PCC Sacred Conversation on Race

What Our Kids Read In Church

2010-10-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

I was surprised and frankly discouraged yesterday when my daughter, chattering away in the car as we traveled to-and-from soccer practice, said confidently that she imagines God to be a white man in his early 20s. The "early 20s" part of that image intrigues me, but the "white" and the "male" parts tell me that I still have a lot of work to do as a parent and a pastor!

For an 8-year-old to say that God is a white man says to me -- at best -- that my daughter has seen many images of a white Jesus and has concluded, rather logically, that the Father of white Jesus must also be white. At worst, it suggests that she associates -- albeit, probably unconsciously so -- God with "normalcy" and normalcy with whiteness, ergo, God is white.

As a parent, I intentionally buy children's books and encourage my kids to read books that feature non-white protagonists and/or non-white-American-culture settings. It's hard to find a mainstream children's television program in which the non-white character (almost always a supporting or sidekick role) does not function as the comic relief element of the show. And I'm raising my kids in a predominantly white school district. No props there.

As a pastor, I work at a church that -- surprisingly, among white Protestant churches -- has very few images of white Jesus on display throughout the building. No gentle white Jesus knocking at the door. No white shepherd Jesus smiling at the children. There are two stained glass windows with Jesus, remnants of the original church building, and a supply of children's Bibles with a whole lot of old white guys in robes parting seas and giving speeches and sharing food. Only a few images, but it's clearly enough: Jesus and God are white men.

So here's a challenge to myself, to my church, our conference, and all of us in predominantly white congregations who think that we're doing well with 1.5% non-white membership and with our mastery of politically correct language about race: there are many starting points to enter into a conversation on race in our churches . . . how about starting with our children's images of God, and purposefully -- and habitually -- using artwork and books in church that show a God who is not recreated in the white image?

Tim Wise (clip)

2010-04-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

An excellent resource for your Sacred Conversation on Race: an excerpt of Tim Wise's DVD, "The Pathology of Privilege." Wise offers a snapshot of some of the American history that underlies many current debates over race-related issues: immigration, poverty, the manipulation of racial differences to benefit the rich and fuel division among the less-than-rich. Check this out, as well as other resources from Tim Wise!

God is still speaking!

2010-04-16T08:41:00.000-07:00

Check out the UCC's new ad: The Language of God.

Pass the word that God is still speaking!

Speaking in Truth about the Tea Party

2010-03-29T06:35:00.000-07:00

3/24/10 online article by Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude, Jr.: Tea Party Epithets and the Habits of the American Heart.

Redemption Song

2010-03-23T12:00:00.001-07:00

From the Womanist Musings blog: "Tune-in Tuesday: Bob Marley, Redemption Song" and an encouragement to reflect truthfully on power (our own power and societal powers).

Teach Your Children Well

2010-03-09T13:34:00.000-08:00

Love Isn't Enough (formerly called The Anti-Racist Parent) is a keenly insightful blog that I highly recommend to all readers!

In particular, check out this recent post about the urgency and importance of teaching our children to understand racial differences!

Active U.S. Hate Groups

2010-03-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

Lest we lose sight of the organized movements of hate around us (MAP via Southern Poverty Law Center)....or the impact of those who stand against hatred and work on anti-racism in themselves and in their communities (MAP, again from Southern Poverty Law Center).

Minding Our Motives: Redemption

2010-02-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

Cross-posted from Rachel Hackenberg's blog, Faith and Water:

A friend read my "Minding Our Motives" post and recalled a familiar triusm: The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

So, if the road of white racism---by which I mean, well-intentioned-but-oblivious white prejudice and acquiescence to systemic racism, as opposed to intentionally hateful acts of discrimination and physical/verbal/emotional violence against non-whites---is in fact a road to hell that is paved with our (well-meaning white folks') good intentions, then what is our salvation from ourselves and from the preferential system in which we are entrenched?

Read more...

Checking Our White "Savior Complex"

2010-01-30T07:14:00.000-08:00

In the scramble to send personnel and resources to Haiti, it is important to critically analyze any and all overtones of the privileged "saving" the underprivileged, of the white/Western/wealthy/compassionate nation "rescuing" the non-white/non-American/developing/portrayed-as-self-looting nation---whether those overtones are present in the media or in our own thinking.

This self-critique is particularly important in regards to the children of Haiti. A statement was recently published by a coalition of adoptees of color, Statement on Haiti, emphasizing the need to avoid compounding a Haitian child's trauma by removing him/her from all that is familiar and beloved, and encouraging caution against the assumption that Haiti cannot care for (parent) her own children.

There are ways to help. But we risk repeating the severe mistakes of white American/European imperialism when we rush to rescue without minding our motives.

Blog Recommendation

2010-01-02T08:55:00.000-08:00

SCOR community:

If you haven't already found the Anti-Racist Parent blog, I highly recommend it (regardless of your parenting status). This recent post, "How to be an anti-racist ally," keeps the important basics of how to be a white anti-racist ally before us in the ongoing Sacred Conversation on Race for Penn Central Conference.

Just a reminder that our next SCOR meeting is scheduled for this coming Thursday, January 7, at 9:30am in Harrisburg at our Penn Central Conference offices.

