The Whirlpool of Racism

A whirlpool in the straits of Naruto near Japan

Whirlpools exist in many areas of our lives.  Some come because of disease, for instance addictions to drugs or gambling.  Some come because of choices, for instance lies we tell that take on a life of their own.  When our lives get caught in such whirlpools, they can suck us in and keep us from reaching our full potential.

As I’ve spent the last two months considering racism in the United States, I’ve come to appreciate that race is a unique type of whirlpool.  First, this whirlpool was intentionally created early in our country’s history precisely to pull down people of color.  It allowed us to enter into a policy of genocide for Native Americans, and to enslave blacks who were brought over from Africa.  This whirlpool was created precisely so that others, whites who came to this country, could build their own wealth and power.  What is so striking is that into the 1950’s, it was not only individuals and corporations that worked to build this whirlpool.  The United States government used policies like redlining, a Federal Housing Authority (FHA) policy that gave lower finance ratings to homes in black communities or those on their way to becoming black, to fuel the whirlpool.

Civil rights and ongoing vigilance by many work to take away the fuel that has made the whirlpool grow.  But we are foolish to think that the whirlpool of racism no longer exists.

Kayaker trying to escape a whirlpool

This whirlpool has a life of its own.  The wealth gap in our country, the statistics that show blacks are put in jail far more than whites for drug crimes, and the lower quality of education available in many black communities are but a few examples that new generations of black Americans continue to be sucked down in its vortex.  This is a life or death struggle that many are loosing.  And not only do those of us who have benefited from the history of this whirlpool too often fail to help those caught in its grasp as they struggle to get out.  We are unaware the whirlpool exists, insisting that racism is no longer an issue in our country, or that if only “those people” had a real will to get out, a few strokes of the paddle on their part would be sufficient to allow them to escape and join the mainstream.  After all, it’s how we got where we are now at; through our own determination or that of our ancestors.  No one was there to help us!

Except for all those who historically have been caught in the whirlpool of racism and who served as the foundation for our historical rise to power and wealth.

My battle with racism

When I was about 21 or 22, a close friend of mine who was black came to me one day and told me she could no longer be my friend. When I asked her why, she said that it was because I was racist and sexist. I asked her with horror what I had done that was racist and sexist. In the end, she could not show one specific thing I had done; the damning evidence was that I was white and male. That was a memorable moment for me, particularly because I have always prized my friendships with males and females of many difference races and cultures.

That event has been in the forefront of my mind a lot lately as I’ve been helping to lead our church small group through a study on Christians and Racial Justice. This has been a longstanding area of interest for me, and I have often worked to help open up discussions of racism and the structures that support it. And I continue to reflect on my own understandings of racism and ways in which we can best overcome it. Still, this is the first time I’ve tried to lead an extended series specifically on the topic for a group. As with most other teaching opportunities, I find I learn as much or more than those seeing the material for the first time do.

In the PBS series “Race: the Power of an Illusion”, the case is made that race is not a biological/genetic phenomenon, but a social construct for economic and political power. The history of the United States is based on near genocide of one race, and the enslavement of another. How counter to our ideals as a nation, which we should and do hold very dear. The result is a paradox in which we fight for freedom and justice for all while in reality each generation of whites has a starting line further and further ahead of the starting line for their black counterparts. When a white child and a black child from families of equal wealth are compared in their ability to achieve throughout life, there is no difference; there is equal opportunity for all. But historic and current denial of capital rights mean that the average black family has far less wealth, and with it, less chance for a quality health and education, less opportunities for rehabilitation instead of retribution within the justice system, less chance for economic opportunities that can lead to asset-building that can provide a better start for the next generation.

My first new insight from the series to date is: if race is not a biological phenomenon but instead an historical one established to enable white supremacy, then do we really want to strive for racial diversity? As I now understand it what we really need to strive for is racial healing and reconciliation that then paves the way for cultural diversity. The disservice my friend almost 25 years ago did to me was to frame her statement in such a way that assured my whiteness and maleness meant I could never be other than racist and sexist. What I needed then, and what is still needed now, is deep meaningful dialog that helps all of us to come to grips with the deep wounds that come from the dark side of our country’s history, painful as that will be. Only through dialog, and ultimately confession and repentance, can we find a way to heal those wounds and to reconcile as a nation.

