"But whoever hates a brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness."
1 John 2:11
Today, I am thankful that The United Methodist Church has taught me about my blind spots concerning race.
I would guess there are only a minority of people who would actually claim that they are racist. Most people feel that they would give others a fair shake no matter the color of their skin, the accent with which they talk or the cultural differences they may portray.
I went to seminary at the Candler School of Theology on the campus of Emory University which is a United Methodist institution in Atlanta, Georgia. But I grew up in Oklahoma...
I didn't have a black classmate in elementary school until I was in the upper grades and even then, he was a classification younger. We didn't have any black students in my grade. We did have one student who was Korean and two that were Jewish. This was out of about 60 or 70 in my grade in Tulsa in the 1970's.
I first experienced being a minority as a white person while visiting seminary in Atlanta. It was on board the Marta train - as I got on, I realized that I was the only white person aboard the train. No one said anything or acted unusual. I made my way to my stop and got off. But I remember it feeling different and I thought to myself, "This is what black people feel like in Oklahoma all the time!"
In seminary, I took a class by Dr. Noel Erskine entitled, "The Theology of Martin Luther King" and it was eye opening. I was in the racial minority for this class as well and I think this helped with my perspective.
This class was in the fall of 1995 and The United States was also absorbed with the trial of O.J. Simpson at the time. On October 3, the jury's verdict of "not guilty" was released to the public. While the white people I knew were stunned at the decision, the black people I knew were supportive of his release.
In our class, we discussed it and one black student in particular tried to explain it to the white students present. He tried to help us understand why black Americans were celebrating what seemed to white people to be someone getting away with murder. He said, "A lot of black folks don't actually believe that O.J. is innocent. But they also know that historically, there have been plenty of white people with money who haven't paid for their crimes. It is refreshing to know that if a black man has enough money, he can get off today because its not always been that way."
I was able to better understand this viewpoint because of the conversations we had. If I was only talking to white people, I'm sure I would not have gained this same perspective.
I have since had more opportunities because of the UMC to expand my horizons and my friendships interculturally.
As we move through Lent, we recognize that Jesus suffers in solidarity with all peoples (not just those of my particular culture). How does being in relationship with people that are different than ourselves help us as people of faith?
How do we truly love our neighbors as we love ourselves?
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