives, and for me to give props to the shoulders on which I stand...

Weekly Round Up:

The Goodness of Diversity: A Pentecost Proclamation

"Ethnic"

'Crack Babies': a retrospective tale from the drug wars [Video]

Thanks for the rec, Eileen!

Deported Parents Who Return Found Dead In Desert or Locked Up In Prison

These are some of BTSF's links of interest this week. What are yours?

Feel free to contribute your own links in the comments section, or submit items you feel should be included during the week. Self-promotion is encouraged.

Listening well as a person of privilege: Solidarity first, collaborative problem-solving later

2013-05-20T00:04:00.000-04:00

This is the second in an series from Dr. Christena Cleveland on listening well as a person of privilege that originally appeared on her blog. Christena is a social psychologist in Minneapolis, MN with an upcoming book “Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart” that you'll definitely want to check out.

Privileged folks are problem-solving wizards. They can draw from experiences, tools and social

networks that make problem-solving a snap! For example, privileged people have critical thinking skills that were expertly sharpened at expensive liberal arts colleges. They have easy access to information via their Kindles and their iPads and their friends with master’s degrees in random disciplines. They rarely suffer from learned helplessness because they haven’t been systemically and repeatedly told that they’re stupid or angry or only good at sports. They possess high self-efficacy because, among other things, they can easily see themselves in the many successful people in society (e.g., teachers, politicians, pastors, etc.) who share their gender, race and/or class. And they have friends in powerful places.

Earlier this month, I spoke at a church conference in Ohio. After my presentation, an elderly black woman approached me and told me that she had recently purchased a new home and in the process had become the first non-white resident in a housing development of over 100 homes. Apparently, her neighbors were not crazy about the increase in diversity.

With tears rolling down her cheeks, she told me that her white neighbors were actively shunning her at association meetings and harassing her by placing large piles of junk on her lawn. I looked into her eyes and could see that her spirit was broken and that she felt entirely alone in her predicament. Horrified, I sat with her and listened to her and cried with her and prayed for her and expressed anger on her behalf.

Later, I alerted some of the church staff to her situation. Not surprisingly, they responded with genuine concern for the elderly black woman and vowed to reach out to her. One white, well-educated staff person said, “I’ll call my lawyer friend.” Privileged people know lawyers.

Privileged and oppressed folks can and should collaborate to solve problems. God knows I’m grateful for the privileged people who have utilized their problem-solving skills to create a more just and inclusive space for people like me. But problem-solving should never precede solidarity. Even Jesus the Great Problem-Solver spent 30 years standing in the ditch of humanity before he flexed his problem-solving muscles and performed his first miracle.

In the two years that I’ve lived in my predominantly black, low income neighborhood in Minneapolis, I’ve seen dozens of teams of privileged folks come in and try to fix a glaring problem without taking the time to build solidarity with the great people in my neighborhood. Typically, within months the good-intentioned privileged folks retreat back to their privileged spaces, leaving behind a devastating trail of benevolent classism and racism.* Last summer, a few kids on my block told me that they don’t trust the white people who come into our neighborhood because they “don’t understand us and they always leave soon anyway.”

If Christian privileged people aren’t careful, their problem-solving heroics can easily dishonor the image of God in oppressed people. Most obviously, this occurs when privileged people bypass the crucial stage of “weep with those who weep” listening. This type of listening requires the privileged people to stand in paradigm-shifting, time-consuming and uncomfortable solidarity with oppressed people. Instead, they go straight to the “Let me solve your problem for you” type of non-listening.

I believe there are several reasons why this happens so often:

1. Solving oppressed people’s problems rids privileged people of their own discomfort. Privileged people have the luxury of remaining oblivious to the everyday challenges of the oppressed. Privileged folks who voluntarily forfeit their ignorance (and its associated bliss) and choose to listen to personal and devastating accounts of oppression may not be prepared for how discomforting it is to be aware of such ugliness.

When you’re used to living life on the clean, paved sidewalk of society, it can be uncomfortable to descend into the muddy ditch of oppression in order to stand in solidarity with the oppressed. In their haste to escape their own discomfort, privileged folks can choose the easy route: to fix the oppressed person’s problem ASAP, thus ridding the privileged person of the discomfort of standing in the ditch or even the awareness that such a ditch exists.

I periodically ask myself, whose discomfort is motivating me to act – my own or the oppressed person’s? Oftentimes, I must admit that my own discomfort with oppressed people’s suffering primarily motivates me to advocate for oppressed people. I feel better when they are no longer suffering and I no longer have to stand with them in their suffering or think about their suffering. When this occurs, their feelings and needs are secondary to my own. And once again the situation revolves around me, the privileged person. Mission not accomplished.

2. Privileged folks often underestimate how much they need solidarity with oppressed folks. Privileged folks who think that only oppressed people need rescuing will never be healthy collaborators. Time spent in solidarity with oppressed folks exposes the truth that privileged folks need oppressed folks as much as they think oppressed folks need them.

Solidarity with the oppressed rescues privileged folks from their myopia, their cultural shortcomings and the ditches of privilege that prevent them from truly experiencing God’s grace.** Solidarity is designed to show both privileged and oppressed folks that they are irrevocably interdependent and that they need each other’s help in climbing out of their respective ditches (see 1 Cor. 12:12-26). Healthy collaborative problem-solving only occurs after this lesson has been learned and lived out.

3. The idolatry of privilege. Many privileged people are so accustomed to relying on their agency, power, and skills to solve problems that temporarily refraining from doing so in order to listen well first seems unfathomable. “If I don’t solve this problem immediately, then who will?” they might ask themselves. So they skip out on the listening part and get right down to the business of problem-solving.

In this scenario, the unspoken assumption is that the privileged person’s agency, power and skills are the key to setting oppressed people free. Privilege is god. As such, there’s no need for God and the resurrection power in the battle against oppression. This approach can lead to hasty problem-solving strategies that fail to surrender to God’s timing, rely on God’s power or involve oppressed people in a collaborative and empowering way.