Later in the third episode, the PBS series did a nice job of clarifying the history of redlining and its contribution to the creation of the white suburbs for our group. What the video did an especially good job of was highlighting that these were culturally diverse suburbs. That is, people living in these newly created communities of the 1950s and beyond came from different countries, spoke different languages in the home, and even practiced different religions. One culture in particular, though, was intentionally kept out of this mix, the African American culture.

Here’s what really struck me within this particular presentation of this part of our nation’s history. I’ve heard it said that Sunday mornings are the most segregated day of the week. I’ve also heard it argued that this is likely not to change because we just like different kinds of worship. We like to be with our own people on Sunday. The suburban history lesson would suggest that this viewpoint is flawed. We were willing to come together with different cultures as long as they were not black, and that this was based as much on the government-designed and implemented policy of redlining. Redlining and later block busting led to segregated communities. Subsequently a myth was created to explain in polite, acceptable terms why we “chose” to be segregated – because we wanted to be with our own people. It was developed for the suburban segregation and I have rejected it there over and over again in conversations. But it was also applied to the church, and in that case I believed the myth. In so doing, I repeated and strengthened racism; not intentionally and indeed at the same time that I have been praying for racial diversity within our church and then questioning why the prayers have gone unanswered.

I read recently that it is very difficult to have a racially diverse church. In that same article (I wish I could find it again), it also suggested that in a number of cases, those that were racially diverse become all black when the leadership of the church passed from a white minister to a black minister. In No Cheap Peace, Leah Gaskin Fitchue points out “The church of the black community is the only institution that community totally owns.” It seems clear that in many if not most Christian churches, it is difficult to overcome racism – whites must retain the power or whites and blacks will remain segregated.

We have a long way to go if we are to truly heal, reconcile, and bring about freedom and justice for all: that is, to truly and finally overcome racism. I now believe more than ever that it begins through intentionally diverse communities brought together for dialog leading to real healing and reconciliation.

References:

Race: The Power of an Illusion http://www.pbs.org/race/

No Cheap Peace: The True Cost of Reconciliation by Leah Gaskin Fitchue (2000), in Crossing the Racial Divide, 2nd Edition, Sojourners Press.

Christians and Racial Justice (2007) Sojourners Press.

Racial reconciliation: a key to the economic crisis

George Tinker is an assistant professor of cross-cultural ministries at Iliff School of Theology.  He describes his heritage as mixed blood, birthed by an Osage father and Lutheran mother.  I recently read an interview with Mr. Tinker by Bob Hulteen entitled “With Drum and Cup”.  In the interview Mr. Tinker describes the problem he finds with how racial integration has typically been approached within the United States since the ’60s:

…for years white America was busy building this house, and then had people from different cultural groups living in the yards or the shanties around the house.  The liberal contribution since the civil rights activity of the ’60s has been to say, “We have to open our house and invite these people to come in and stay.”  But the problem … is, “It’s still their house.  We’re still guests.”  We need to think about building a new house where everybody gets equal say in its design and has equal ownership.  Then we need to tear that old house down.

In a related article, “Communites of Reconciliation”, Rodolpho Carrasco describes a community of black, white, and Latino pastors who came together seeking to answer questions about racial reconciliation such as: What is there beyond blame and guilt? What is there beyond building one-on-one relationships with people of another race? What is there beyond history lessons, visiting other cultures, and pulpit exchanges?  Mr. Carrasco goes on to describe three increasingly deep sets of relationships he has formed that are helping him to be involved in racial reconciliation in ways he is finding increasingly meaningful.

These readings, among others, seem particularly timely in light of the recent economic crisis brought about in part because of an excessively consumeristic society. As the gap between rich and poor continues to widen and as the safety net for those who are struggling are cut one thread at a time, it seems clear that we need to find a better way to bring about economic justice.  That a disproportionate number of those who are struggling are from a racial minority, it seems clear that we need to find a better way to bring about racial justice.  I am becoming impressed that these problems are not ones at an individual level, but are instead at a community and society level.  As such, they cannot be addressed by individuals, but at a minimum must become part of a broader community agenda.

