For the past four hundred years—since the first time white settlers brought enslaved black men to what would become America in 1619—we have systematically treated black men and women as less than. White supremacy was actually written into our Constitution and though slavery officially ended in 1865, the ruthless dehumanization of black citizens continues to this day, as demonstrated by the recent racially-motivated murders.
I firmly believe that all white Americans—and especially those who claim allegiance to Jesus—need to engage with this crisis rather than looking away. I believe that God is giving us a holy opportunity to right this wrong—to dismantle systemic racism and learn what it means to honor, value, respect, and love all men, women, and children regardless of their skin color or ethnicity.
This will only happen if enough white folks prioritize the issue today. Not after COVID is tamed. Not after the fall election.
To quote Dr. Martin Luther King, “there’s a fierce urgency of now.”
Assuming that you’re not a policy maker or police chief, what can you, an average white citizen, do? Here are five ideas:
1. Learn about systemic racism and do not expect your black friends to educate you. They have enough to do. Read the words of black authors and writers. Sit with them. Let what you read trouble you. This list has more than 100 suggestions. If you’re at the front end of this journey, I’d suggest The Color of Compromise, by Jemar Tisby; Ken Wystema’s book The Myth of Equality; or We Were Eight Years in Power, by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
2. Learn what white privilege means and how you have benefitted from it. This is true even if you grew up in a middle class or blue collar home. There’s tremendous privilege that comes with being white. It’s really important that you understand this. Read this short Op Ed piece in the Boston Globe by my friend Bil Mooney-McCoy or Daniel Hill’s book White Awake.
3. Pay attention to your defensiveness or resistance to learning how you might be a part of, or even be perpetuating, our broken system. There’s a term for such feelings: white fragility. When we prioritize protecting our version of ourselves and our culture, we simultaneously resist what others, or God, might be trying to tell us. If someone brings up the topic of racism or white supremacy and you make comments like, “What do you expect me to do? My family never had any slaves!” that’s a dodge. You’re refusing to look inside yourself or allow God to search your heart. Defensiveness is a natural human response, but if you routinely go there, you’re missing the chance to grow.
4. Recognize that the perspective “I don’t see color” or the belief that “We’re beyond racism because we had a black president” are neither accurate nor helpful. Of course you see color and the events of the past two weeks prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we’re not living in a post-racial society. I’d suggest reading Bryan Stevenson’s book Just Mercy, Michelle Alexander’s book The New Jim Crow, or Dominique DuBois Gilliard’s Rethinking Incarceration. Each one of these books will give you a clear understanding of how the criminal justice system is unfairly biased against people of color.
5. Willingly engage with this work on a personal and societal level. Change starts in us. We have to be willing to humble ourselves, confess, and repent of our sins. Part of that process is allowing our hearts to be broken by the injustice, inhumanity, and hatred that is so often exhibited toward blacks (and really, toward any People of Color). True repentance should always lead to empathy and then action. Scripture is very clear that faith without works is dead. Your points of action will look different than mine, but it’s imperative that we all do something. Maybe that means confronting your pastor who seems to resist getting this. Maybe it’s shutting down conversations that have a racist edge. It definitely means becoming an educated ally, which best happens in proximity to black men and women. So if your church community or friendship circles are predominately (or exclusively white), you will want to prioritize changing that.
We can no longer afford to stay silent or turn away. This is a watershed moment for the United States and particularly for white American Christians. I fear for us if we disregard this opportunity.
Photo by DJ McCoy/Getty
Thank you, Dorothy, for bringing this post to us. It is enlightening, encouraging in its many resources, and especially your eloquent writing makes it simple to find our place in what is needed. As a Christian and a former Southerner, I grew up knowing and seeing too much of what went on when you weren’t the same as me. I could tell stories! Wanting change and making changes are two different perspectives on the issue. How do we get people to bring the two together–want to make change?
Thanks so much for stopping by Sherrey. I really do feel like the first steps toward true reconciliation and true unity come when the oppressors are willing to admit that that they have done wrong. That’s a big part of the problem here in the US: We’ve never formally apologized and on an individual level, those of us who have benefited from white privilege need to admit the yes, we’ve benefitted from a system that disabled and disenfranchises blacks. Then we begin to listen well and work toward change. To me, those are some of the first steps towards repentance and change.