By Their Strange Fruit

Friday Round Up (02/10/12)

2012-02-10T10:16:00.001-05:00

On Fridays, we post a round up of the week's happenings.

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.

Weekly Round Up:

Tucson Youth Group Hosts Their Own Chicano Studies Classes

"You Speak English So Well" Good examination of this phrase

Parents Afraid of Reporting Sexual Abuse to LA Sheriff Because They Fear Deportation

The Racist Super Bowl Commercial You Might Have Missed

“It’s hard to see racism when you’re white”: Un-Fair Campaign

Ethnic Studies #WishiLearnedinHS Curriculum: Catch up on the stuff you should have learned

Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Sesame Street

These are some of our links of interest this week. What are yours?

See Also:
White History Month
I Don't Know
Internal Conflict

White History Month

2012-02-06T09:51:00.013-05:00

"Why isn't there a white history month?!
That's reverse racism!"
Because we already have white history year (decade, centuries...)!

In the United States, it's white history that is the default, the assumed perspective. It's what's taught in the classrooms, portrayed in the media, and informs policy making. So we don't need a special time to teach it. It is taught ALL the time.

If black history were taught in a similar manner, it wouldn't need its own month. Asian-American, Native American, and Latino-American histories are constantly marginalized and ignored, every bit as much as black history (and now they're even criminalized).

The unfortunate thing about Black History Month, is that some people think the history is just for black folk. The truth is, we are all missing large chunks of historical knowledge, which hinders us as we move forward in our relationships today. As I grow in my racial awareness, it is profoundly embarrassing that the names of major figures in history are completely unknown to me. I am ignorant. I find myself having scramble to catch up and make up for lost time--cramming names and events that should have been taught to me years ago. It might not be my fault that my high school let me graduate without this knowledge, but now it's on me to rectify it. I am so far behind in my knowledge of music, literature, science. I need a black history month...I just need to celebrate it year 'round to begin to catch up.

History textbook cover:
Columbus, but no Native Americans,
Kitty Hawk, but no Tuskegee Airmen,
the transcontinental railway,
but no Chinese immigrant workgangs.
Just a group of anonymous slaves.

A lot of the issues are rooted with our education system. Textbooks that don't give the full picture, teachers that gloss over hard truths. To read my 10th grade history textbook, you would think black folks didn't exist in the United States until they suddenly become emancipated from slavery, then they disappeared for a while until angry mobs took to the streets demanding civil rights. There were maybe two famous African-Americans of note, Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass, but they were the 'exceptional Negroes'--the ones that stood out from the crowd. My textbook had a small sectioned entitled "white resistance to civil rights" and is followed not long after by a section about the Civil Rights Acts called "The Great Society and the Triumph of Liberalism." (Well, I'm glad that was taken care of!).

The same principles apply to many aspects of our history: Native American achievements and contributions, the USA's paternalist relationship with the Philippines, Japanese internment camps, on and on (see Howard Zinn and James Loewen for more information). Some of it is mentioned in schools, but too often it's "oh yeah and this happened too."

How do we hope for reconciliation if we know so terribly little about those to whom we wish to be reunited? How incredibly disingenuous to say "I stand with you" and then have to ask basic questions about the history of our divide! To love one another, it seems we aught to first know each other! White folks' ignorance is the basis for a lot of pain and misunderstanding in the reconciliation process. Without a foundational knowledge of Al Jolson and minstrel shows, it might be hard to understand why blackface at a party is never ok. White folks are often surprised when black people get angry over 'little things,' but if we understood our history a bit better, we would probably get angry too.

This picture was not in my history text book

It's important to make a concerted effort to rectify that short coming, and setting aside a devoted month to do so can help. Unfortunately, cordoning off a four weeks to put MLK's picture up everywhere isn't going to cut it. It is a hollow act of token recognition that just allows white folks to pat themselves on the backs for their inclusiveness and then move on with their lives for the rest of the year. Its like we in the majority are deigning to allow this concession of a month at our own benevolent discretion.

Put better by Renee at Womanist Musings:

By presenting this as a celebration of 'look how far we have come', we fail to focus on the ways in which race still continues to play a pivotal role in who has access to power in this society. White women are still clutching their purses in the presence of black men, we are still largely portrayed as prostitutes and criminals in the media...

Ah, yes....the media. Another main culprit, alongside our education system. For one month out of the year, advertisers and big companies use February as an excuse to market to black folks (often very awkwardly), then go back to their true colors on March 1. Media bias deserves its own post, but suffice it to say that once again I find myself scrambling and making up for my missing knowledge to get the full picture about the world around me.

So lets educate ourselves a bit, beginning with the history of Black History Month itself:

Carter G. Woodson initiated Negro History Week in 1926 in February to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. The idea was to bring black history to the attention of the broader American public. Then, in 1976 the black history was given an entire month--albeit the shortest month of the year.

Continuing our history lesson, how about some identification tasks:

Can you name the 14 people pictured here?
I'll get you started: MLK, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman...

Name five black figures of
historical significance....not so hard.
Now name ten more...

Do you know who Cathay Williams is? Marian Anderson? Crispus Attucks? Matthew Henson? Ida B. Wells? Richard Wright? Marcus Garvey? Who are some significant white allies during the civil rights movement? These shouldn't be obscure names to you, but too often they are.

Can you name the inventor of the light bulb? no problem. What about the carbon filament essential to it? Or the traffic light? hmmm. Telephone? Easy. The blood bank? Not so much. Eyeglasses? yep. Person to patent laser cataract removal? First brain surgeon to perform a hemispherectomy and the first to successfully separate twins conjoined at the head!?!?! Many of us would have starved as children without peanut butter (I am definitely in that category!), but have no idea who to thank for it.

Ok Methodist sisters and brothers...
how about this one?

The thing is, folks, this isn't simply black history, it's women's history, it's LGBT history, it's military history, it's literary history, it's science history, it's religious history. It's American history.

If you don't know some of these most famous of examples I cite here (and I really just graze the surface), do yourself a favor and spend the next 30 minutes looking at the links, reading wikepedia, and educating yourself. Thirty minutes is a miniscule amount of time to a devote to a subject so neglected, especially compared to the vast history that we are missing out on--but it's a start. You owe it to yourself.

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

See Also:
New Lesson Plans
I Don't Know
Racism in Academic Admissions

Friday Round Up (02/03/12)

2012-02-03T09:36:00.000-05:00

Whose Accent Counts? All Speak English with an Accent in the US

Incarceration Statistics

January 30: Fred Korematsu Day! Learn Your History

"Your English is so good" "I was born in the USA"

Ava DuVernay: Best Director Award At Sundance Film Festival

These are some of our links of interest this week. What are yours?

See Also:
Internal Conflict
Day After Day They Seek Me

Day After Day They Seek Me

2012-02-01T00:29:00.009-05:00

This post is part of an ongoing collaboration of multicultural social media ministries. We are beginning a series to examine God's unchanging nature, and how it relates to multicultural ministry. Below is BTSF's contribution, and links to others will be posted as they go live: Proskuneo Ministries, Redemption Boulevard.

Does God change? Is the God of Abraham and Isaac, the same one as ours today? Is He the same God in whose name the crusades were carried out, or who was claimed by both sides of the US Civil War? Was it the same God’s scripture that was used to keep slaves in line, and to segregate churches?

Or did He change? Did the rules of His game adapt along with the values of our culture? How can it be that we eat shellfish now, when it was forbidden 4000 years ago? Or why do we believe slavery is wrong now, when it seemed a part of normal life back then? How is it that we have a shifting morality if our God is so unchanging?

The answer is, of course, that we change. And our understanding of Him changes. If we served a God that were within our timeline, subject to our natural laws, He would be not much greater than ourselves. Yet by His grace, we are allowed to know him, though we are fickle and wavering in our knowing. What we mistake for His will today, we may better understand as the whispers of Satan tomorrow.

And so how does this knowledge affect how we attend to our daily ministry of reconciliation? If our understanding of what is right and just lies in our laws or in society’s norms, how can we be assured that tomorrow we will still see our ministry in the same light? Will we look back and be pleased with our work, or will be ashamed of what we perpetuated?

Reflecting on our understanding of ‘fair’ and ‘good,’ will we chuckle at ourselves for being so backward, so old fashioned? Who will we understand as the lepers of our time? Who the Pharisees? In 50 years, what new insight on scripture will give fresh perspective on the work we do today and make us question our motives?

Surely, the stanchly segregated churches of the 60s believed they were every bit as righteous as we feel we are today. And slaveholders honestly believed they were conforming to the Word as much as our modern bible study groups do.