So…

Seek solidarity first. Seek to experience life from the perspective of the oppressed. Seek to rejoice when oppressed people rejoice and weep when oppressed people weep. Seek to understand the specific ways to honor the image of God in the oppressed people around you. Seek to be influenced by the oppressed folks around you. When you’re ready, you’ll be invited to collaborate with your oppressed brothers and sisters on problem-solving efforts that are powered by Jesus and led by Jesus.

______________________________
*Benevolent racism and classism consist of attitudes the individual thinks of as favorable toward a group but that have the effect of supporting traditional, subservient roles for members of oppressed groups.

**The Peter and Cornelius narrative in Acts 10 and 11 is worth pondering in light of this truth.

Friday Fruit (05/17/13)

2013-05-17T00:33:00.002-04:00

Protecting dignity: Why one local church is collecting toilet paper

More Truth And Lies About Diversity Training

What if people told European history like they told Native American history?

The Racial Wealth Divide: Why Housing Matters [Infographic]

Assata Shakur and a Brief History of the FBI’s Most Wanted Lists

Study Finds People Of Color Nearly Invisible On Evening Cable News

The Hypocrisy of Foodies: Restaurant Worker Abuse

Listening well as a person of privilege: Recognize that the rules are different for you

2013-05-13T00:08:00.001-04:00

This is the first post in an series from Dr. Christena Cleveland on listening well as a person of privilege that originally appeared on her blog. Christena is a social psychologist in Minneapolis, MN with an upcoming book “Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart” that you'll definitely want to check out.

I’m doing a short series on listening well as a person of privilege* because I often encounter privileged people who sincerely desire to stand in solidarity with oppressed people but don’t really know how to go about it in an honoring way.

As a result, their well-intentioned attempts to listen well often result in clumsy and oppressive interactions that counter-productively widen the divide between the privileged and oppressed. In order to honor the image of God in oppressed people, we need to think deeply about what it means to listen well as a person of privilege – hence, this series. I hope you’ll join in and share your thoughts.

As someone who identifies with both privileged (highly educated, upwardly-mobile) and oppressed (black, female) groups, I’ve experienced both ends of the privileged-oppressed spectrum. As a result, I’ve played the part of the privileged perpetrator of oppression as well as the oppressed target of oppression. And within the reconciliation context, I’ve often had to ask for grace and I’ve often had to give grace. These thoughts on listening well as a person of privilege are based on my experiences as a privileged person and an oppressed person.

Thought #1: Recognize that the rules are different for you.

One of my buddies recently graduated from Harvard. Like many young college grads, he is quite proud of his alma mater and naturally wants to place a “Harvard” bumper sticker on his car. However, one of our friends pointed out that if he does so, he will risk being perceived as a pompous jerk who flaunts his high end degree in the face of less fortunate drivers.

In response, my friend cried “Foul!” pointing out the double-standard that allows alums of less prestigious schools to proudly display their bumper stickers but disallows Harvard grads from doing the same. I told him that it may not be fair but it’s the small price he pays for the privilege of attending such a prestigious school. I added that if he wants to build solidarity with people who haven’t been granted the same level of privilege, he should probably leave the bumper sticker off his car.

By complaining about the double-standard, My friend made the mistake of thinking that he should be treated just like everyone else in the world, even though his privileged experience was unlike most everyone else’s. He failed to understand that the rules are different for people of privilege who want to engage with the rest of the world.

Despite the fact that privileged people have benefited from an unfair advantage in society, they are often preoccupied with being treated “fairly” in the context of reconciliation work. They believe that they have a right to be heard. They also believe they have the right to a clean slate; they don’t want past injustices (either individual or societal) to negatively affect the current reconciliation work. In addition, they believe that they have a right to be treated graciously; in other words, the oppressed person must refrain from sounding angry when expressing him or herself and must communicate in a way that is comforting to the privileged person.** If any of these “rights” are violated, privileged people often bolt from the reconciliation context.

As persons of power, privileged people (unlike oppressed people) are typically afforded these rights. As such, it’s only natural for them to expect to receive these rights in the context of reconciliation work. But just because it is natural doesn’t make it helpful or right. Indeed, to insist on retaining these rights reveals a misunderstanding of both power dynamics*** and the upside-down reconciliation work of Jesus.

For an interaction between the privileged and the oppressed to serve as a step toward overcoming years of injustice, it must first reverse the unjust and unequal power dynamics that have long fueled divisions between the privileged and the oppressed. After years of inequality, reconciliation often requires more than the establishment of equal status between the two groups. A further step is needed – one that requires that the privileged folks relinquish their high status and adopt a humble position that elevates and honors the oppressed people at great cost to the privileged folks.

In the new power structure, privileged folks are more interested in hearing from oppressed people than in exercising their own “right” to being heard. In the new power structure, privileged folks willingly dive into the messiness of reconciliation work rather than claiming a “right” to a clean slate or protection from anger.

For an excellent example of this self-sacrificial reversal of power, we need look no further than Jesus, who abdicated his “rights” in order to honor the image of God in oppressed people and build a bridge to them.

Philippians 2:5-8
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

What would it look like for you to adopt Jesus’ humble stance in your interactions with the oppressed people in your community? What would it cost you?

Continue to part 2...
____________________________________
*In general, you are privileged if you are: white, male, heterosexual, middle-class or higher, educated/upwardly-mobile, able-bodied, and/or physically attractive. (Note: this is not an exhaustive list.) Also, you are privileged if you don’t see that some people in our society are privileged and others are not. Blindness to privilege is privilege.

**This short list of “rights” is by no means exhaustive.

***Suggested reading on power dynamics in the Church: Soong-Chan Rah, Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church; Joseph Barndt, Understanding and Dismantling Racism: The 21st Century Challenge to White America; Korie Edwards, The Elusive Dream: The Power of Race in Interracial Churches

Friday Fruit (05/10/13)

2013-05-10T00:45:00.001-04:00

Racialicious/Elixher

What’s a white male pastor to do?

3 Rules On How To Preach About Race

At DC’s First Baptist Church, a dismal parting with its first black pastor

Churches in America Fall Short When It Comes to Multicultural Congregations

The Troubling Viral Trend of the “Hilarious” Black Neighbor

Thanks for the rec, Kate!

