I’ve been blogging a lot about racial reconciliation over the past couple of weeks. Due to timing of this, I thought I would give some of my thoughts on the recent Trayvon Martin / George Zimmerman case.
Mostly via Facebook, I have read white friends who are defending that Zimmerman didn’t break any laws and that the manufactured race issue is the problem, not Zimmerman or any actual racist views on his behalf. I’ve also read black friends who fear for their children’s safety to be on the street as black males and about the system’s preferential treatment toward whites and against blacks. Some have even written about how Zimmerman is going to get killed via a form of street justice.
Some are convinced this case is all about race, others are convinced it has nothing to do with race. Some are convinced Martin was killed because of his race, others are convinced Zimmerman is being targeted because of his race.
Both write from places of emotion.
Both show the palpable racial divide in our country.
A divide that doesn’t need to be there and that most of us perpetuate, thinking there are no consequences to it.
The purpose of this blog post is not to argue if Zimmerman was at fault or not, it is to show that each of us are at fault for perpetuating a racially divided country. A racially divided country which creates the environment for such volatile situations as the Martin / Zimmerman case.
Let me ask you, if our country wasn’t so divided along black and white lines, would the Trayvon Martin case have made national news? If racial profiling, caused by racial divide, wasn’t so prevalent in our culture, would this case be called (rightfully or wrongfully) by so many to be yet another racial profiling instance? Of course not.
If whites and blacks shared neighborhoods and churches and social groups and hang out spots and leadership structures on a more systematic and societal level, the questions of “Did this happen to me because I’m black?” or “Did he do that because he’s white?” would eventually go away. Because we’d live together and our “in-group” would begin to include other people than those who look like us.
We need to realize that the history of what caused the white/black divide in our country (slavery, lack of rights for blacks, and Jim Crows Laws of the 60’s) leaves a residue of division long after the laws themselves are changed (which was only a few short years ago). And that our task needs to be the reconciliation of this residue, not pretending like this residue doesn’t exist and doesn’t need to be addressed.
A racially divided country will only continue to perpetuate “us” vs. “them” thinking.
Is/was your school mostly white or mostly black?
Is your town mostly white or mostly black? Your hometown?
Is your neighborhood mostly white or mostly black? The neighborhood you grew up in?
Is your church mostly white or mostly black?
If you are white, how many black friends do you have? Chances are good, if you’re honest, not very many.
If you are black, how many whites friends do you have? On average, you probably have more white friends than a white person has black friends, due to the simple fact that there are so many more whites than blacks in America, but still a valid question to be challenged with.
I’m not saying the solution to our race problem is for white people to simply go find a black friend. I am saying that one of the solutions to our race problem is for our society to move to a place of togetherness in all social spheres.
I used to be completely unaware of the racial division in our country, growing up in a rather sheltered white community. Then when I began to realize it, I thought it was no big deal. But cases like Martin / Zimmerman are yet another reminder to us that this division is a big deal.
This blog post is not to create yet another avenue for you to give your views about who’s right and who’s wrong in the Trayvon case and any comments giving such arguments will be deleted. This post is meant to give attention to the bigger issue at hand: the racial division of our country, and more importantly, to show that we need to intentionally be a part of the solution of overlapping the white America with the black America, with the hopes of simply having an America someday.
This is much easier said than done and I don’t have all the answers. But I see the problem and will continue to try to move and lead in the direction of the solution.
By doing nothing, we only keep the division that is there and perpetuate the problem.
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Noah- insightful as always. Social engineering wont work. Interestingly itbhas failwd and surprisingly failed duw to resistance on both sides.
An intereating book I read many years ago called ‘ why most things fail,’ had a chapter that talked about how the races are drawn to themselves, how neighborhoods changed over time to show a bias and preference to ‘alikeness.’
Its been a long time since I read it so most is not fresh.
There can be many variables of course that may lead to such segregation true, and they are hard to isolate no doubt.
Just some thoughts and a reference. Is race a factor? Perhaps more after the fact than during the event.
Just as Zimmerman didnt have to get out of his car, so also Trayvon did not have to encounter him. They both had a go at it. Trayvon looked to be plenty athletic enough to elude the portly Zimmerman.
Poking at a hornet’s nest is not recommended, unless you are hornet.