Let us never suppose that our understanding is complete, but rejoice in a God that is large enough to encompass our growth in Him. We take comfort in the knowledge that although our understanding may change, God is steadfast and everlasting. His will is not a moving target, but one that we mature towards by daily discipline and devotion.

Thus, we can never take lightly the needs of others, or dismiss claims of injustice with declarations of what we understand is ‘fair.’ But rather, we look to scripture for a better vission of God’s mission on earth:

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.

Raise your voice like a trumpet.

Declare to my people their rebellion

and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.

For day after day they seek me out;

they seem eager to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that does what is right

and has not forsaken the commands of its God.

They ask me for just decisions

and seem eager for God to come near them.

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,

‘and you have not seen it?

Why have we humbled ourselves,

and you have not noticed?’

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please

and exploit all your workers.

Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,

and in striking each other with wicked fists.

You cannot fast as you do today

and expect your voice to be heard on high.

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,

only a day for people to humble themselves?

Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed

and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?

Is that what you call a fast,

a day acceptable to the LORD?

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry

and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe them,

and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness will go before you,

and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;

you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry

and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,

then your light will rise in the darkness,

and your night will become like the noonday.

The LORD will guide you always;

he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land

and will strengthen your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden,

like a spring whose waters never fail.

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins

and will raise up the age-old foundations;

you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,

Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath

and from doing as you please on my holy day,

if you call the Sabbath a delight

and the LORD’s holy day honorable,

and if you honor it by not going your own way

and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

then you will find your joy in the LORD,

and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land

and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken

-Isaiah 58

See Also:

Why It's Important

The Biblical Premise for Justice and Reconciliation

Religious Roots of Racism

Internal Conflict

2012-01-30T00:05:00.000-05:00

Please welcome guest blogger, Chris Sunami. Chris is a philosopher and the author of Hero for Christ. Find more of his writings on his blog, Yes and Other Answers.

The ancient Greek philosopher Plato said that every city with a wide gap between the rich and the poor was really two cities, a rich city and a poor city, coexisting, but always on the verge of internal war. For a long time in this country, the story of race has really been the story of the wealthy versus the poor; and the color of people's skins has been the most convenient of weapons in that war. Under the rule of divide and conquer, poor whites and poor blacks have historically been set at each others throats, an effective way to prevent any unfolding of the natural unity of interests of the poor.

The underlying inequality of the system was this: a poor white always had an avenue to upward mobility. She might have to suppress her accent, change her wardrobe, and deny her origins, but with enough effort she could disappear without trace into middle-class America, as long as she was willing to give up any and all identification with the poor. This was not an option available to a black person. A black person could always be identified at a glance by the color of her skin. The stereotypes of race and poverty would follow her always, without fail. At most she could hope to be treated as an exception to the rule.

Recently, there has been a true sea-change in the beliefs and attitudes of the generation on the cusp of maturity, but it has neither been as simple nor as uniformly positive as many would like to believe. In today's middle-class, black skin color has become normalized. Being darker-skinned is no longer something of particular importance to many middle-class youth. Yet at the same time, black culture, particularly as associated with poverty, has been demonized.

The code words are simple and consistent --usually "Gangsters" (or "Gangsta Rappers") and "Thugs." This mostly means young, low-income African-American males, who are automatically assumed to be stupid, criminal-minded, violent, crude, misogynistic and dangerous. It is often used, however, as a catch-all for black culture in general. Surprisingly, these same terms are often found, with derogatory implications intact, on the lips of black people themselves. The once legendary unity of the black community has seemingly been shattered.

The divorce was perhaps first made public in black comedian Chris Rock's infamous piece "Black People versus N______s." The refrain of that bit went like this: "I love black people, but I hate n------s." The basic idea was that "black people" were good, rational people--with middle class values. "N----s" were the idiots who kept messing things up with their ghettoish ways. The underlying message was that as a person with dark skin you had a choice of which you wanted to be, a "black person" or a "n-----".

It seems as though Americans at large--both black and white--have bought into Rock's idea in a big way. In essence, black people in today's America now have the same choice available to them as the poor white person. As a black person, you can move upwards and be embraced by middle-class America. The only price of admission is that you deny, betray and forswear your every allegiance with the poor.

See Also:

Racism in Academic Admissions

#Occupy, you are not the 99%

Friday Round Up (01/27/12) <-- Several links that relate to Chris's post

Friday Round Up (01/27/12)

2012-01-27T09:50:00.002-05:00

I Continue to Fail “The Poor”

Sale Cereal: Seasonal vs. Perpetual/Generational Poverty

The 4709th Lunar New Year: The year of the black water dragon

Income Inequality Is Bad For Society: Really Bad.

Voter Suppression: The New Disenfranchisement

Slumlords Conspire To Avoid Building Maintenance

The Racially Coded Language of Presidential Candidates

NY Cops’ Camera Caught Them Allegedly Planting Evidence in Driver’s Car

These are some of our links of interest this week. What are yours?

See Also:
Red Tails: Using privilege for good?
Tuskegee Airmen
Etta James (1938-2012)

Tuskegee Airmen

2012-01-24T23:38:00.005-05:00

Retired Tuskegee Airmen: Ivan Ware,
J. Byron Morris and William E. Broadwater

Formally known as the 332nd Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps, the Tuskegee Airmen were the first black military pilots and flight crews. While still subject to Jim Crow both in the USA and abroad, our soldiers defended the United States against Nazi Germany in World War II.

Their record was superb. With nearly 1000 fliers trained since their formation in 1941, they damaged or destroyed over 400 enemy aircraft and flew 1,578 missions. Four-hundred and fifty pilots served overseas, with ~150 recieveing Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 66 killed in action.

In addition:

Captain Fred Hutchins

3 Distinguished Unit Citations:

99th Pursuit Squadron: for the capture of Pantelleria, Italy
99th Fighter Squadron: for successful air strikes against Monte Cassino, Italy
332d Fighter Group: for the longest bomber escort mission of WWII

At least 1 Silver Star
14 Bronze Stars
744 Air Medals
8 Purple Hearts
950 railcars, trucks and other vehicles were destroyed
1 destroyer sunk

If you don't know the story of these airmen, take some time to familiarize yourself with their history through original videos and personal narratives. Read about the racism they faced before, during, and after their service in WWII.

See Also:
Red Tails: Using Privilege for Good?
White History Month

Red Tails: Using Privilege for good?

2012-01-23T00:51:00.011-05:00

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

For white allies seeking racial justice, it's essential to examine the line between using one's privilege for good and becoming a white savior. In trying to promote his new move, Red Tails, George Lucas precariously walks that line.

Red Tails follows the story of the 332nd Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps in their early combat missions in Italy during World War II. In general, movies that glorify/sugar coat the horrors of war aren't high on my view list and this one has it's share of flashy fight scenes under a heroic veneer. But it's a welcome change to see black folks leading the gallant charge in a major motion picture. Lucas acknowledges "it’s not like Glory, where you have a lot of white officers run these guys into cannon fodder."

Lucas has been making the rounds promoting Red Tails in print and on television, hoping his Star Wars clout/fan base will help bring attention to the movie. Sometimes, the best thing a white person can do is use her/his privilege to help spread the word about racial injustice, knowing that (for better or worse) white voices get heard more than those of color.

And for the most part, Lucas seems to be doing a good job of bring attention to the issues. He talks about the systemic struggles that black directors/actors face, and points to the successes of people in color that came before him. He makes it a point to highlight the fact the film's release was significantly delayed by Hollywood's resistance to promote a black film with no major white roles.

Lucas bemoans the fact that if even he struggles to be allowed to produce such a film (despite the fact he financed the project with his own $58 million), it will be all but impossible for those facing continued racial discrimination to do so. He is also aware enough to recognize that if Red Tails flops, he puts other black films at risk by affirming the movie studios' prejudices.

So Lucas seems genuine in his desire to help, and for the most part is doing what he can to use his privilege for good. If he can lend his face recognition to help increase the notoriety of the Tuskegee Airmen, that's great. But there are a couple other things he might have done that would have kept him solidly out of 'white savior' territory.

I understand that he's the famous guy everyone wants to interview, but Cuba Gooding Jr, Ne-Yo, and Terrence Howard have a good deal of name recognition in their own right. Why not have them join you for your Daily Show interview? Or it might have been nice if Lucas had also asked that Huffington and USA Today interview Anthony Hemingway, the budding director that is making his feature film debut. Or perhaps best of all would be to hear from the actual airmen that this movie is about! After all, they won't be with us for much longer.