Queering The Faith: Why The Church Is—And Always Has Been—Our Home, Too

Storify Summary: ODI National Conference on Diversity, Race and Learning

The Cost of Being Poor (part 2)

2013-05-05T21:21:00.000-04:00

This is the second of a two-part series on the high cost of being poor in the United States. See part 1 for a discussion of the cost of food, housing, and the use of money itself...

Health care is a huge contributor to wealth disparity. Low income folks are more at risk for health problems, both physical and mental. This vulnerability can also severely decrease capacity to hold a job. Depression, anxiety, exasperation, and learned helplessness can grow unmanageable, all of which further affect employability.

There is no fallback in times of emergency. No wiggle room for illness. The middle class pays for a broken leg by dipping into savings, and it can be a blow. But if you're poor and the paycheck runs out, that's it. Treatable conditions are ignored, and more serious ones fester. Heaven forbid your child is born with a disability, or you have a parent with a chronic illness.

As a country, the health care for the nation's uninsured costs ~$125 billion every year, but with benefit cuts hitting the lower class the hardest, employee health care is difficult to come by. Approximately one in five women go uninsured. In some states, a family of three must make less than $5000 per year to be considered eligible for public health insurance.

Those that qualified for medical assistance while they were unemployed lose that aid once they are hired for even part time employment (with or without benefits). This forces folks to choose between earning an income and maintaining their prescribed medication. Medical fees are charged at a higher rate to uninsured individuals than those negotiated by insurance companies. Without a family doctor, ER expenses rack up. And then the debt collectors start to prowl. (for more: Healthcare Reform)

It also costs time to be poor. A LOT of time. Two hours at the laundromat. Twenty minutes waiting for the bus. Then, the time on the bus: "'I ride the bus to get to work, 'Nicholas says. It takes an hour. 'If I could drive, it would take me 10 minutes.'"

Poverty costs 40 minutes to pay a basic utility bill because of money order lines. It costs four hours in the ER for strep throat instead of seeing a family doctor. And if you try to navigate the bureaucracy of social services systems, you're certain to invest some serious time there.

Lines for food, lines for paperwork, lines for health care, lines for shelters. No sense in rushing. You will always just end up waiting. If time is money, then without money, you're double broke.

So what's the solution for those living in poverty? Don't ever have a family? Don't ever get sick? Don't ever make a mistake? Never have any rest or enjoyment? Be sufficiently miserable in penance for your lot?

Click to enlarge GDP map

In the latest census, 46.2 million people live in poverty in the USA (15% of the population), representing an 18% increase since 2008. The challenges discussed here plunge families into a cycle of poverty. This legacy is passed on to subsequent generations that miss out on the accumulation of generational advantage.

Many of us have worked hard to get where we we are. But rather than working hard to get ahead, some folks' hard work goes to simply surviving. Both groups toil, but we start from different places. The fruits of our labor are not all the same. It is exhausting work to be poor.

Bear in mind, this discussion has focused, on what it means to be poor in the United States, where even our poorest are the 1% to much of the world.

Consider the multitude of verses in the bible about our responsibility to the poor. Do we not believe the parts that say:

"The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern." (Proverbs 29:7)
"If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need." (Deuteronomy 15:7-8)
"The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice." (Ezekiel 22:29)

Friday Fruit (05/03/13)

2013-05-02T22:31:00.002-04:00

CeCe McDonald

Critical Race Theory and Christianity: Is God “colorblind”?

The Missionary Movement to ‘Save’ Black Babies

North Carolina Clergy Jailed While Praying for ’21st Century George Wallace’ Governor

CeCe McDonald

‘Sa-I-Gu’ Documentary Explores How Korean Women Remember the L.A. Riots

White and Yellow: Overcoming Racism

Remember Guantanamo Bay?

The Cost of Being Poor (part 1)

2013-04-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

This is the first of a two-part series on the high cost of being poor in the United States.

It's expensive to be poor.
"The poorer you are, the more things cost. More in money, time, hassle, exhaustion, menace" says the Washington Post. Most of us wouldn't be able to afford it.

In most states, minimum wage is well below the living wage (there is a big difference in those terms; see post Whose Bad Economy?) Minimum wage is rarely enough to cover housing costs . One can work full time and still not earn an income that is above the poverty line. Families are forced to make tough choices to stay afloat, living paycheck to paycheck with no opportunity to save. All this in a world where everything is more expensive when you're poor.

The cost of food is higher. Don't even try to buy healthy foods (if fresh fruits and veggies are available at all). Without a car, or money for gas to drive to the suburbs, grocery shopping must be done at small convenience stores that often charge significantly more for basic groceries:

"A local convenience store recently sold Campbell’s Chunky chicken noodle soup for $3.69; Hellmann’s mayonnaise for $4.39; and Jif peanut butter for $3.79. Two-and-a-half miles away, a supermarket sold the same brand of soup for $1.99; mayonnaise for $3.29; and peanut butter for $3.29. If Jif was too expensive, Peter Pan was $2.69. The difference: As much as $3.90 for three items. Fill up a shopping cart and you will quickly see how the poor pay more for food."

Maybe you do have a car to drive to cheaper locations, but if you're below a certain income level, you'll pay more for insurance: "In New York, Baltimore and Hartford, they pay an average $400 more a year to insure the exact same car and driver risk than wealthier drivers." Indeed, "Among the working poor, 13% of income is spent on commuting if public transportation is used, 21% if a private vehicle is used. Workers who earn $45,000 or more spend 2% of their income on commuting.

Click to enlarge
this infographic

Housing is another issue. In the midwest, the mortgage on a four-bedroom house is ~$600/month (and interest is tax deductible). But without good credit, or money for a downpayment you end up spending over $1000/month to rent a fraction of that space (with no tax deduction). And even renting requires at least the first month's payment up front, along with a security deposit. Without that kind of cash, your choices are to pay per night at a motel (~1500/month), or live on the street.