Hey Noah, I appreciate that the point of what you’re saying is that the heated emotions around this trial and verdict go to show that this country is still very divided racially and that this issue is still very real, not something of the past–and this is an opportunity to address it instead of ignoring it. If you get a chance, you might be interested to read another blogger on the subject–http://www.rageagainsttheminivan.com/ if you haven’t already.
hey Sarah, can you repost the link to that other blog? I’m not able to click on the current one
http://www.rageagainsttheminivan.com/
Thanks for the article Sarah. I like that the blogger also wrote “I will be deleting comments that seek to debate the Trayvon Martin case because that is missing the point.”
I also definitely agree with the guest blogger in talking about what it feels like to be black in America:
“And the crazy part is, it’s probably something most people outside of the black community never see.”
I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve discovered in trying to understanding racism and race in 2013. I think of all the conversations I’ve had with white people who assume they know what it’s like to be black or Latino, and even hearing people call people of color out as making things up, when it comes to things like getting pulled over for being black, etc. I think it’s extremely unloving and uncompassionate to tell someone that their experience is invalid. Whether that is with race, depression, grief, or any number of experiences.
A skill of a Christ follower should be to be able to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and show them love and understanding, rather than judgment or defensiveness.
I do not think that “most of us” perpetuate racism. It’s time for the people who do to be called out and the people who don’t to be left alone.
Jim, I never said that most of us perpetuate racism. I said that most of us perpetuate a racially divided society, and asked personal questions to demonstrate that that statement is likely true. My point was that a racially divided society has ramifications, such as racial profiling, as well as assumptions and reactions in instances like the Trayvon Martin case.
I’ve found that in conversations relating to race, some white people immediately go on the defensive, “don’t call me racist”, which I find shuts down important conversations that need to be had about our society. If you haven’t read it already, I recommend reading my very first post in this series “How To Talk About Racism” http://www.cutthereligiouscheese.com/how-to-talk-about-racism/ which attempts to describe the difference between an overtly racist person, which is what you are referring to in your comment, and a systemically racist society, which is what we all live in in America, through no choice of our own. But that’s a simple fact: our society is systemically racist. So we each have a choice to help make progress toward undoing our racist history, or simply living in the reality our racist history has created. Even if someone makes the choice to just live in it and not proactively move toward undoing it, I’m still not calling them a racist, though I am definitely advocating that we, especially Christians, should be proactively moving toward undoing what our history of racism has created. I believe we are called to the reconciliation of individual sins, but also of societal sins, racism and its effects being one example of that.
Thanks for showing me how I read that wrong. I admit that I am so tired of hearing that I am to blame for the racial problems in the U.S. I think that is a big part of why this whole case has received so much attention. “White America” is fed up with being blamed for the problems of “Black America”. The divide exists and many non-blacks are done taking responsibility/apologizing for the excuses of some of the black community.
No problem Jim, thanks for seeing that. And with your next point, that is a tough double-edged sword. It can’t be denied that the whites of the past are 100% to blame for the racial divide in our country, but yes, whites today (you and I) are not to blame for the cause of it, and doing so does alienate and frustrate people. But it’s also reality that the sins of past whites have given whites today advantages that people of color do not have, so in that sense we have a responsibility to try to move toward undoing the sins of the past. Not because we caused them, but because we benefit from them and in a way are in “power” because of them — sort of like being an heir to the throne of a crooked monarchy. And you are definitely right that this does not excuse those in the black community for the various issues unique to the black community, and the majority of black friends that I have acknowledge this and are fighting hard against these things. But they are definitely swimming upstream, which I think makes it even more important that we come together in whatever ways we are able to, to start erasing the divides that exist, which I think over time will indirectly help solve a lot of problems across the board.
What does a cross racial church leadership team look like? (No wisecracks necessary here!! 🙂 ) If implemented how does it work?
What makes it palpable to th we community? Modeling-so important. Unexplored ground?
Dunno…but sheep do follow and…
A multiracial leadership team looks like a mix of ethnicities. The advantage of this is that you have multiple perspectives represented, both majority and minority, rather than (in my experience), white (majority) leadership attempting to make decisions on behalf of minorities. Whites don’t know what it’s like to be black or Latino or Asian, so if these are people we are trying to reach, or in the black / white divide, reconcile with, then these perspectives need to have authority at the table as well. This is not easy to accomplish at all, especially in an established church leadership structure. It takes years of intentionally and it takes movement in inches rather than miles.