It could be that Lucas did indeed ask that these things happen, but was denied. And it's not his fault that the media is the way it is. So, I'm more apt to be critical of white anti-racism pundits like Tim Wise, who have gained significant notoriety (read: $$) on news networks for decades without giving significant recognition to the people of color who laid the foundations for their work. Indeed, maybe I perpetuating the problem by talking about these issues, instead of about the actual Airmen and their legacy (See post: Tuskegee Airmen).

If you don't know their story in detail, read up on it. Then support the Red Tails at the box office and prove the movie industry wrong. Know that racism isn't cured over one beer at an officers club, and that the 'happily-ever-after-now-that-racism-is-dead' ending doesn't at all reflect the reality of what these men faced when they got home. But enjoy the war-glory film for what it is, knowing that it is a long awaited addition to its genre.

See Also:
Tuskegee Airmen
White Savior Complex
White History Month

Etta James (1938-2012)

2012-01-20T17:16:00.003-05:00

"A lot of people think the blues is depressing but that’s not the blues I’m singing.
When I’m singing blues, I’m singing life."

~Etta James

Letter from Birmingham Jail
More First Steps for Equality and Justice

Friday Round Up (01/20/12)

2012-01-20T10:31:00.003-05:00

Why Racialicious Went On SOPA Strike: Good video!

Sh*t People Say: a good collection of the socially minded meme

On the Receiving End: Charity vs relationships

Apologies on Discount: Non-apologies

For-Profit Colleges’ Mostly Black and Latino Students Face Higher Debt and Unemployment

The Dirtiest of Words on Capitol Hill: “Racism”

Disabled Bodies and Ableist Acceptance

"Fotoshop by Adobé" Beauty Product Parody

These are some of our links of interest this week. What are yours?

See Also:
MLK: Paul’s Letter to American Christians

Letter from Birmingham Jail
More First Steps for Equality and Justice

MLK: Paul’s Letter to American Christians

2012-01-15T23:23:00.002-05:00

Please welcome guest author Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. These words were originally delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, in Montgomery, Alabama on November 4, 1956. Too many people have never read Dr. King's speeches, sermons & essays, yet religiously follow blogs parroting concepts he articulated >50 years ago. So before you read anything more from me, take a moment to read some of his words (audio here):

I would like to share with you an imaginary letter from the pen of the Apostle Paul. The postmark reveals that it comes from the city of Ephesus. After opening the letter I discovered that it was written in Greek rather than English. At the top of the first page was this request: "Please read to your congregation as soon as possible, and then pass on to the other churches."

For several weeks I have worked assiduously with the translation. At times it has been difficult, but now I think I have deciphered its true meaning. May I hasten to say that if in presenting this letter the contents sound strangely Kingian instead of Paulinian, attribute it to my lack of complete objectivity rather than Paul's lack of clarity.

It is miraculous, indeed, that the Apostle Paul should be writing a letter to you and to me nearly 1900 years after his last letter appeared in the New Testament. How this is possible is something of an enigma wrapped in mystery. The important thing, however, is that I can imagine the Apostle Paul writing a letter to American Christians in 1956 A.D. And here is the letter as it stands before me.

I, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to you who are in America, Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

For many years I have longed to be able to come to see you. I have heard so much of you and of what you are doing. I have heard of the fascinating and astounding advances that you have made in the scientific realm. I have heard of your dashing subways and flashing airplanes. Through your scientific genius you have been able to dwarf distance and place time in chains. You have been able to carve highways through the stratosphere. So in your world you have made it possible to eat breakfast in New York City and dinner in Paris, France. I have also heard of your skyscraping buildings with their prodigious towers steeping heavenward. I have heard of your great medical advances, which have resulted in the curing of many dread plagues and diseases, and thereby prolonged your lives and made for greater security and physical well-being. All of that is marvelous. You can do so many things in your day that I could not do in the Greco-Roman world of my day. In your age you can travel distances in one day that took me three months to travel. That is wonderful. You have made tremendous strides in the area of scientific and technological development.

But America, as I look at you from afar, I wonder whether your moral and spiritual progress has been commensurate with your scientific progress. It seems to me that your moral progress lags behind your scientific progress. Your poet Thoreau used to talk about "improved means to an unimproved end." How often this is true. You have allowed the material means by which you live to outdistance the spiritual ends for which you live. You have allowed your mentality to outrun your morality. You have allowed your civilization to outdistance your culture. Through your scientific genius you have made of the world a neighborhood, but through your moral and spiritual genius you have failed to make of it a brotherhood. So America, I would urge you to keep your moral advances abreast with your scientific advances.

I am impelled to write you concerning the responsibilities laid upon you to live as Christians in the midst of an unChristian world. That is what I had to do. That is what every Christian has to do. But I understand that there are many Christians in America who give their ultimate allegiance to man-made systems and customs. They are afraid to be different. Their great concern is to be accepted socially. They live by some such principle as this: "everybody is doing it, so it must be alright." For so many of you Morality is merely group consensus. In your modern sociological lingo, the mores are accepted as the right ways. You have unconsciously come to believe that right is discovered by taking a sort of Gallup poll of the majority opinion. How many are giving their ultimate allegiance to this way.

But American Christians, I must say to you as I said to the Roman Christians years ago, "Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." Or, as I said to the Phillipian Christians, "Ye are a colony of heaven." This means that although you live in the colony of time, your ultimate allegiance is to the empire of eternity. You have a dual citizenry. You live both in time and eternity; both in heaven and earth. Therefore, your ultimate allegiance is not to the government, not to the state, not to nation, not to any man-made institution. The Christian owes his ultimate allegiance to God, and if any earthly institution conflicts with God's will it is your Christian duty to take a stand against it. You must never allow the transitory evanescent demands of man-made institutions to take precedence over the eternal demands of the Almighty God.

I understand that you have an economic system in America known as Capitalism. Through this economic system you have been able to do wonders. You have become the richest nation in the world, and you have built up the greatest system of production that history has ever known. All of this is marvelous. But Americans, there is the danger that you will misuse your Capitalism. I still contend that money can be the root of all evil. It can cause one to live a life of gross materialism. I am afraid that many among you are more concerned about making a living than making a life. You are prone to judge the success of your profession by the index of your salary and the size of the wheel base on your automobile, rather than the quality of your service to humanity.

The misuse of Capitalism can also lead to tragic exploitation. This has so often happened in your nation. They tell me that one tenth of one percent of the population controls more than forty percent of the wealth. Oh America, how often have you taken necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes. If you are to be a truly Christian nation you must solve this problem. You cannot solve the problem by turning to communism, for communism is based on an ethical relativism and a metaphysical materialism that no Christian can accept. You can work within the framework of democracy to bring about a better distribution of wealth. You can use your powerful economic resources to wipe poverty from the face of the earth. God never intended for one group of people to live in superfluous inordinate wealth, while others live in abject deadening poverty. God intends for all of his children to have the basic necessities of life, and he has left in this universe "enough and to spare" for that purpose. So I call upon you to bridge the gulf between abject poverty and superfluous wealth.

I would that I could be with you in person, so that I could say to you face to face what I am forced to say to you in writing. Oh, how I long to share your fellowship.

Let me rush on to say something about the church. Americans, I must remind you, as I have said to so many others, that the church is the Body of Christ. So when the church is true to its nature it knows neither division nor disunity. But I am disturbed about what you are doing to the Body of Christ. They tell me that in America you have within Protestantism more than two hundred and fifty six denominations. The tragedy is not so much that you have such a multiplicity of denominations, but that most of them are warring against each other with a claim to absolute truth. This narrow sectarianism is destroying the unity of the Body of Christ. You must come to see that God is neither a Baptist nor a Methodist; He is neither a Presbyterian nor a Episcopalian. God is bigger than all of our denominations. If you are to be true witnesses for Christ, you must come to see that America.

But I must not stop with a criticism of Protestantism. I am disturbed about Roman Catholicism. This church stands before the world with its pomp and power, insisting that it possesses the only truth. It incorporates an arrogance that becomes a dangerous spiritual arrogance. It stands with its noble Pope who somehow rises to the miraculous heights of infallibility when he speaks ex cathedra. But I am disturbed about a person or an institution that claims infallibility in this world. I am disturbed about any church that refuses to cooperate with other churches under the pretense that it is the only true church. I must emphasize the fact that God is not a Roman Catholic, and that the boundless sweep of his revelation cannot be limited to the Vatican. Roman Catholicism must do a great deal to mend its ways.