Even using money itself is expensive. Checking accounts often charge monthly fees unless one maintains a minimum balance or direct deposit. Without a checking account, it can cost significant fees to cash a paycheck. Without checks, one is also often charged a fee to pay utility bills. And sometimes the money's just not there to pay for food and for the electricity, so you put off the electricity bill, even though you know you'll incur a late fee. And saving money for the future? Worry instead about surviving today.

So without access to banking services, many must turn to predatory payday lenders. You can borrow $300 for a $47 fee. That's only if you pay it back within a week (806% APR). But now at least your rent is covered. Credit card interest rates also vary by income. Making standard minimum payments, it will take 13 years to pay off a $4000 credit card balance carrying the typical 11.5% APR. Bear in mind that the majority of uninsured folks carry over $2000 in medical debt alone.

Continue to the next installment on the high cost of being poor...

Friday Fruit (04/26/13)

2013-04-26T00:27:00.000-04:00

White Superiority, Majority Ministers, and Minority Contexts

Are Christians more violent than Muslims?

Slammin’ Poetry: “A Letter To JK Rowling From Cho Chang”

Style guide: Eurocentric words

Can Low-Income Immigrants Afford Citizenship?

On the Boston Marathon Bombing

Earth Day and Environmental Racism

2013-04-22T00:41:00.000-04:00

Like so many other things, pollution and environmental destruction disproportionately affect both environmental injustice and ties together the concepts of racial/economic privilege with unequal burden of the effects of environmental abuse.
people
of color and the economically disadvantaged. This phenomenon is often referred to as

Environmental racism is "the process whereby environmental decisions, actions, and policies result in racial discrimination or the creation of racial advantages." It is characterized by:

Increased likelihood of being exposed to environmental hazards,
Disproportionate negative impacts of environmental processes,
Disproportionate negative impacts of environmental policies, for example, the differential rate of cleanup of environmental contaminants in communities composed of different racial groups,
Targeting and siting of noxious facilities in particular communities,
Environmental blackmail that arises when workers are coerced or forced to choose between hazardous jobs and environmental standards,
Segregation of ethnic minority workers in dangerous and dirty jobs,
Lack of access to or inadequate maintenance of environmental amenities such as parks and playgrounds and...
Inequality in environmental services such as garbage removal and transportation.

A double standard exists when it comes to environmental conditions/practices and what is considered acceptable in a given community. Both low-income neighborhoods and communities of color suffer more health risks due to environmental pollution than their more privileged counterparts. Children of color are 60% more likely to suffer from asthma, and twice as likely to experience lead poisoning. Families of color also live closer to landfills and hazardous waste treatment facilities.

It is an unfortunate fact that 53% of white children breathe air that doesn't meet EPA standards. But the rate increase to 63% for Black children, 72% for Asian American children, and 74% for Latino children. Adults face environmental racial disparity as well. Workers of color in many industries are disproportionately exposed to toxins and chemicals. The large majority of hired farm workers that handle pesticides and herbicides are people of color. Van Jones talks about the economic injustice of plastics (great video!), and even more examples can be found here.

In addition, marginalized communities often have less power to alter their environmental circumstances. It was Bullard's foundational report that first described the futile attempt of an affluent Black community in Houston, Texas to block the siting of a hazardous waste landfill in their community. His research demonstrated that race, not just income status, was a factor environmental justice issues. In addition, Sidney Howe, Director of the Human Environment Center, observed that those creating the most pollution live in the least polluted places.

This disparity is reflected all over the world. In Indonesia, American-based Freeport-McMoRan (the world's largest. lowest-cost copper producer) operates a mine that has been dumping 130,000 tons of waste rock per day into local rivers as a means of disposal. They have also been implicated in numerous human rights violations against the folks that used to live on that land.

In Nigeria, a country producing over two million barrels of oil per day (ranked 10th in the world, and 4th of suppliers to the USA), more oil spills every single year than in in the entire famous 2010 BP Gulf spill. The death and destruction is outrageous, but so is the selective media attention. Many more examples of international environmental justice can be found here. Time and again, communities, countries, and individuals in power impose environmental destruction on those who can least afford it.

In researched this post, I was disheartened to find far more articles detailing the tension between Christianity and environmentalism than those lifting up their natural intersections. What can be done? Pastor Marty Troyer offers other examples of disparity, but also some first steps for change in our own lives (see post: Reverb). We live in a broken worlds, and part of the consequences is the daily damage we do to the Earth and our neighbors here. Sisters and brothers, we can do better.

But ask the animals, and they will teach you; or birds of the air and they will tell you; or speak to the earth and it will teach you; or let the fish of the sea inform you (Job 12:7-8).

What do you have to learn from the teachers referenced in Job above? Which of Pastor Troyer's suggestions can you commit to in this coming year? Check out Majora Carter's TED talk and what she's doing to combat issues of environmental racism:

Friday Fruit (4/19/13)

2013-04-18T21:05:00.001-04:00

Aamira Fetuga

Listening well as a person of privilege: Seek to understand and embrace anger

Why I Married a White Dude

And A Child Will Lead Them: Aamira Fetuga And Suzy Lee Weiss

Being Brown After the Boston Bomb Blast

The Saudi Marathon Man

Thanks for John for the rec!

Terrorism and Privilege: Understanding the Power of Whiteness

Accidental Racist

2013-04-15T00:51:00.000-04:00

Welcome! Follow more conversations about racial justice and Christianity through email or RSS feed.

In his latest song, Brad Paisley says he's an 'Accidental Racist.' It's actually a fairly accurate description of how white people see themselves in a 'post-racial,' colorblind society today.

While people of color have little choice but to learn white culture in order to navigate in society, white folk can go their entire lives without ever having to understand other perspectives. We learn white history in school, we live in mostly white neighborhoods, we read white books, and watch white movies. We 'don't see race' and we definitely don't talk about it.

So it's not surprising that white people unwittingly say and do some pretty hurtful things. They make ignorant comment about hair, wear people's identities as halloween costumes, and use human beings as mascots. Then, because of their own ignorance, they become indignant when someone takes offence: "I'm not racist. I'm just appreciating your culture."

