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God have mercy on me a sinner
I’m a racist & a
hypocrite. My actions AND inactions have caused pain and perpetuated
suffering.
God have mercy on me, a
sinner.
Friends, we must
lament, repent, pray, learn, & act. I am not an important voice in anti
racism (please elevate voices of BIPOC always) & I thought a lot about even
sharing anything because I’m learning (always still in process) to not center
my voice but to still speak up & more importantly act. Breaking
down white supremacy & affirming the created dignity & worth of all
people is central to my faith. It must be a life lived in learning
& action, in seeking to follow and not leading, & in seeing Jesus’
flipping over tables when injustice reigns. I’ve too often failed
and will continue to fail but I am committed to learning. For us “white” people
we must attack our idol of competency.
If the truth hurts you or you are defensive and unwilling to listen you know
something is amiss. We can live in a posture of questioning and learning or of entrenchment and defensiveness. The air we breathe in America informs our white supremacy-
it is our original sin- one that we have never repented of or repaired. Well meaning people try to do good (myself
included) but we center ourselves and offer charity which often maintains our
false belief that we are the white savior instead of being willing to be wrong,
to offer true repair and justice because that requires more dismantling than we can fit into our feeds.
After several convos this week I wanted to share a
few things for my white friends in this moment:
- Learn history. Don’t expect
people of color to teach you everything- do your work. Resources are out
there. If we understand more of how our history shapes our present we can
work to dismantle systems that were constructed to prevent certain people
from flourishing. It’s hard & messy & exactly where God calls us
to engage. If something you learn makes you uncomfortable ask why. Always
interrogate whose voice is excluded from the narratives we’ve been taught.
Resist the urge to entrench and be defensive & be open to learning.
Seek to listen and be taught by those voices that are out there without
demanding them to teach you. The self-sacrificing labor (emotional,
spiritual, & physical) of people of color to educate our nation should
be more than appreciated- support their work. Become a monthly donor of
organizations led by people of color doing justice work on the world (like
The Witness Foundation). Be led & be a supporter without insisting on
your way of doing things.
- Talk to your kids! This is
challenging AND necessary. Don’t share something or post a hashtag if you
are unwilling to have hard conversations with your children. This sign we
saw last week started a long discussion on the constitution and how we continue to
fight for a more just nation. History informs everything that is occurring
now. Teach your white children
about their privilege & wonder & pray with them about what justice
means. Cry out to God together about justice for all & talk about how
we can lay down our rights so others can simply live & breathe and
flourish. For our family this is so complicated to create a safe space for
our Black daughter as well & we are learning. These past weeks have
reminded us of the need to be diligent in the work of raising our children
to walk humbly & do justice. We will continue to seek unity but not at
the expense of God created diversity.
- BIPOC’s voices should be
centered and listened to but we should not expect them to do our work.
Feeling white guilt does nothing to change the story or move towards real
justice. Posting a selfie of you at a rally does nothing (and can be
dangerous if you include faces of others). Just because you feel bad it is
not enough. It is our work to root out white supremacy in ourselves &
each other. To do this requires admitting the ways we have been complicit
in ignoring or only caring when it’s trending. If you can post & then
walk away that is the definition of privilege (Lord, forgive me-a sinner).
Listen & be led. Take action. Commit to changing YOU!
- Starting places (not complete
list for sure & feel free to add resources in the comments): pray
& ask God to give you His vision for justice in the world (I need to
grow in my desire & willingness to do this so much), talk to each
other- have face to face convos on hard things with an attitude of a
learner, be in majority minority spaces (only where you are invited) & don’t lead-
listen, watch, & learn, give to organizations doing justice work led
by BIPOC, listen to Truth’s Table podcast, Pass the Mic podcast, Combing the Roots Podcast with Ally Henny, read The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, read The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby, follow the work of Equal Justice Initiative, read I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown, read
Prophetic Lament: a Call for Justice In Troubled Times by Soong-Chan Rah,
listen to the 1619 Project podcast, watch 13th on Netflix, follow Chasing
Justice & The Global Immersion Project on Instagram (many more people to follow on my Instagram stories), read and dicuss Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad, read White Awake by Daniel Hill, watch Many Rivers to Cross documentary with your kids, enroll in a local
college course on African American History.
I say
starting places because this is not the real work but a start & we
all must be on a journey. These are resources that have informed & continue
to shape mine. We will not arrive or be competent & while that feels
uncomfortable it is the only posture we can truly be changed & grow in. God
help us love now.
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