There is another thing that disturbs me to no end about the American church. You have a white church and you have a Negro church. You have allowed segregation to creep into the doors of the church. How can such a division exist in the true Body of Christ? You must face the tragic fact that when you stand at 11:00 on Sunday morning to sing "All Hail the Power of Jesus Name" and "Dear Lord and Father of all Mankind," you stand in the most segregated hour of Christian America. They tell me that there is more integration in the entertaining world and other secular agencies than there is in the Christian church. How appalling that is.

I understand that there are Christians among you who try to justify segregation on the basis of the Bible. They argue that the Negro is inferior by nature because of Noah's curse upon the children of Ham. Oh my friends, this is blasphemy. This is against everything that the Christian religion stands for. I must say to you as I have said to so many Christians before, that in Christ "there is neither Jew nor Gentile, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus." Moreover, I must reiterate the words that I uttered on Mars Hill: "God that made the world and all things therein . . . hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth."

So Americans I must urge you to get rid of every aspect of segregation. The broad universalism standing at the center of the gospel makes both the theory and practice of segregation morally unjustifiable. Segregation is a blatant denial of the unity which we all have in Christ. It substitutes an "I-it" relationship for the "I-thou" relationship. The segregator relegates the segregated to the status of a thing rather than elevate him to the status of a person. The underlying philosophy of Christianity is diametrically opposed to the underlying philosophy of segregation, and all the dialectics of the logicians cannot make them lie down together.

I praise your Supreme Court for rendering a great decision just two or three years ago. I am happy to know that so many persons of goodwill have accepted the decision as a great moral victory. But I understand that there are some brothers among you who have risen up in open defiance. I hear that their legislative halls ring loud with such words as "nullification" and "interposition." They have lost the true meaning of democracy and Christianity. So I would urge each of you to plead patiently with your brothers, and tell them that this isn't the way. With understanding goodwill, you are obligated to seek to change their attitudes. Let them know that in standing against integration, they are not only standing against the noble precepts of your democracy, but also against the eternal edicts of God himself. Yes America, there is still the need for an Amos to cry out to the nation: "Let judgement roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream."

May I say just a word to those of you who are struggling against this evil. Always be sure that you struggle with Christian methods and Christian weapons. Never succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter. As you press on for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline, using only the weapon of love. Let no man pull you so low as to hate him. Always avoid violence. If you succumb to the temptation of using violence in your struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and your chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos.

In your struggle for justice, let your oppressor know that you are not attempting to defeat or humiliate him, or even to pay him back for injustices that he has heaped upon you. Let him know that you are merely seeking justice for him as well as yourself. Let him know that the festering sore of segregation debilitates the white man as well as the Negro. With this attitude you will be able to keep your struggle on high Christian standards.

Many persons will realize the urgency of seeking to eradicate the evil of segregation. There will be many Negroes who will devote their lives to the cause of freedom. There will be many white persons of goodwill and strong moral sensitivity who will dare to take a stand for justice. Honesty impels me to admit that such a stand will require willingness to suffer and sacrifice. So don't despair if you are condemned and persecuted for righteousness' sake. Whenever you take a stand for truth and justice, you are liable to scorn. Often you will be called an impractical idealist or a dangerous radical. Sometimes it might mean going to jail. If such is the case you must honorably grace the jail with your presence. It might even mean physical death. But if physical death is the price that some must pay to free their children from a permanent life of psychological death, then nothing could be more Christian. Don't worry about persecution America; you are going to have that if you stand up for a great principle. I can say this with some authority, because my life was a continual round of persecutions. After my conversion I was rejected by the disciples at Jerusalem. Later I was tried for heresy at Jerusalem. I was jailed at Philippi, beaten at Thessalonica, mobbed at Ephesus, and depressed at Athens. And yet I am still going. I came away from each of these experiences more persuaded than ever before that "neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come . . . shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." I still believe that standing up for the truth of God is the greatest thing in the world. This is the end of life. The end of life is not to be happy. The end of life is not to achieve pleasure and avoid pain. The end of life is to do the will of God, come what may.

I must bring my writing to a close now. Timothy is waiting to deliver this letter, and I must take leave for another church. But just before leaving, I must say to you, as I said to the church at Corinth, that I still believe that love is the most durable power in the world. Over the centuries men have sought to discover the highest good. This has been the chief quest of ethical philosophy. This was one of the big questions of Greek philosophy. The Epicurean and the Stoics sought to answer it; Plato and Aristotle sought to answer it. What is the summon bonum of life? I think I have an answer America. I think I have discovered the highest good. It is love. This principle stands at the center of the cosmos. As John says, "God is love." He who loves is a participant in the being of God. He who hates does not know God.

So American Christians, you may master the intricacies of the English language. You may possess all of the eloquence of articulate speech. But even if you "speak with the tongues of man and angels, and have not love, you are become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."

You may have the gift of prophecy and understanding all mysteries. You may be able to break into the storehouse of nature and bring out many insights that men never dreamed were there. You may ascend to the heights of academic achievement, so that you will have all knowledge. You may boast of your great institutions of learning and the boundless extent of your degrees. But all of this amounts to absolutely nothing devoid of love.

But even more Americans, you may give your goods to feed the poor. You may give great gifts to charity. You may tower high in philanthropy. But if you have not love it means nothing. You may even give your body to be burned, and die the death of a martyr. Your spilt blood may be a symbol of honor for generations yet unborn, and thousands may praise you as history's supreme hero. But even so, if you have not love your blood was spilt in vain. You must come to see that it is possible for a man to be self-centered in his self-denial and self-righteous in his self-sacrifice. He may be generous in order to feed his ego and pious in order to feed his pride. Man has the tragic capacity to relegate a heightening virtue to a tragic vice. Without love benevolence becomes egotism, and martyrdom becomes spiritual pride.

So the greatest of all virtues is love. It is here that we find the true meaning of the Christian faith. This is at bottom the meaning of the cross. The great event on Calvary signifies more than a meaningless drama that took place on the stage of history. It is a telescope through which we look out into the long vista of eternity and see the love of God breaking forth into time. It is an eternal reminder to a power drunk generation that love is most durable power in the world, and that it is at bottom the heartbeat of the moral cosmos. Only through achieving this love can you expect to matriculate into the university of eternal life.

I must say goodby now. I hope this letter will find you strong in the faith. It is probable that I will not get to see you in America, but I will meet you in God's eternity. And now unto him who is able to keep us from falling, and lift us from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope, from the midnight of desperation to the daybreak of joy, to him be power and authority, forever and ever. Amen.

See Also:
Letter from Birmingham Jail

Malcolm X

Sermon: John Edgar

Friday Round Up (01/13/12)

2012-01-13T10:26:00.004-05:00

Unemployment Rate Improved for Everyone in 2011, Except for Blacks

Not everyone is laughing at "Sh*t White Girls Say To Black Girls"

Thanks for the rec, Carolyn!

Pvt. Danny Chen Driven to Suicide After Racist Bullying

#OWS, Esther Choi, and the reaction to the death of Pvt. Danny Chen

Calling Asians Racist Slurs on Fast Food Receipts is Now a National Trend

Shaping the Election: New Hampshire Demographics vs. Rest of the USA (Iconograph)

Target casually and respectfully incorporates 6-year-old model with Down syndrome

UPDATE: There's a part 2!! "Sh*t White Girls Say To Black Girls pt 2"
UPDATE 2: The season finale of Awkward Black Girl is out!
Also, Happy Founder's Day DST!

These are some of our links of interest this week. What are yours?

See Also:
More First Steps for Equality and Justice
Reverb: The unintended consequences of our daily behavior
Practical Steps Against Racial Injustice

More First Steps for Equality and Justice

2012-01-11T11:04:00.001-05:00

Margot Starbuck recently released a great article at Relevant Magazine called A Suburban Faith that complements our recent discussions about practical action for change. She discusses ways that folks can become a little less isolated, even while living in a privileged suburban area. The goal is simply to commune with others and to treat our neighbours with respect and dignity. Read the full article here, and begin to transform your attitude by taking the following advice:

Know the name of the person who touches your goods.

“Know something about the one who serves you as a bag boy, attendant, or waitress. What’s her name? Does he live alone? What happens when her bus doesn’t show up? Honor this one by looking him in the eye, calling him by name and taking a genuine interest in his life.”

Exercise in a place where you’ll encounter someone new.

“For your next workout, choose a physical space where you might naturally encounter someone with fewer resources. Jog past your city’s social service providers or do your weird race-walk through a low-income neighborhood. And because it’s not a poverty tour, be sure to speak to some of the real live people who also think your race-walk looks ridiculous.”

Get to really know those who you encounter in the course of your daily work.