Folks think their behavior is ok because they haven't taken the time to understand the racialized context within which we interact today. That ignorance is, in itself, hurtful. It emphasizes the disparate nature of a social hierarchy in which white folk can get by knowing very little about the cultures around them. Their racism feels like an accident, because they didn't intend to hurt anybody (see post: Does Intent Matter?).

But it's not an accident that there is so much racial ignorance in white culture today. One of the problems with 'letting bygones be bygones' is that our modern racial issues aren't just about slavery, and it's not 'all in the past'. It is an ongoing, calculated marginalization that continuously evolves to evade eradication. It's pervasive nature allows it to adapt to new social norms and 'political correctness' so that it can thrive. Let's not ever forget about slavery, but let's also remember the continued persecution that occurs on a daily basis in today's world.

Modern racism is systemic. It's endemic to our education system, our legal structure, and everyday life. Decades of oppression have established an unbalanced system that is no accident. Ignorant complacency simply allows one to benefit from that racialized system without having to own up to the responsibility of its existence. It is no accident that white folk are unaware of painful truths of continuing racism. We don't want to be.

Without intentionally forming relationships and engaging with others in their daily experiences, we avoid coming face to face with our racial sinfulness. Without an understanding of others' history and culture, we are indeed in danger of being 'accidentally racist.' But if we disengage and ignore reality, isn't that more intentional than accidental?

I haven't even addressed the actual content of Paisley's song. Or LL Cool J's contribution to it. Frankly, there is more foolishness in there than I have space to dig into in this post, and others have done the analysis more eloquently than than I could, so be sure to check them out as well.

Follow more conversations about racial justice and Christianity through email or RSS feed.

Friday Fruit (04/12/13)

2013-04-11T17:56:00.000-04:00

Voting Day

On Fridays, BTSF offers links to other discussions about race & Christianity. It's an opportunity for you to read about racial justice & Christianity from other perspectives, and for me to give props to the shoulders on which I stand...

Weekly Round Up:

Reading the Bible with a Diverse Community

Whose Deviance Do We Notice?

Here's Why Black People Have to Wait Twice as Long to Vote as Whites

NYPD Has Changed ‘Nothing’ About Muslim Spying Program

Louis CK Talks in Depth About Being a Mexican Immigrant

Recent History

2013-04-07T20:02:00.000-04:00

Welcome! Follow more conversations about racial justice and Christianity through email or RSS feed.

Americans have a peculiar sense of time.
Many other countries can trace their history for millennia, if not as nations, then as cultures and societies: China, England, Egypt, Japan, Ethiopia. The United States has really only existed for a blip in time (having actively divorced itself from the society that occupied the land before it).

Perhaps because our country is relatively young, the scale on which we measure our history has been shortened. The majority of our historic sites are at most 300 years old, and we think a 50-year-old building is ancient.

This mindset makes it easy to believe that our past is far behind us. But in reality, every aspect of our history has occurred within just a few of generations. Eliza Moore, the last known legal slave, died in 1948. That means your parents (or certainly grandparents) had the opportunity to hear first-hand accounts from those who experienced American slavery. The 13th Amendment was pass less than 150 years ago, less than twice our current lifespan.

Anyone currently over the age of 50 lived in a time when police dogs and firehoses were unleashed on school children and people of different races couldn't even be in swimming pools together. It is within a single generation of us that people of color were regularly denied the right to vote. For decades, officials were elected, laws were written, and a racialized society was legally maintained. And we think that all that has been washed away after just a few short decades?

How can we claim we are colorblind when this is the environment in which we have come of age? State-sanctioned, legally-mandated racism was in place less than a generation ago. How can we think we are free from the prejudice that was so recently the law of the land?

The idea that we are 'post-racial' is laughable. To assert that we should 'move on' or 'just get over it' is ludicrous given the accumulated injustice and disparity that has birthed our modern racialized society. The consequences of a not-so-distant past reverberate loudly today in our segregated cities, our education systems, in police behavior, and in the justice system.

Imagine if Germany had a society in which Jewish citizens were imprisoned twice as frequently and then disproportionately executed. The world would be up in arms! Yet with the USA's own brutal track record with people of color, our current practices remain unchecked.

If we are allowed to distance ourselves from a recent past, we may come to believe that we are inherently better people than those that came before. We forget that they read the bible, attended church, loved their children, and gave to charity, just like we do. Hiding behind the idea of 'ancient history' allows us live a unexamined lives in the present.

Follow more conversations about racial justice and Christianity through email or RSS feed.

Friday Fruit (04/05/13)

2013-04-04T22:57:00.000-04:00

Laura Mvula

Associated Press Stylebook Drops ‘Illegal Immigrant’

Roger Ebert: Don’t Tell Asian-American Directors How to Represent ‘Their People’

Rinku Sen Shares Tips on How To Be A Good Ally

Black Unemployment Driven By White America's Favors For Friends

White flight and school choice

Game: Papers, Please

Thanks to Jimmy for the rec!

Artist You Should Know: Laura Mvula

Better than Jim Crow

2013-04-01T00:48:00.003-04:00

Look how far we've come.

So many of the racial issues that plagued our history are no longer with us. Slavery, Jim Crow, legalized segregation: all largely things of the past. Progress is good and we celebrate the heroes that have brought us this far.

But if we rest in the satisfaction that we are no longer as we were a generation ago, we become complacent in our own battles with injustice today. Indeed, comparing ourselves with Jim Crow or KKK racism is setting a fairly low bar.

Since the Civil Rights Era, the blatant ugliness of Jim Crow- racism has given way to a new, more subtle form of colorblind racism. Prejudice is no long quite as overt or violent as it was in the 1960's, but the systemic, cultural and generational manifestations of racism are still very much in place (see post: Defining Racism).

Click to enlarge cartoon

While most of us believe that everyone should have an fair shot at getting ahead, many white folk are still actively against the sorts of policies that would make this sort of ideal world possible (eg. prison reform, affirmative action, health care reform, racial profiling, voting access).

And so significant racial disparities remain, while we end up blaming the victim for the inequality. We still tout broad racial stereotypes or 'cultural pathology,' to avoid any personal culpability.

So we are left with a country in which we no longer burn crosses, but where lives are still daily destroyed by racial prejudice (see post: New Jim Crow). The consequences of racism are still just as real, only without the same 'cause and effect' immediacy that there once was.

