Disciple: Finding a Path Forward
Starting Conversations About Race
By Members of Episcopalians United Against Racism
“Racial reconciliation is just the beginning for the hard and holy work of real reconciliation that realizes justice . . . across all borders and boundaries that divide the human family of God. This is difficult work. But we can do it. It’s about listening and sharing.”
- The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry,
Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
Listening and sharing are essential practices in starting the spiritual work of racial reconciliation, yet the process requires understanding racism as a social reality, not simply a matter of individual bias.
A number of factors limit our ability to understand racism as something larger than mere prejudice. In conversations about race, some white participants enter the fray feeling on the defensive: feelings of guilt over possible culpability, whether acknowledged or not, are the elephant in the room, filling interactions with fear and clouding everyone’s ability to reach a common understanding. Many people of color, on the other hand, often find themselves having to justify their experiences without coming off as too upset, angry or emotional.
Bishop Curry is right. This is difficult work. But we can do it. Better yet, we can participate in the work God is doing in the world around us. We can make ourselves available to God’s reconciling work by the “renewing of [our] minds”
(Romans 12:2), extending ourselves in holy reflection, friendship and action.
Similar to the sacrament of reconciliation, then, racial reconciliation must involve naming what has happened and what we have done, known and unknown, to cause rupture in our relationships with God and with each other. Naming the rupture, however, is only the first step in repairing the rupture. The journey continues as we create new ways of being with each other grounded in mutual accountability, not just as individuals, but as representatives of institutions such as the church.
Institutions are established to perpetuate themselves, and it should be no surprise that organizations originally set up to benefit the white majority continue to function as such in spite of individuals’ best intentions. Rome was not built in a day. The state of our racial relations wasn’t either. To recognize the divides that exist in our racialized world, then, requires us to engage in deep listening work over time.
THE DON’TS
As we seek to engage honestly in difficult conversations, it may be helpful to keep a few things in mind to avoid common pitfalls:
Don’t assume you’re not racially biased. Each of us may believe we are not prejudiced, but research on implicit bias shows that everyone in our society has absorbed racially biased messages from a young age. Facing up to our own biases requires deep humility, yet these biases are not the sum total of who we are. This is especially helpful for white participants in conversations about race to remember, as it enables them to listen with empathy rather than defensiveness.
Don’t assume others of a different race have had the same experiences. It may seem helpful to claim you are “colorblind,” but using this term ignores the fact that most people of color and white people in our society have had radically different lived experiences and access to power.
Don’t assume racism is an individual issue. Once again, it is easy to get bogged down by assuming the problem of racism has to do with a few ‘bad apples,’ and the only proper way to address it is by striving to be better individuals. It is likewise easy to attribute success or failure to individual life decisions without taking into account the whole host of circumstances that affect our lives. No person is an island, and people of color (as a group) face obstacles that white people (as a group) do not. Hundreds of years of systematic marginalization in every sphere of life cannot be undone overnight, and acknowledging that racism is a social reality — made up by a lack of access to resources and power over generations — can
feel overwhelming. Yet it is imperative to try to gain a better understanding of these processes.
THE DO’S
While it’s crucial to be sensitive about what not to do, there are many things we can and should do to help us get started on the path to reconciliation.
Do take a short Implicit Association Test such as the ones available through Project Implicit (https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/). Simply acknowledging that racial bias is present within us — and being open to discovering how it crops up in unexpected ways — opens up avenues for trust.
Do read recommended books and articles such as those listed on the Racial Justice and Reconciliation page of the diocesan website. Finding a study partner or forming a group to discuss these resources in more depth not only increases our understanding of how racism impacts our daily lives, but it allows us to create new connections and alliances with our fellow travelers on this path.
Do commit to attending an in-depth, community-based racial equity workshop in order to learn more about the history and structural origin of racism. Taking the time to educate ourselves allows us to see more clearly how racism continues to impact systems in our society such as education, housing, finance, health and criminal justice.
There can be no reconciliation without transformation. Healing the wounds of racism, therefore, is a journey, not a destination, and though this journey is a deeply personal one, it cannot be travelled alone. It is our sincere hope we will endeavor together toward this goal, trusting that the God who calls us to this work intends to bring together every branch of the human family at the heavenly feast that awaits us. Justice and reconciliation require sustained effort, the courage to take risks and a willingness to make ourselves vulnerable. Yet with God’s help, we can do it, if we are willing.
GET STARTED
COMMUNITY-BASED RACIAL EQUITY TRAINING WORKSHOPS:
- Organizing Against Racism-NC (Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh)
- The Partnership Project (Greensboro)
- RMJJ-Race Matters for Juvenile Justice (Charlotte)
//www.rmjj.worg
RECOMMENDED READING:
- America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege and the Bridge to a New America (Jim Wallis, 2016)
- Becoming an Anti-Racist Church: Journeying toward Wholeness (Joseph Barndt, 2011)
- Between the World and Me (Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2015)
-
Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Reconciliation
(Jennifer Harvey, 2014) - The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (Michelle Alexander, 2010)
- Radical Welcome: Embracing God, the Other, and the Spirit of Transformation (Stephanie Spellers, 2006)
NEED ADVICE?
The members of Episcopalians United Against Racism (EUAR) strive to understand the root causes of systemic racism while building a broad coalition of anti-racist Episcopalians. Visit euarofnc.org.