“Get to know the faces and names and stories of those who too often go unnoticed. Who is it that cleans the bathrooms you use most frequently? When you don’t make your own lunch, who is it that serves you the one you buy? What’s the story of the guy who waits outside the coffee shop asking for spare change? “

Build relationships with the elderly who have been forgotten.

“Whether you have the natural entrée of an older neighbor rehabilitating after a fall, or whether you contact the recreation coordinator to be scheduled as a bingo caller, the poor, the weak and the forgotten are waiting for company in nursing homes in every community.”

Engage in ministry with a partner from a sister congregation.

“Does your congregation have a relationship with a sister church that’s socially or economically different from yours? Support the ministry they’re already doing. If it’s tutoring students, show up Fridays after work. If it’s Vacation Bible School, learn how you can serve. If it’s cleaning up the neighborhood, don your work gloves on a Saturday morning and make a new friend.”

Open your home to children in the state foster care system.

“Have a heart for young kids? Before you ever raise your own, consider opening your home to children in your state’s foster care system. When local kids are suddenly displaced from the home they share with their natural parents, they often need a place to stay for a night or two. This moment of loving stability can bless a child more than you know.”

Invest in people living in a place where personhood can be easily overlooked.

“Tuesday night your church is providing supper for people being sheltered through Interfaith Hospitality Network. Though it’s bad news for the poor when people of privilege dip into their lives only long enough to throw a casserole out their Prius window, your church’s support of local mercy ministry might be the vehicle by which you are able to develop a real friendship.”

Reverb: The unintended consequences of our daily behavior

2012-01-08T22:55:00.005-05:00

Please welcome Rev. Marty Troye r, a husband, daddy, and peacemaker, who serves as pastor of Houston Mennonite Church: The Church of the Sermon on the Mount, in Houston, TX. He blogs regularly with chron.com where this post was originally published.

I can relate all too well with the Magi of Matthew 2. After all, they did what they thought was best only to feel the devastating reverb of their decisions. Their good behavior impacted people they’d never met. Like Mark who drinks Starbucks, and Becky who shops the latest fashions, and Julie who loves her cell phone. All of whom participate in an unjust system oppressing folks half a world away.

And so it is with the Magi, who force Jesus's family to become refugees, and cause the death of all babies and toddlers in Bethlehem. Indeed, they trigger injustices that foreshadow the conflict Jesus will face his entire life.

But perhaps my own behavior is more like Herod’s than I care to admit. Oh sure, I don’t order anyone’s killing like Herod, who was well known for his rage and brutality, even killing off several of his own children. But is that just a convenient layer of protection to block me from truly seeing the reverb my actions cause around the world?

Bertha Beachy, a longtime missionary in East Africa, said, “North Americans find it very hard to believe that their wealthy ways of living affect poor people on other continents. But in Africa, people are fully convinced that North Americans and their actions strongly influence their lives.” Living More with Less says, “Our seemingly indirect actions can actually cause very direct consequences in the lives of many in parts of the world that seem distant.” Here are just a few examples of the reverb:

Our insatiable need for transport demands oil – lots of it – which through war causes the killing of many innocents for our convenience.
Our insatiable need for tomatoes out of season demands the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and transport which causes harm to our bodies and environment.
Our insatiable need for computers and cellphones demands the use of “conflict minerals” like tin & tungsten which cause “children and adults —through rape and brute force—to work in mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” says Mark Regier.
Our insatiable need for cheap fashionable clothing demands outsourcing labor to sweatshops, causing unjust and unhealthy labor conditions and the perpetual poverty of those who make the garments.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the global complexities surrounding coffee, oil, food, clothes & computers. Longacre reminds us that the complexity of all this can be absolutely paralyzing. “Awed and even terrified” she says! Indeed. What can one person do in the face of overwhelming injustice done on our behalf?

The wisdom of the Magi opens the door for us all:

1. Take responsibility. When they discover the horror of what they accidentally did they embraced their guilt as a productive, not a paralyzing, emotion. Not that they pulled the trigger or gave the order to do so. Nor did they blame others, insulate themselves, or say “I was just following orders.” They acknowledge their part in the injustice, and make a change. Rather than going back to Herod and Jerusalem, they go home by another route, keeping the new kings’ whereabouts secret. We must see ourselves as part of the global family, and admit our decisions have global impact. Being response-able demands we unpack the layer upon layer of distance we feel from the problems we’ve helped create, and to live in the tension.

2. Make a change. It doesn’t have to be huge, and we don’t have to turn Amish. But we are all capable of making changes that love our global neighbors in healthier ways. Consider Fair Trade, which guarantees a livable wage and safe working conditions for producers

and sustainable practices for the environment (yes, that means that non-fair trade items such as coffee, chocolate, sugar, and tea likely are NOT doing these things). Plant a garden, compost, shop at one of Houston’s numerous Farmer’s Markets or buy a share from the locally grown food co-op Rawfully Organic. Recycle everything you can using Houston’s RecycleBank cash-for-trash system. Live simply and below your means, decreasing your carbon footprint when possible. Send an email to your cell-phone provider and ask for conflict-free phones. All people, not just specialists, are required to do justice & love our neighbor, even those half a world away.

3. Do what you can, knowing it will not solve everything. Notice the Magi can NOT undo the consequences of their choices or solve the problem. The kids still die. Jesus is still homeless. They did their part, and then went home. Likewise, we are responsible to act, but it’s not up to us to finish the job. And so one day in seven we rest, and live our lives, knowing that it’s not our job to save the planet or her people.

For those of us who profess to love our neighbor and/or Jesus, can we do anything less than the Magi, who gave their allegiance to Jesus above all else?

See Also:

The Christmas Story (#BTSF Style)

"Basically good" and "I'm not a racist, but..."

Practical Steps Against Racial Injustice

Friday Round Up (01/06/12)

2012-01-05T23:01:00.003-05:00

Impatiently Waiting: The search for a church committed to racial reconciliation doesn't go quickly.

By @RevLadyCharChar recommended by @PeregrinaDiane

ICE Mistakenly Deports Dallas Teen Who Speaks No Spanish to Colombia ...yeah...

Gordon Hirabayashi, 1918-2012 WWII Civil Rights Leader

Immigrant Left Disabled In Work Accident Dies After Deportation

United States: Leading Exporter of Racism: Kenneth Clark demonstration repeated in Mexico

Viola Davis: Oscars and Straight Talk

Shane Claiborne: 12 Hopes for 2012

Stuff White Girls Say: If you haven't seen it already, WATCH!

These are some of our favorite links this week. What are yours?

See Also:
2012 New Year's Resolution Against Racial Injustice

Top #BTSF posts of 2011

Why It's Important

Resolution Against Racial Injustice

2012-01-02T08:17:00.018-05:00

Let's take a moment to recommit ourselves to perusing the redemption of a racially broken world, to seek racial justice and reconciliation for the sake of the cross and the unified body of Christ. Here, we'll examine some practical steps that we in positions of privilege can take to begin (or continue) this journey.*

Firstly, of course, we delve into the Word. Study passages like Rev 7:9-10 in the context of racial justice. What does it mean that God's will be done 'on earth as it is in heaven'? Build foundations it scriptual mandates like Ephesians 4:1-14 and Isaiah 58. Looking at John 4:1-42, how does Jesus handle interactions with the marginalized, the disfranchised, those considered different? What would today's Samaritan look like?

How does the early church handle being confronted with systemic racial injustice within their ministry in Acts 6:1-7? Take your time going through Matthew 8:5-13, Mark 1:16-19, Mark 7:24-30, Mark 14: 3-9, and Philippians 2. What do they have to say about marginalization and our interactions with the 'other'? What do they say about justice in the context of the Kingdom? Who are the people that are exalted? Who are the people that are made low?

In addition to scripture, read books this year that will educate about the modern condition of racial brokenness in which we live. Begin with books like More Than Equals, Divided by Faith, and Why Are All The Black Kids (others here). Catch up on the history and literature that was neglected during our childhood education (See: White History Month). How much have we missed out on because we felt it 'wasn't for us'? Reread books you might not have appreciated as a kid, and delve into new ones that you might not have previously considered to be part of your heritage.

In black literature, for one example, Toni Morison, Octavia Butler, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes are great places to start. Sure, you've heard of them. Probably even read Caged Birds. But what else? How many speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. have you actually read? The original writings of Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X? And these are just the headliner names. Explore 'White Readers Meet Black Authors' and immerse yourself in the rich options before you. Learn histories, watch films, study the important figures and their contributions to your world.

Notice, that above are all steps that can be taken within the comfort and safety of your own home. And they are important to lay a foundation of understanding to give context to our daily interactions. But real reconciliation only happens in the context of relationship.