In some ways, the subversive and insidious nature of modern racism can make it even more difficult to combat. It's harder to pin down, to prove, or to call out. We end up trivializing the testimony and experiences of our sisters and brothers of color, who tell us they experience the effects of racism everyday. When white folk believe racism is no longer an issue, their own racial biases and privilege go unexamined and unchecked.

So how far have we really come?

In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. observed, "When we view the negative experiences of life, the Negro has a double share. There are twice as many unemployed. The rate of infant mortality among Negroes is double that of whites…"

Reflecting on this quote, Abagond responds "Forty-something years later little has changed: the black unemployment rate is 1.96 times the white one (2011) while black babies die at 2.36 times the rate of white babies (2005)."

In many ways, we're actually no better than Jim Crow at all.

Friday Fruit (03/29/13)

2013-03-28T23:55:00.001-04:00

On Fridays, BTSF offers links to other discussions about race & Christianity. It's an opportunity for you to read about racial justice & Christianity from other perspectives, and for me to give props to the shoulders on which I stand...

Weekly Round Up:

Listening well as a person of privilege: Communicate on their terms, not your own

What's Wrong With the Term 'Person of Color'

This... is White Privilege

A Day in Immigration Court

Thanks for the rec, John!

To Chinua Achebe, With Love

Number of Asian and Latino Writers for TV Are Up

Resurrection and Reconciliation

2013-03-24T22:25:00.000-04:00

As Easter approaches, let us reflect on the miracle of Christ's resurrection--a resurrection that reconciled us to God the Father in a way that we could never have done for ourselves.

You see, I know I have messed up in my life. I may not have killed anybody or committed grand theft auto, but I know I have hurt people, both intentionally and unintentionally. Sure, I am 'basically a good person' when I am well rested and not pressed for time, but I have lied when cornered, and wished ill for someone when I wanted to get ahead. I have thought I was better than so-and-so at such-and-such. I have had thoughts in my heart that I wouldn't want to share with my closest friends, let alone a holy powerful God, in any sort of intimate way.

And I know God loves me profoundly, but He also loves the people I have been disrespectful to, or have been scornful of. And He kinda wishes I hadn't done those hurtful things to His children and He would like it if I would make it right with them.

If only there were a way that I could apologize for all of those things, or pay some sort of compensation, so that when I saw God in heaven, I wouldn't be so embarrassed. Some way that when He reflects on the times I have been cruel to my siblings on earth, I could say "yeah, but I did X hours of community service to make up for it!"

But how many hours would be enough? And what happens when, as soon as I finish them, I have another angry outburst at my husband, or become jealous of my next door neighbor. And so I have to compensate for those new hurts too...Ad nauseum. There are simply not enough hours in a day, or days in a lifetime to keep covering my tracks.

Enter scene: Jesus. A guy with all the love of the Father, but all the personal experience of the struggles here on earth. He lived His life without accumulating a list of errors and oops that we all collect, which meant that by the time He died, He had no apologies to make, no compensation He needed to pay for His wrong-doings. He could stand before God, totally unhindered and unembarrassed.

Yet when the time came, He reflected on my failed attempts to apologize for myself, and said to God "blame me for the things she has done. Treat her as though she had lived her life perfectly, and let me spend the rest of eternity writing her apology notes, and repaying the hurts she caused. Let us trade places in Your eyes so that she need not feel the weight of her mistakes, but instead can enjoy her time with You, totally guilt free."

And so that is what they did: Jesus took the blame, and I got the promise that, if I want to, I can spend the rest of my existence enjoying an uninhibited relationship with the One who knows me, and loves me, the best.

Reconciliation: With one hand,
He holds to the Father,
and with the other, he holds to us
as we make the journey

Jesus, in the mean time, is a lot stronger, faster, and more powerful than I am. He managed to take the blame for my issues, and deal with all of the consequences of my mistakes, yet sill make it home in time for Easter dinner. Not only mine, but everyone elses's as well.

Without any mistakes of His own, and having the power and wisdom of the Father, He was ideally suited to take care of business. So much so, that having accomplished it, He too can now stand before God, unhindered and unembarrassed. It was His resurrection that demonstrated this ability, this power, to accomplish what I could not do on my own.

It is this miracle that we celebrate on Easter. It is this trading-places that makes me eternally grateful. It is why I follow Him, and try to take His advice on how to live my life. It was on the first Easter that Jesus reconciled us to God, so that we need not feel shame, regret, or humiliation, only bathe in God's love and caring:

"But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation" (Colossians 1:22)

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

Sisters and brothers, now that we have vertical reconciliation with God, let us work for horizontal reconciliation with each other: "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." We must continue to Stand in the tragic gap, between what is and what could be. We must remember how Jesus forgave even as He was on the Cross, and learn to forgive one another, be reconciled to one another.

Friday Fruit (3/22/13)

2013-03-21T19:20:00.002-04:00

On Fridays, BTSF offers links to other discussions about race & Christianity. It's an opportunity for you to read about racial justice & Christianity from other perspectives, and for me to give props to the shoulders on which I stand...

Weekly Round Up:

Listening well as a person of privilege: Solidarity first, collaborative problem-solving later

Kimani Gray

Black President. Latino Pope. Evangelicals Are You Paying Attention?

Urban Legends: Rethinking Inner-City Ministry

If March Madness Were Based on Black Grad Rates, Who Would Win?

Why Jail Is Not the Answer for Youth Crime [Video]

Kiss me! I’m an Immigrant

2013-03-17T19:26:00.002-04:00

Please welcome back Rev. Marty Troye r, pastor of Houston Mennonite Church, on whose site the original version this post was published. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, he takes us through some reflections on how 'minority status' has changed over the past 200 years in the United States:

We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?

Every year, St. Patrick’s Day parades all across the country kick-off revelry surrounding all things Irish. The day began as a religious holiday for Christians to celebrate the life of one of our saints, Patrick. But now everyone’s going green: leprechauns, pinching, luck, Guinness, kissing, wearing green. But it certainly hasn’t always been this way.

