Racism in 2020 America

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8, NIV)

The recent death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has once again brought the issue of racism to the surface of public dialogue around the country, including here. Racism is rooted in fear and ignorance of the other. It often manifests itself in subtle ways of thinking and behaving that we may not even notice (what’s often called “unconscious bias”).

In one of my previous church appointments, I was part of a group of civic and religious leaders dedicated to helping our community heal from the racial injustices of its past, and I remember talking with one of my church leaders about how our church could be involved. Expecting him to understand why it was important for us as Christians to be leaders in that endeavor, his response shocked me. He said, "We don’t need to participate in that. We don’t have a race problem here. We treat our Black people just fine." This was an otherwise good, decent, religious man, but one who was totally unaware of his prejudice and unconscious bias regarding race and ethnic privilege. His was a response to an innate fear of those who were different from him, based upon a set of assumptions he may not have even understood.

Before you write that example off as something that would never happen here in Gwinnett County (one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the entire nation), please remember that inward fear and judgement of “otherness” (even when unintentional) exists in varying degrees everywhere and in everyone. And if left unchecked, these inevitably lead to prejudice and racism in their more outwardly discernible forms. Whether it’s bias in our treatment of, or conversation about, an immigrant from another country, or towards someone who holds an opposing political view, or (in my own case just this past week) catching myself unintentionally passing judgement on people around me who were not wearing a mask or properly social distancing in public (or feeling smug about those, like myself, who do wear one!), the foundations for prejudice and racism exist in ALL of us, even those who claim the name of Jesus as our Lord.

Talking about the difficult and awkward issues of race, unconscious privilege, prejudice and fear is not easy. However, for Christians, at least, silence is not an option. If we are to be an outpost of God’ love — if we are to be "People (meaning ALL people). Doing Life Together. Connecting all through Christ" (our church's Vision) — then we have a responsibility to speak up. While I’ll be the first to say that riotous looting and violence is NOT the answer to this problem — it neither honors the legacy of non-violence espoused by Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., nor of Jesus himself — nevertheless our silence as Christians does nothing to improve the situation, either.

Instead, according to the scripture above, faithfulness in following the ways of God involves at least three things:

1.      We are to “act justly.” Faithful discipleship doesn’t simply involve thinking or believing fair and just things, but also involves us doing things that are fair and just, even if they are outside our comfort zone. That means going out of our way to intentionally treat others the way we would want to be treated, and to bridle our innate, human desire to judge others based solely on outward appearances. Read a perfect example of this kind of action in Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).

2.      We are to “love mercy.” Some Bible translations of this phrase say we are to “love kindness,” have “steadfast love,” or “embrace faithful love.” However it’s translated, it means that we are to show compassion, kindness, and grace to others in our dealings with them, even when we don’t feel they deserve it. Read an illustration of this kind of treatment in the story of Jesus’ response to a woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11).

3.      We are to “walk humbly with our God.” While “humbly” here can also be translated as “wisely,” nevertheless it means that we are to live life with a spirit of modesty and humility towards others that doesn’t puff itself up with arrogance or pride. It is a life lived with a constant awareness not only that we ourselves are not perfect (that each of us possesses some degree of implicit/unconscious bias), but also that we are all living in the presence of Almighty God, who is the only true judge of all things. Read an example of the qualities of this kind of living from the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1-6.

I may be naive, but I believe that if we all determined to live our lives in these ways, then each of us would be better people, and our world would be a better place. Police officers would have no need to resort to brutality in enforcing laws, and protestors (however justified) would have no need to riot and use violence as a cover for seeking revenge.

Yes, we have come a long way over the years in our efforts to become a more racially inclusive and fair society. However, the recent events in Minneapolis and resulting violence around the country remind us how far we still have to go.

For those who want to learn or understand more about the subtle yet very real challenges of racism, prejudice, and unconscious bias, along with their underlying attitudes of fear and judgement, I invite you to consider several good books for a Christian approach to this topic: Fear of the Other by Will Willimon; White Lies by Daniel Hill; Holding Up Your Corner: Talking about Race in Your Community by F. Willis Johnson; Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey; and One In Christ: Bridging Racial and Cultural Divides by David D. Ireland.

All of these are available from Cokesbury.com and you can either order them for yourself, or there may be some of our Sunday School classes and/or other small groups that choose to use these as resources for virtual group discussion and dialogue about these subjects.

I realize that some of you may not agree with all (or any) of what I’m sharing here in this post. But if any of what I’ve written causes you to feel awkward, uncomfortable, or even angry, then I would lovingly invite you truthfully to ask yourself why, and then prayerfully to seek God’s wisdom about what to do with what you’re feeling.

Regardless of where you are or stand on this issue, know that you are precious and loved in God’s eyes. My prayer is that we will all learn more and more how to live into and respond to that love by loving and treating others the same way that God loves and treats us! Always remember that God loves you, and I do, too!