I think most of us identify ourselves as non-racist. Most non-racists are so because racism doesn’t affect them personally. But just because something isn’t in your yard, doesn’t mean it isn’t all over our land. All over the yards of the brothers and sisters in Christ we are called to be in community with. I’d […]
How to overcome our racial biases? Walk boldly toward them.
This TED Talk by Verna Myers on how to overcome our racial biases is worth watching:
Aamer Rahman comedy – “Reverse Racism” – Fear of a Brown Planet
Aamer Rahman is an Australian stand-up comedian of Bangladeshi descent. This “Reverse Racism” clip was recently shown at an Understanding Racism workshop I attended and is from Rahman’s album “Fear of a Brown Planet.” The reason I’m posting this is 1.) It’s genuinely funny — if we can’t laugh at ourselves, we are in trouble. […]
Systemic Solutions to America’s Systemic Racism Problem
Having a black friend or making cookies for a black person (a.k.a. “love”) is not going to end systemic racism and systemic injustice. Systemic problems require system solutions. I asked my friend Joseph Harris (his “Boiling Points” poem is featured here) for some wisdom from an African American perspective on systemic solutions to racism. Below […]
Ignorance to Racism: Geraldo Rivera’s Comments on LeBron’s “I Can’t Breathe” Shirt
I’m not sure if Geraldo Rivera doesn’t know, doesn’t want to know, or simply doesn’t care. In a Fox News “Race in America” discussion, Rivera made the statement regarding the “I Can’t Breathe” t-shirt LeBron James recently wore in pregame warmups: “I wondered to myself,” Rivera said, “what if LeBron James instead had a shirt, […]
Love is not the Answer to America’s Race Problem
The sociological research book Divided by Faith by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith shows how white evangelical Christians see the solution to America’s race problem coming at an individual level, not a systemic or legislative level (p.115, “Let’s Be Friends” chapter). The predominant thought is that if everyone became a Christian, the race problem would […]