In the 1800’s Irish immigrants weren’t celebrated, though their hard working hands did the manual labor “we” were unwilling to do. Rather, they were derided, threatened, opposed and run out of town in every state in the union. Unwelcome in America because of their religion, non-whiteness (yes, the racial category of “white” was much narrower at the time) and slowness in assimilation (the previously mentioned St. Patrick’s Day celebrations empowered Irish immigrants to survive in a hostile culture), the Irish were the target of a nativist, xenophobic movement known as the Know Nothings, or, ironically “The Native American Party.”

Perhaps we haven’t come so far after all. Arizona’s SB 1070 (and copycat laws in other states) has been made into law. Congress is has had hearings on terrorism by American Muslims thanks to Peter King from New York. The message is clear: you are unwelcome in America because of your religion and slowness to assimilate. They follow Prime Ministers Angela Merkel of Germany and David Cameron of the UK, who said in recent years that the multicultural experiment has utterly failed.

This anti-immigrant fervor advocates for a “melting pot” approach where racial/ethnic/religious minorities must assimilate into the dominate culture mythically referred to as “we.” But who is this “we” anyway? And why are “we” so sure “they” aren’t part of “us”? And since when does Representative King get to decide who “we” are?

The 'Know Nothing' party’s
nativist “ideal”

Jesus ran into this same exclusivist attitude many times. In fact, Luke says his first public sermon nearly got him killed just for mentioning God’s acceptance of the “outsider.” The “they” in Jesus culture, more than anyone, were an ethnic-religious minority group known as the Samaritans. And when Jesus was once asked who our neighbors are that we’re supposed to love, he answered with a story. The story unmasks two insiders who have no regard for human suffering or rights even for another insider; but it highlights an outsider Samaritan who embodies what it means to be a good neighbor. Where once animosity and hatred separated the “we” from the “they,” the essence of Jesus’ mission and ours is to break barriers and form friendships.

The Bible we Christians read is clear on this point, we are to love the stranger among us because we were once strangers. And who among us, except of course the true Native Americans, wasn’t once a stranger in this new world?

So I’ve got a couple invitations for you this week. Let’s see St. Patrick’s Day as a reminder of our collective ability to turn from exclusion to embrace. Let’s celebrate that the “they” who were once “they” are now part of our “we.” And this week, I invite you to tune out the anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-neighbor rhetoric and listen instead to a familiar voice of reconciliation and welcome: Saint Patrick’s.

When he was fourteen, Patrick was victim of the unthinkable tragedy of being kidnapped from his home and stolen away to Ireland. He later escaped his captors and returned home. Within several years he responded to Christ’s call on his life and returned to Ireland not to seek revenge but for reconciliation with his captors. He lived the rest of his days sharing Christ’s love for all people in Ireland.

To all the Christian readers in this amazing country of beautiful multicultural diversity: “Go and do likewise.” Perhaps our political leaders don’t believe in diversity of cultures, but our God does. Wouldn’t it be great if we Christians were known not for our exclusivity, but for our ability to “love the stranger as you love yourself”?

To all my Muslim and Latino/a (and Irish!) readers I say welcome home! This land is your land, this land is my land. Forgive us for our sins, we don’t know what we’re doing. I so deeply regret that you have been shaken by being “vilified, questioned and even legislated against” by people who claim to worship the prince of peace. But stay strong in your faith, and together we’ll get it right. This Christian pastor is glad you’re here.

Note: I’m actually not Irish, I’m Swiss/German through and through. As a Mennonite with Germanic roots, this story could just as easily be told through the lens of our own stories of immigration.

Friday Fruit (3/15/13)

2013-03-14T23:24:00.004-04:00

Bishop Minerva Carcaño

On Fridays, BTSF offers links to other discussions about race & Christianity. It's an opportunity for you to read about racial justice & Christianity from other perspectives, and for me to give props to the shoulders on which I stand...

Weekly Round Up:

Can’t We All Get Along?

Listening well as a person of privilege: Recognize that the rules are different for you

The Bible Series and Our Racial Perceptions

See also: Black Samson and White Women on the History Channel

Juries Twice As Likely to Demand Death Penalty for Black Defendants Than White

An excellent resource for multicultural children's books

Thanks for the rec Carolyn!

Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcaño On Front Lines of Immigration Battle

Is Justice New?

2013-03-11T01:04:00.000-04:00

There is a tremendous wave of Christians on fire for justice, growing in passion and energy. Some Christians once felt justice work competed with the message of the Gospel, but are now understanding that they go hand-in-hand (see post: The Social Gospel Saved My Soul). Christians are proclaiming God's heart for the marginalized and bringing resources of time, money, and voice to many issues of injustice in our time.

But let us be cautions in labeling the Christian justice moment as 'new.' It may be new for young Christians. It may be new for some Christian denominations. It may be new for Christians of privilege (particularly white Christians). But Christian justice is not new.

Those whom we marginalize in our societies have always been central to the heart of God. King David declared that "the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy" (Psalm 140:12) and John the Baptist insisted that "anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same” (Luke 3:11).

Indeed, the very beginning of Jesus's ministry was marked with the words "He has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free" (Luke 4:8).

St. John Chrysostom

Since then, generations of bold Christians that loved Jesus have paved the way for the work justice on earth. Clement of Rome (c. 96 AD) testified that Christians were selling themselves into slavery to raise money to feed the poor. In the 4th Century, St. John Chrysostom asserted: “not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and to deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours but theirs...That which is due in justice is not to be offered as a gift of charity."

More recently, representatives of the the Church have continued the tradition of Christ-driven justice in the modern world. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, was a prominent advocate for prison reform and abolitionist movements in the 18th-century and it was a Christian that coined the term 'social justice' in the 1840s.

Others, like John Ryan, Dorothy Day, Geoffrey Griffin, Toyohiko Kagawa, and Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez, stewarded Christianity's justice advocacy in the 20th century. The Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern was written in 1973, with the formation of Evangelicals for Social Action that same year.