Healing, redemptive relationships happen when we meet others on their own terms, in their own time. This means shedding the privilege to be comfortable, to be amid the familiar, or to progress on your own timetable. White folks have lived in almost entirely unchallenged self-segregation: maintaining separate schools, neighborhoods, churches. While for folks in the minority this can be an opportunity to find rest and sanctuary, for those who regularly dominate majority culture it is a reflection of our own unjust privilege to perpetuate disparity.

So often, we want to be reconciled and yet fail to yield to the very kinds of situations that we perpetuate on others daily. This year, take the opportunity to build relationships by surrendering some of that privilege. Regularly place yourself in situations where you are in the racial minority. Spend time investing in the discipleship of another culture.

Join a gospel choir, or a book club that intentionally explores literature by people of color. Move to a neighborhood or join a church where you are no longer in the majority. If you choose not to, understand it is your privilege that allows you to make that choice. But we will such need major shifts in the status quo to affect meaningful change.

Do not do these things as if joining an expedition into "authenticity" or the "real POC experience," but enter with humility and submission. Invest in relationships, sacrificing time and energy for the sake of redemption. Relinquish pride and privilege, being respectful of hesitancy and self-preservation on the part of others. Be mindful of the limitations that are the consequences of our corporate sin, and refrain from invading safe space. That being said, persevere even as Christ has preserved in His love for us.

This year, build yourself up as a partner in the fight for racial redemption. Be prayerfully and intentionally relational with those around you, becoming an active ally in your community. Find sisters and brothers of accountability and encouragement. Ask questions and be open to the answers.

What practical steps have you taken for racial redemption? What aspects of the above are most challenging or confusing? What are the next steps for you in your journey? What advice do you have for others?

BTSF strives to be an "open space for white folk (and others traditionally in roles of privilege) to ask tough questions, learn our racial history, gain an understanding of systemic injustice, and to become empowered agents for change" How can we better serve that purpose?

*Though many of these suggestions may also be good ideas for folks on the other side of the power divide, it's not my place to advise that position. I will simply ask for abiding patience, grace, and forgiveness and leave it at that.

See Also:
Top #BTSF posts of 2011
Why It Is Important
Dr. Tatum: What is Racism?

Top #BTSF posts of 2011

2011-12-31T11:30:00.009-05:00

As the year, draws to a close we give thanks for the blessings of 2011.

I am particularly grateful to the #BTSF readers that have made this year such a success.

In 2012, follow more conversations about racial justice and Christianity through email or RSS feed.

Check out the top ten most popular #BTSF posts of 2011:

#10: How to get to Sesame Street

#9: We Are Gulnare Free Will Baptist

#8: White Victims of Racism

#7: A Response to Alexandria Wallace Worth Watching

#6: Race in Academic Admissions

#5: White History Month

#4: We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise

#3: Breivik: "The Lone-Wolf"/"Terrorist" of Oslo

#2: The Help, a Review

And #1...... White Savior Complex

hmmmm...irony?

Thanks for a great year, #BTSF! Much love to all!

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

See Also:

About #BTSF

Start Here

Topical Index

Friday Round Up (12/30/11)

2011-12-30T10:03:00.002-05:00

Christian Industrial Complex: Another great essay by Shane
Claiborne

Healthcare System and Immigration: a poignant case

Thanks for the rec Cuddlymogwai!

Race and Presidential Pardon: more disparity

Rob Bell's Parting Epistle to Mars Hill: really good!

The Choice to Love: A Visit to C4AP

Headcase: #Sidehustle/#mainhustle tension by @PermanentlyMark

These are some of our links of interest this week. What are yours?

See Also:
The Christmas Story (#BTSF Style)
Resurrection and Reconciliation
The Social Gospel Saved My Soul

The Christmas Story (#BTSF Style)

2011-12-25T11:11:00.001-05:00

Today, we remember the occasion of the birth of Jesus Christ.

We remember Mary, a pregnant teen whose dreams of romance gave way to a shotgun wedding and local gossip.

We remember Joseph, a working-class laborer everyone thought had been duped.

We remember the journey, a forced migration by a ruling class seeking to increase their tax revenue

We remember Bethlehem, and parents making do in a tough situation: hotels booked solid, ‘no vacancy’ signs everywhere. But the baby’s coming, and there’s nothing to be done but to pull over at the nearest gas station.

We remember the manger, nothing more than a dog food bowl with old newspaper lining the sides to soften surface.

We remember the shepherds, field hands working the night shift, who punched out early to go see a miracle.

We remember the Magi, the statesmen, ambassadors, and dignitaries who cancelled their meetings to travel and bear witness to the prophecy.

We remember the flight to Egypt, when undocumented emigrants fled the authorities across the border to start a new life together as a family.

We remember their return to Nazareth, the backwoods town where the Child would grow up.

We remember the Christ, the Savior, who began his life on this earth as an outcast, a worker, an immigrant, a nobody on the side of the road.

Will you welcome Him?

See Also:

Resurrection and Reconciliation

The Social Gospel Saved My Soul

Friday Round Up (12/23/11)

2011-12-23T12:18:00.003-05:00

The Hurtful Santa: Is secret layaway Santa doing the right thing?

Being Christ in a Consumer Christmas: Concerned about the 'War on Christmas'?

Why is the NYPD after me? Young, black, and frisked

White Privileged: "flesh colored"

Hari Kondabolu: Racism vs. White Guilt

Bait and Switch of Contemporaneity Christianity: Stop going to bible study

These are some of our links of interest this week. What are yours?

See Also:
'Everyone's a Little Bit Racist': Psychology of Racism
Does 'Intent' Matter?
#Occupier Responds: Open Thread

'Everyone's a Little Bit Racist': Psychology of Racism

2011-12-18T21:41:00.011-05:00

Please welcome guest blogger Ryan Hansen, a graduate student in clinical psychology. He writes about the deep psychological underpinnings of racism and it's strong grip on society:

There is a comic song in Avenue Q titled "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist." In the psychological literature, there are numerous studies that suggest that this actually more true than you might realize (See post: What is Racism?). I don't mean racist in the burning crosses or Aryan brotherhood sense, but rather the fact that our brains often cut corners for the sake of efficiency.

Research in cognitive psychology shows that one of the reasons our brains are able to do things that computers can't is because they rely on heuristics Heuristics are rules of thumb that allow us to make guesses using stereotypes and memories that most easily come to mind.

Most of the time we use these heuristics without realizing it, and they do produce a favorable result. However, unless we are conscious of the situations in which these heuristics break down, we can end up thinking and behaving in very racist ways despite the best of intentions (See post: Does Intent Matter?).

For a benign example of how we use heuristics on an everyday basis, close your eyes and try to imagine what a penny looks like in as much detail as possible. Now try and pick out the real penny from the image to the left. Think about how many pennies you've handled over the course of your lifetime- it should be a no brainer!

However, our memories are not like video-cameras, but more like zip files. You're brain only stores some features, such as the fact that it has Lincoln's head and a date on it, and fills in the rest as best it can.

A more troubling example is eyewitness testimony. I teach introductory psychology a large Midwestern university, and recently conducted a demonstration where I showed my class a video of a man stealing a bike in New York. Take a second to watch the first theft in the video below. Pretend you are a witness on the scene, and justice will rest on how accurately you are able to describe the perpetrator.

I had my classes fill out a brief survey after watching the video, and they described the bike thief as having the following characteristics:

• Type of Shirt: Jacket, Long sleeve shirt, Hoodie, T-shirt, Wife-Beater, Coat, Trench Coat

• Color of Shirt: Grey, Blue, White, Beige, Black, Navy, Red, Green,

• Type of Pants: Shorts, Jeans, Khakis, Sweat Pants, Slacks

• Color of Pants: Tan, Blue, Brown, White, Whitewash, Light Blue

• Height: 5-6’3

• Hair: Short, Blond, Brown, Dirty Blond, Bald, Had Hoodie Up, Buzz Cut, Had Goatee

• Weight: 120-250

• Tattoo: Long sleeve tattoos, Dragon Tattoo

• Race: Black, White

• Tool: Bolt Cutters, Picked the Lock, Bent with pliars, Crow-Bar, Big Wrench

Notice that several students reported the thief having hair, when in fact he is bald. Unless the students took special notice the fact that he was bald, when their brain re-created the memory their memory to be able to answer the survey, it filled in this minor detail with what it would expect to see on a white man in his twenties.