Blessings in 2010!

A Bit Political, But True...

2009-09-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

Jim Wallis posted this excellent article at Sojo.net today. Take a few minutes to check it out, and then let us know what you think in the comments!

Checklist for Allies

2009-09-07T06:22:00.000-07:00

Rachel's post a few days ago linked to this article on the role of allies, and within that article, you'll find a checklist for allies -- what should we as allies be doing on a daily basis?

Just for the sake of having that checklist at our fingertips, I thought I'd pull out that link and have it right here in its own post.

Checklist for Allies Against Racism

Sunday Morning Segregation

2009-09-05T04:40:00.000-07:00

A recent article in the online magazine The Grio provides insight into the Black-White segregation of American Christians during the Sunday morning church hour, and offers starting points for overcoming the division.

Although I wish that the author, Charlton McIlwain of NYU Steinhardt and The Project on Race in Political Communication, had helped us examine the broader racial/ethnic divide of Sundays mornings -- not just the Black-White divide -- still, an understanding of the Black-White dichotomy often serves as an introductory step toward understanding the impact of racism across a spectrum of racial/ethnic groups.

Speaking the Truth in Love

2009-08-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

The Epistle lesson in the lectionary for this Sunday contains the passage on "speaking the truth in love" (Eph. 4:1-16--this quote is specifically from verse 15).

If I had more tenure with my congregation in Spring Grove, I might explore this passage in light of the dialogue that has been re-provoked in our nation on racism due to the Henry Louis Gates, Jr. incident. I think it might be a bit early for that, but I'm wondering if we might have a conversation here about how that issue might intersect with this text?

Was Obama's invitation to the two men to join him and VP Joe Biden at the White House for a beer a move in the direction of "speaking the truth in love" or was it just politically motivated? What are your thoughts? Is it possible to handle issues like this without intimate conversations, whether or not we are the President of the United States?

More on Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

2009-07-22T13:26:00.001-07:00

There has been much talk in the blogosphere the past few days since the story of Henry Louis Gates' arrest broke. Here are a few more articles (and within the one from sojo are even more links to more articles) to keep us reading, and hopefully, talking.

The above-mentioned sojo article is here.

And another one from The Nation is here.

Not trying to exclude any articles out there; these are just ones I've stumbled upon.

If you have any that you think we should also be reading, let us know about them!

Invisible Knapsack

2009-07-21T04:33:00.000-07:00

I hope by now that you have encountered, heard about, come across--somewhere in your life--the concept of the "invisible knapsack of white privilege," an idea largely attributed to Peggy McIntosh, aimed at revealing the systems of social privileges afforded to whites, in order to help white folks successfully enter the conversation on race and racism.

The invisible knapsack includes, for example:
- "I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time."
- "I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed."
- "I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race."

Reading the news online this morning, it appears that we should add "I can rest assured that, when I enter my own home, my neighbors and police officers will not assume that I am a robber or vandal." The NY Times reports that Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a Harvard professor of African American history and one of this nation's preeminent Black scholars, was arrested at his own home when a white woman called the police to report a burglary in progress. When Gates protested, the police officer interpreted Gates' indignation as "disorderly conduct" and arrested him.

Thinking again about the invisible knapsack as I read the article this morning, and thinking about our Sacred Conversation on Race in the UCC, prompted me to realize that I've never seen an examination of the invisible knapsack carried by white churches. There are churches studying McIntosh's knapsack idea...but that's not what I mean. Here's my line of thought: the invisible knapsack unpacks systemic white racism >> the church is a social institution or system >> white churches participate in, benefit from, contribute to the invisible knapsack of white privilege.

So what are we doing, as an institution, to identify the systemic privileges that are specific to the white church? Privileges, for example, such as:
- We can easily provide illustrated bibles to our children that convey a message that whiteness prevailed among the people of biblical times. (Well, I can't--my children are African American, and racially diverse illustrated bibles are harder to come by--but white churches can do so for predominately white children's education programs.)
- We can assume that it is normative to not talk about race in the context of one's faith.
- We do not have to examine, if we do not choose to do so, Christianity's overt and covert roles in supporting and advancing racialized systems, including slavery (although the church's support of racialized systems is not just something of the past).

Surely the list of privileges carried in the white church's invisible knapsack goes on and on! What would you add?

Welcome to SCOR

2009-07-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

Can we talk? ...about race, about our churches, and about the reality of racism as a barrier to Christ's command that we love one another?

The Sacred Conversation on Race (SCOR) Ministry Team is a committee of the Penn Central Conference, United Church of Christ. We are lay leaders and clergy who have gathered with a shared conviction that the issues of race are urgent and relevant to our faith and our churches. It is our purpose to reveal racism as a barrier to Christ's command that we love one another, through methods of education, support and advocacy.

Welcome to the SCOR blog, an opportunity for individuals and congregations of the Penn Central Conference to grow in their understandings of race. Here you'll find conversations, resources, and observations to celebrate diversity and eradicate racism: one person at a time, one congregation at a time. You might also want to visit the United Church of Christ's Sacred Conversation on Race at http://www.ucc.org/sacred-conversation.