Prathia Hall

Many clergy and churches were at the forefront of civil rights movement, though they often had to compensate for the silence of other Christians at the time. Besides the obvious, the compelling stories of Ralph Abernathy, Prathia Hall, Howard Thurman, Cecil Williams, John Perkins (and many others) offer inspiration and guidance for our work today.

All this to say, there are many shoulders on which contemporary Christian justice advocates stand. Christ's people have a long history of leaders who have combated injustice. We need to honor them and learn from them as we go about our work today. Listen to their concerns and advice. Study their movements and strategies. Avail yourself of the richness of the saints that have gone before.

It is important that we acknowledge these seasoned leaders (particularly role models of color), because failing to do so undermines the very message of solidarity the we attempt to claim (see post: White Savior Complex). Let's celebrate, and not forget them. Christians have made grave mistakes when it comes to our stand for justice in the past, but we have also accomplished great things in Christ.

Cecil Williams

Also, please know that it is ok to gain inspiration and wisdom from laborers of justice that do not profess Christianity. We have a lot to learn about loving Christ's people, and sometimes non-Christians have been better than us in accomplishing it.

Justice is not a fad. We don't (or shouldn't) participate because it's trendy. Some of us have the privilege to come and go from these movements, but many others are always affected (whether or not it's what today's keynote speaker is addressing). Justice is hard, daily, persistent work. It's hits close to home. It exposes our own sins. We must be in it for the long haul, not just while it's popular.

I know I've just grazed the surface. Who has inspired you as a Christian committed to justice? Who do you wish I had included?

Friday Fruit (03/08/13)

2013-03-07T20:44:00.000-05:00

UMC's Jorge Lockward

On Fridays, BTSF offers links to other discussions about race & Christianity. It's an opportunity for you to read about racial justice & Christianity from other perspectives, and for me to give props to the shoulders on which I stand...

Weekly Round Up:

Developing Multicultural Churches in the United States

Thanks to Brittany Browne for the submission!

Do Cops Make Schools Safe? Students Answer [VIDEO]

The Good, Racist People

What if Halle Berry were 'good-looking for a white girl'?

Wealth Distribution: Ideal, Perception, and Reality [VIDEO]

'I have called you by name, Quvenzhané'

2013-03-04T01:18:00.000-05:00

Names are important. They are integral to our identity and self-worth. Throughout the bible, names signify heritage and history (Moses, Samuel), and are given to mark moments of great significance (Abraham, Israel, Peter, Paul). This is why it's so meaningful when we hear God say "I have called you by name" (Isaiah 43:1)

And yet, when Quvenzhané Wallis, the youngest actress ever nominated for an Oscar, had her moment on the red carpet, the media could not give her that same grace. Instead, they took it upon themselves to give her nicknames (and vulgarities).

They might have addressed her with a respectful 'Miss. Wallis.' Or politely asked how to pronounce her first name. Or best of all, they might have done the research ahead of time to learn how she preferred to be addressed. Instead she was called 'Q,' 'little Q,' 'Miss Q.' An AP reporter even decided "I'm just going to call you Annie," to which Wallis replied "My name is not Annie. It’s Quvenzhane."

Tracy Clayton notes that "Refusing to learn how to pronounce Quvenzhané’s name says, pointedly, you are not worth the effort...You will be who and what I want you to be; you be who and what makes me more comfortable....only on my terms" She also notes that Hollywood has managed to master names like Zellweger, Galifianakis, and Schwarzenegger.

That this happened to a famous movie star should be no wonder when we routinely commit such indignities in our daily lives. Names given to some black children are mocked as being 'made up' or not 'real' names. White folks will substitute them for names that are more familiar to our own culture. It shows that we think very little of a person when we will not bother to learn or respect their name. Why not celebrate the richness of deeply personal and beautiful names, instead?

StoryCorp's 'Facundo the Great'

Similarly, we anglicize Spanish names rather than pounce them as given (David, Paula; check out this great Story Core video) or we are unduly confused by traditions of multiple last/middle names. Folks of East Asian heritage sometimes just give up and simply choose an 'English name' to save themselves the trouble. Even holy names that are not Judeo-Christian can inspire fear and hatred in some.

White ridicule of black names can be traced to days when slave owners replaced the given-names of their African slaves with European names that they could more easily manage (and even then, it was likely to be the diminutive Ben, rather than Benjamin). Might these new slaves have felt much like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, being persecuted in a foreign land and forced to take on name from their captors?

Our biases continue to have serious implications today. It's been well established that when judging resumes, employers will turn away equally-qualified candidates with non-white names. Likewise a teacher's respect for a student drastically affects how that child will perform on tests. Yes, I have sympathy for teachers on the first day of school when reading the roster. But what better way to show a new student that you care than by learning their name?

If it's a new name to you, just ask politely and respectfully how it should be pronounced, and then listen carefully. Don't assume that it's abnormal, or that it is rare. Don't joke, sneer, pun, or otherwise emphasis it as an oddity. Instead, be glad for our freedom to carefully and lovely choose beautiful names for our children. We are each unique--it is wonderful to have a name that reflects one's individuality.

Remember that a name is someone's identity. Erasure of a name is an erasure of identity. When we exoticize someone's name we reveal how deeply steeped we are in our own culture, and how blind we are to the values of others'.

"give your daughters difficult names.

give your daughters names that command the full use of tongue.

my name makes you want to tell me the truth.

my name doesn’t allow me to trust anyone that cannot pronounce it right."

warsan shire

Friday Fruit (03/01/13)

2013-03-01T10:37:00.000-05:00

Actress Lupe Ontiveros

On Fridays, BTSF offers links to other discussions about race & Christianity. It's an opportunity for you to read about racial justice & Christianity from other perspectives, and for me to give props to the shoulders on which I stand...

Weekly Round Up:

3 Latino Lessons on Racial Reconciliation

Can I Be Navajo and Christian?

Language myth #13: Black children are verbally deprived

Kids aren’t colorblind. Your conversations with them shouldn’t be either

Oscars Racial Round Up:

Denzel and Quvenzhané Are The Only Actors of Color Nominated for Oscars

Apparently, People Have Beef With Quvenzhané Wallis

Oscars ‘In Memoriam’ Snubs Lupe Ontiveros, Twice