Similarly, there were several students who remembered the bike thief having tattoos when he did not. They probably don't know any bike thieves from first-hand experience, so as their brain was re-creating their memory during retrieval, they probably relied on images of criminals that they had gotten from the media, which are often portrayed as having elaborate tattoos.

Most disturbing of all, some of them actually remembered the crimes being perpetrated by a black man. It would be very easy to try and write off this switch by assuming that these students are particularly racist or prejudiced. Unfortunately, it is much more likely that this happened because their brain is cutting the exact same corners that our brains cut every day.

Consider how often African-Americans are portrayed as criminals on television. This is the information our brains will use to fill in these gaps and make split-second decisions unless we consciously take steps to avoid it.

This is why not being racist is not a one-time decision, but rather a discipline that requires conscious thought and effort. Someone may have the best intentions in the world, but they will think and behave in racist ways by default unless they are aware of their biases and take steps to correct them.

To make matters worse, research suggests that the more we have our minds, the more we rely on these stereotypes in making decisions. Noorderweier and Stapel recently conducted a study which found that people having to do several tasks at once, such as memorizing numbers while reading vignettes, rely more on stereotypes when making judgments about people than those who had a lighter cognitive load. Think of how often you multi-task in our fast-paced world!

The moral of the story is that until we slow down, become aware of the ways in which our brains are naturally biased, and find ways to try and make up for them, there will continue to be a discrepancy between our commonly stated values of equality and the racial micro- and macro-aggressions that we commit on a daily basis.

See Post:

What is Racism?

Does Intent Matter?

Microaggressions

Friday Round Up (12/16/11)

2011-12-16T10:34:00.001-05:00

#OWS Now in Color: black leaders announce '#Occupy the Dream'

If I Were A White, Male Middle Aged Forbes Columnist: A response to Gene Marks

Vote For Me! The politicization and manipulation of jesus, christians, and religion

The Disappearance of the Compassionate Conservatives

Awkward Black Girl’s No-pology to Transgender Fans and Allies

The Failure of Racial Profiling

These are some of our links of interest this week. What are yours?

See Also:
#Occupy, you are not the 99%
#Occupier Responds: Open Thread Apologies

#Occupier Responds: Open Thread

2011-12-14T09:40:00.006-05:00

In response to this week's post '#Occupy, you are not the 99%,' #OccupyColumbus's John Dorn (@j_dorn) shared his own thoughts. Find below our twitter-based discussion thus far, & contribute your own thoughts in comments (where he and I will also continue). And be sure to follow @strngefruit!

@j_dorn: its been happening for decades because nobody has stood up. Now we're standing... stand with us.

@StrngeFruit: Don't get me wrong, in general, I do like #Occupy. But know that MANY stood before you, but have been bludgeoned into exhaustion

@j_dorn:

The 99 Percent. The symbol, to me, is incredibly powerful. It suggests, for the first time in our history, unity en masse. The opportunity, finally, for us to work together, united, to further humanity. This idea gives me chills just considering it...

But it would appear I'm one of the few.

I've been, to my knowledge, a very vocal supporter of diversity within the Occupy movement. I've tried, time and time again, to identify the issues affecting all those who say they are oppressed, because, to me, that is exactly why we're out there. Why, then, time and time again, have I been told, effectively, "We stood, you didn't stand beside us before, so we won't stand beside you now because we've got more to lose."

Before you respond, please know, I understand the sentiment. I get it, I do. But, I'd like to ask, where does this animosity get us? How does a tit-for-tat withdrawing of support help to further our collective agendas of equality? Why is getting my head bashed in a couple million more times necessary to get equal support?

I often ask why the person I'm speaking with feels that way. Often cited is lack of support during various civil rights movements and oppression throughout history. I'd like to point out now that this country hasn't seen a proper political movement in 30-40 years. This is that opportunity for us to finally band together, and a banner to fly which represents us all. If historical support is being used to gauge whether you want to participate now, I would suggest a cursory glance from a different perspective.

This is a new world. This is *our* new world. Today. Right now. We are building it, together.

The ways of old are cast aside. People like me, raised on a farm in rural Ohio, are marching alongside gays, blacks, women, latin@s, and everyone else, demanding equality. We exist in a unique time. A time when the ways of the oppressors are becoming reprehensible to everyone, collectively. When persecution of *anyone*, regardless of race, gender, creed, nationality, religious views, sexual orientation, or any other qualifier is unacceptable.

The time for unity is now. The time to stop fighting each other, and work together, is upon us.

I challenge every person who reads this to rally for one simple cause: Equality. Real equality. Do not think about historical oppression, but look forward to equal opportunity. Do not look at me as an oppressor, for I have never, ever, oppressed any person. Look at me as a brother, a comrade, a friend, an equal. Look at me with the same love with which I look at you. This is our world now. Let's help each other reconstruct it without comparing ourselves, but instead rallying together for equality overall.

So yes, I am an occupier. We are #Occupy. We do represent the 99% - to the best of our ability. If we're doing something wrong, come give us a hand.

@StrngeFruit:

1st, let me thank u 4 ur service. I know u r there on my behalf & others'. Im appreciative. Critiques arent the same as combat

Ur best line: “We do represent the 99% - to the best of our ability. If we're doing something wrong, come give us a hand.”

..I think the reticence is less abt “you werent there, so we wont be either” & more abt “you werent there, so now we CANT”..

.. It’s not a vindictive response, it’s often just the only option people have..

..it’s a privilege 2 even be able 2 #occupy. Where are ur kids? Who is taking care of ur parents?..

..How is the cold affecting ur untreated TB? Who is waiting in line for u at social services?..

..It’s easier for those of us with privilege to say ‘we are all the same’..

..But it is privilege to ‘not think of historical oppression’ when one doesnt live with its modern consaquences (eg. racially)..

..if Occupiers are truly willing to stand for those that cant, then perhaps trust will grow, bt it takes time 4 u 2 sound sincere..

…the fear is that this is another of many times someone says ‘Im for you,’ wanting support, without really following through..

..Don’t b indignant that folks who've been marginalized & exploited 4 causes for decades dont readily trust u…

..There are a lot of deep wounds that cannot be healed overnight (what relationship ever works like that?)..

..I truly hope folks can take a leap of faith and join on. But I understand why they would rather not..

..I don’t know u. Maybe ur as enlightened as u claim. So no matter what happens w #Occupy...

..I assume I can count on seeing u serving in the blighted neighborhoods of Columbus well into the future. I look forward 2 it..

@j_dorn:

Katelin's comments are preceeded by ".. [and are in italics]

.. I think the reticence is less abt "you werent there, so we wont be either" & more abt "you werent there, so now we CANT".. .. It's not a vindictive response, it's often just the only option people have..

Fair enough. This doesn't explain the attitude though. If a group feels unrepresented then instead of complaining about it that group should come represent themselves. Or at least, instead of just complaining, explain what issues aren't being addressed so we can work toward fixing them. I've seen none of this.

.. it's a privilege 2 even be able 2 #occupy. Where are ur kids? Who is taking care of ur parents?..

I don't have children, my mom works 40-50 hours a week and goes to college full-time to finish her business degree she's been busting her ass for (and paying for out of pocket). My dad died in 2001, when I was 16.

.. How is the cold affecting ur untreated TB? Who is waiting in line for u at social services?..

I work 40+ hours a week and #occupy whenever I'm not there. There are no social services offered to me, at all (because I now exceed the income requirements, but there wasn't much before either), so even if I needed to and could stand in that line it'd do me no good. I don't have a college degree because there were no scholarships and only $1000 in grant money, and at the time that college was an option I was working full-time and going to high school trying to help my mom keep our house. It didn't work.

.. It's easier for those of us with privilege to say 'we are all the same'.. .. But it is privilege to 'not think of historical oppression' when one doesnt live with its modern consaquences (eg. racially)..

This is fair. I had a bit of a leg-up, because my dad put a broken computer in front of me when I was 6 years old. I learned that thing inside and out, and have been training for the field I now work in for about 20 years. Without this, I'm not sure where I'd be.

.. if Occupiers are truly willing to stand for those that cant, then perhaps trust will grow, bt it takes time 4 u 2 sound sincere.. .. the fear is that this is another of many times someone says 'Im for you,' wanting support, without really following through.. .. Don't b indignant that folks who've been marginalized & exploited 4 causes for decades dont readily trust u.. .. There are a lot of deep wounds that cannot be healed overnight (what relationship ever works like that?)..

This is the root of our problem though. The blame for societal issues is being placed squarely on the shoulders of the people who just happen to have maybe benefitted from that past oppression, even if they had nothing to do with it. I don't understand why I'm not to be trusted in the first place. If it's just because I'm a 20-something white dude, isn't that a bit fucked up?