Can you clarify your other questions? I’m not following what you’re asking.
Hi Noah- my q was more rhetorical. I am looking for that working model of black and white co-leadership. What a trailblazing model that would have to be.
What would make a community ‘buy in’ to such a coleadership? (Beyond it being the real thing of course).
I am talking about a charter church established at initiation with this premise in place. Innovative?
That model would cross ‘the great divide’ of sunday morning racial segregation possibly.
It would hinge on how the coracial leaders came across.
Ya as we try to make efforts for Crossroads to be more multi-ethnic, I often think the most effective way to have a multi-ethnic church on black/white lines would be to start the church with a white pastor and black pastor who are both in equal authority. That isn’t really reality for any church that is already established unfortunately! It is possible to move in that direction though, like I said in the previous reply, it just go in inches (or mm!) instead of miles. Thankfully there are some resources sprouting up out there about multi-ethnic churches and there are some people who are doing it very effectively.
Hey Noah,
I stumbled across this on LinkedIn. Great post – you raise some important points and hope it leads to good dialog and activities at Crossroads and in your wider peer circle.
Thanks Tameshia!!!! God has really been doing a work in me on this subject over the years. My prayer is that Crossroads literally looks a lot more colorful over the next 8 years than it did in the previous 8; I think this would be so honoring to Christ and such a testimony of his redeeming power. I didn’t realize until recently some of what it was like for you to attend our all white church. Thank you for your gracious spirit in putting up with us!!
That is what I was driving at. Right out of the gate biracial or triracial ldrship team. A salt and pepper audience is still just the audience and that can be transcient and tenuous. No models to follow- perhaps the problem with sunday morning segregation lies in ldrship and misguided mission statements…
Uhhh, btw, has anyone noticed that zimmerman ISNT WHITE but rather hispanic? Hmmmm…
True he is, and Latinos no more immune to racist assumptions about Scary Black Men than anyone else…
Which gets to your point, and Noah’s about the importance of intentionally developing friendships and relationships and understanding across racial lines.
Here’s a timely piece from another blogger that I think is relevant. My take on the gist of it is to let diversity happen as a natural consequence of developing diverse relationship rather than as an exercise in artificially balancing numbers or attempting it because we think we “should”. This is part of the hard work of genuine discipleship. http://thecrookedmouth.com/myth-of-extending-the-table/
See my first post. it does not happen as a natural consequence. The races ‘naturally’ segregate themselves largely. See book mentioned for reference in same post here.
Whatever is done needs to be intentionally lead and rolled out as ‘this is thechurch’
Hi John, I definitely agree in letting diversity happen but like you say, there has to be an intentionality in developing diverse relationships. If not intentionality is taken, nothing will happen. Our natural tendency is to be around people like us, so we will have to intentionally overcome this and put ourselves in situations where we can create authentic friendships with people different from us. I’m certainly not espousing that we should try to meet quotas or tokenize people of color. Avoiding tokenizing people (which seems to be what the blog post is about you linked) is a huge landmine to avoid in creating multiethnic churches and multiethnic friendships. It’s likely one we are bound to step on, as this is a very murky road to walk, but hopefully we learn from our mistakes, humble ourselves, and continue moving forward. I really like the points the blogger ended with: First, expand your circle of relationships to include voices that aren’t like your own. –In talks of racial reconciliation, as well as how to avoid tokenizing, I’ve found that the perspectives of people of color have been the most helpful to me. This point about expanding your circle of relationships is one the main points I’m driving at–for people to be very intentional about this, and realizing it’s not going to happen all on it’s own. You may need to move neighborhoods or move churches or create some major changes in your church. His last two points: Dream with people who look differently than you, & be willing to give up your seat for your new friends are similar and are both right on, especially as it relates to multiethnic churches. You can just ask black people to join your white church and do things in a white fashion and think that is healthy or will work. Certainly not an easy road, or a quick one, but is one that I feel is very honoring to Christ and will be a great testimony of his power once fruit starts to appear.