Still, at the heart these are relational problems and must be addressed by building relationships.  Such relationship building cannot begin in large groups, but must start within small groups of people coming together in dialog.  Participants must be willing to suspend their own beliefs, to participate in dialog that emphasizes listening over speaking, and that is tied in with action to affect change using an iterative process akin to the scientific method.  As described by Patricia Shields:

The classic example of the three blind men trying to describe an elephant is illustrative. Each describes the elephant from his own limited perspective (small tail, big ears, etc.). The story’s moral is that we are all trapped inside our limited selves, and can not know the truth. If, however, we allow the three blind men to talk to each other, to compare perspectives, to argue, to test new hypotheses, to behave like a community of scientific investigators. It is possible to imagine that the blind men will eventually overcome their limited perspectives and come to a truer sense of the elephant.

Every individual and culture has its blind spots and can but see a portion of the whole.  While we might have a tendancy to romanticize certain other cultures and seek out their answers for living to appropriate as our own, the real way forward is to come together in communities that prize diversity, listening, and shared exploration for new approaches to shared problems.  Through individual and group reflection, we need to learn from these explorations and continually refine and adapt these approaches to assure mutual benefits for all involved.

Learning and growth only happen when first the old is torn down.  While sometimes this is done voluntarily by those seeking growth, at other times it is forced upon us.  Today’s econonic crisis is forcibly tearing down much of what we currently hold dear.  With it comes the opportunity for building up something new that can address the shortcomings of the old.  But capitilizing on that opportunity is unlikely unless we intentionally respond to the crisis in a way that seeks to learn and grow.  And I would argue that if we are to maximize the growth potential, it also must begin through a diversity of input and a unity of purpose that comes through first building relationships in multicultural community.

References:

“With Drum and Cup: An Interview with George Tinker” by Bob Hulteen, Sojourners Magazine, January 1991.

“Communities of Reconciliation” by Rudolpho Carrasco, in the Sojourners resource “Crossing the Racial Divide”.

“The Community of Inquiry: Insights for Public Administration from Jane Addams, John Dewey and Charles S. Peirce” by Patricia M. Shields, eCommons Texas State University, 1999 (http://ecommons.txstate.edu/polsfacp/3).

Obama’s Election and Racism

A letter to NPR, read during today’s “Morning Edition”, responded to recent reports by NPR that seemed to emphasize that this past presidential election was about race, something the listener felt was inaccurate.  Indeed, yesterday a mock edition of the New York Times (online version at: http://www.nytimes-se.com/) was distributed that forecasted an America next July 4th in which the Iraq war had ended, and progress was being made on several social fronts.  One of the project organizers, Beka Economopoulos, stated: “This election was a massive referendum on change. There’s a lot of hope in the air, but there’s a lot of uncertainty too. It’s up to all of us now to make these headlines come true.”

Indeed, I wonder to what extent the election of Senator Obama as our next president might falsely signal that racism is behind us?  Many, if not most, residents in Champaign don’t understand the consent decree the local school system voluntarily entered, let alone the racial inequities that led to the agreement and that persist more than a decade later (see http://www.champaignschools.org/index2.php?header=./&file=consentdecree for more on the consent decree). And with the last election, the tax increased needed to build the additional school and refurbish other schools that would further address the issues raised in the consent decree was defeated.  While progress has been made to address racial inequalities in the local school system, much more is still needed.

I had an interesting conversation with a student several weeks ago on the three hour drive from Champaign to East St. Louis regarding race, class, and responses to drugs and teen pregnancy.  We were discussing the responses of parents and school system employees to such events, comparing the public school systems in economically-distressed communities and private, catholic schools attended by primarily high-middle and upper class families.  Our impressions (I attended a school of the former type, my sister and the student the latter) seemed to indicate there wasn’t a great difference in the number of students doing drugs or indeed likely getting pregnant.  But there were differences in how the families, community, and authorities were able to address the issues in a way that led to either dropping out of school and possibly going to jail, or managing to continue through school, graduate, and go on to college.  Then today I came across an article from 2003 that reported numbers and factors directly related to the injustices committed in the name of the “war on drugs” (see http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0305&article=030510b).

As much as I wish it were so, individual and structural racism didn’t disappear prior to or on November 4th, nor will it on January 20th when Obama is sworn in as our next president.  Further, it seems to me there may be a great danger that we as a society may be lulled into a belief that it has.  We stand at a fork in the road, having taken a very exciting step towards a society that practices and not just espouses equal justice for all.  The stage is set if we but dig in and recommit ourselves to do the work of rooting out and addressing injustices wherever they be found.