.. I truly hope folks can take a leap of faith and join on. But I understand why they would rather not..

If people don't want to stand beside us that's fine. I understand why, to a degree. What irritates me is when I read articles indicating that the #Occupy movement doesn't represent them because it's just a bunch of middle-class white people, and then refuse to join us or even tell us what issues we're not addressing. To me it feels like once the issues we wish to address are addressed, then the economic inequality will be fixed. The rest, being social inequality, will only come through persistent, long-term activism. While I'm certainly willing to do this, and plan on it, it's much less effective without some help from the people I'm pledging my support to. I view this similar to refusing to vote because the process doesn't work. With 30% of the people in this country actually bothering to take the time to vote (assuming they're not gerrymandered into being unable, a different issue but one I want to address very soon), one can only assume that the system is not fundamentally flawed, it's simply not utilized. Until we try something and prove it broken, we cannot assume it doesn't work.

.. I don't know u. Maybe ur as enlightened as u claim. So no matter what happens w #Occupy... .. I assume I can count on seeing u serving in the blighted neighborhoods of Columbus well into the future. I look forward 2 it..

If I know what I can do, I'll be there. That's why 2 months ago I moved from my house I was renting and into a tent on the sidewalk, because I thought that was the appropriate course of action. To constantly hear I'm still missing the bar and being offered no suggestions on a proper course of action, though, is beginning to take its toll.

.. heh...that's all. Sorry for all the tweets. might have to go MIA again, but will remain in dialogue as am able

Thanks for taking the time to respond! I look forward to our dialog in the future :-)

@StrngeFruit:

Not sure best way 2 respond point by point 2 ur comments (http://j.mp/vZZoLy), bt will include first word of ur line fllwd w ':'

Fair:
I cant account for other pple’s rudeness—it isnt the right way but their attitude doesnt diminish the point itself, any more than previous lack of involvement changes ur points. Both remain valid, if poorly communicated. I have now told u what issue need to be addressed, so I am glad u can now work towards fixing it. Beyond general suggestions outlined here, Im happy 2 offer practical steps/advice addressing my specific thoughts.

I dont/I work:

Privilege gives u independent (parents/kids), which makes it infinitely easier to occupy. I get that uve had struggles. But at this point u r a lot better off than many folks. Uve worked really hard, but there are also many systemic reasons u got where u r while others didn’t.

Fair:

I think largely, u understand this, as demonstrated by ur next line. "I had a bit of a leg-up...Without this, I'm not sure where I'd be." & a recent headline I saw from your colleague “We Can B the Voice of Ppl Who Dont Have Time 2 b Down Here.’ So it is a great start for change and solidarity. But relationships aren’t healed yet.

Root:

As a 20-something white chick I know benefit frm many similar privileges, but do believe it is my responsibility to combat them, more so than those that don’t have such benefits. It may be you ‘had nothing to do with it’ but Ive yet to actually meet someone that hasn’t perpetuated their own privilege. U make it sound like it is an issue of the past, and yet it is a very modern phenomena. Racially, for example: white folks regularly benefit during hiring, promotion, pay rates etc. And chances are u enable it too through subconscious biases (http://tiny.cc/9gpf2) & microagressions (http://tiny.cc/e8r5a).

And as @BDTSpelman describes, it’s like a moving sidewalk: if you stand still, you are moving with it. Instead, one must actively walk against it to reverse the flow. It is easily self-perpetuating. All that is required to maintain it, is business as usual…[when] pple dont disrupt unfair systems of privilege, theyre—willingly or unwillingly—on the moving sidewalk receiving White privilege and inadvertently enabling racism” It IS in fact our responsibility to work against that in an active way, and our fault when we dont. It is a continuous process, of course. No one ever ‘arrives.'

It is similar principle as what we r asking corporations to do. They could go on as is w status quo, but we r putting responsibility on them to activate change. Of course, some companies could argue that they themselves didn’t cause these issues & shouldnt be blamed/have to change it. But they still benefit & I believe there is a moral imperative 4 them 2 use their power to change it. I can help, but ultimately those w power have to actively let go of it (whether or not they asked 4 it in 1st place). Likewise for our own set of privileges

If people:

valid points. I feel you.

If I:

If JPMorgan today announced all its business practices would be fair and it would act only 4 common good, Id be impressed, but still cautious. Id want 2 see the commitment. Maybe a better person would jump right in and offer precious time/resources to make it happen. But if corporate greed has put me behind 8ball, Im not going 2 b excited 2 make big scarifies 2 help them w ‘the common good.’ Maybe I should, but it takes time to build trust after a shift like that. Even if it’s a new CEO (uninvolved in 2008), that person is still a part of the culture/legacy. Start w service to gain trust, rather than expecting ppl will join b4 knowing u or ur heart. It takes a TON of time, but compare it to ur ~20 yrs, and the long periods of historic mistrust that came b4. Half a year is simply not enough.

I hear ur frustration. U have made drastic changes that are all in the right direction. On the whole, it is really great what u have done. I am sure u r well ahead of the curve. Of course we can all always do more. I understand if u r tired. Perhaps this service is plenty 4 u right now. But doesn’t change that there is more. If that is frustrating, better to ignore outside opinion all together.

Thank you for ur patience and dialogue.

See Also:

#Occupy, you are not the 99%

Tatum: Defining Racism

Labor Day

#Occupy, you are not the 99%

2011-12-12T00:53:00.007-05:00

UPDATE: A lively debate has emerged from this post. See 'An #Occupier Responds: Open Thread.'

The #Occupy movement has been active for three months now, calling for reform of social and economic injustice, and at the very least, changing the focus of national conversation. In general, I like what #Occupy is doing, but there are several thing we still need to keep in mind...

#OccupyColumbus maintains a steady presence at the Ohio Statehouse, which happens to be in front of the main downtown bus lineup. Every time I visit the site, there is a telling division between the Occupiers and the folks waiting for the bus. They are two completely different demographics across class, race, age, and education.

It seems to me, the Occupiers are not the 99%. The 25%-66% maybe, but that's not as catchy. An entitled middle class has begun to feel the struggle that existed long before they got involved. Suddenly, they have lost some of their privilege, and 'the American Dream' game isn't so fun any more. I don't deny that there are major issues that these folks are rightfully bringing to light. But to claim a stance for the 99% while blogging from your iPhone seems disingenuous.

Many have also observed a lack of racial diversity within #Occupy that is deeper than census percentages (OccupyWallStreet.org reports that the movement is 81.2% White, 7.6% 'Other', 6.8% Hispanic, 2.8% Asian, and 1.6% Black). Suddenly the police brutality, unemployment, low income, government disenfranchisement, and high education costs have affected a large number of privileged white folk. But early in the movement, #Occupy failed to reach out to those that have historically been on the receiving end of such inequality. Elon James White notes that "the type of outrage that pops up now at what many of us have lived with on a regular basis for years feels insulting."

Nevertheless, #Occupy has been gaining traction with POC communities, especially as new movements spring up across the country. And the results have been compelling. But remember that all protesters are not treated equally. Given the history of racialized police bias and violence, the POCcupiers have a lot to risk when they protest, more so than do white Occupiers. We know that as bad as the media coverage of the movement is now, it would be a lot worse if the majority of the protesters were black.

Yet, even if folks that are typically marginalization in the USA were actively enfranchised with the #Occupy movement, our claim would still be limited. We still represent the 1% in the rest of the world's eyes. Let us be ever mindful of that privileged position.

Finally, a word of caution about claiming whose organizations Jesus would join in such debates. I do believe in a God that consistently champions the cause of the poor, and who has been known to protest an exploitative free-market. But I am always wary when we proclaim that 'God is on our side.' Of course, we should always strive to be on God's side, and that may mean standing for one principle over another. But co-opting His name for a cause is a dangerous business. And it comes awfully close to Judging for ourselves who is, and is not, a Christian.

UPDATE: A lively debate has emerged from this post. See 'An #Occupier Responds: Open Thread.'

Health Care Access

Friday Round Up (12/09/11)

2011-12-09T10:35:00.003-05:00

For the Holidays: Send Some Love Through Prison Walls

NYPD Officers Post Blatantly Racist Hate Speech on Facebook

Alabama Immigration Bill HB 56: Japanese Honda Employee Ticketed

Santa Claus and Black Face: Still not ok!

Gendering and Racializing Occupations: Very telling want ads

These are some of our links of interest this week. What are yours?

See Also:
We are Gulnare Free Will Baptist Interracial Relationships in the Church
The Friends Jesus Invited