“I get what they were saying, but they shouldn’t have said it like that.”
This comment captures the general sentiments of many white Americans when confronted with a subversive speaker or writer, especially when they discuss issues surrounding race. Many tend to sympathize with the message being conveyed, but even more find their methods to be repulsive, and because of that, attempt to discredit the overall message being shared.
Remember when Colin Kaepernick and countless other black athletes kneeled during the playing of the national anthem at sporting events? Rather than commenting on police brutality, asking questions about how the prison system has disproportionately affected people of color, or responding to the general systemic racism that still exists in the United States today, much of the response coming from conservative, white America seemed to be: “Why do they have to kneel during the anthem? Can’t they see that they’re disrespecting their own nation?”
Just last week, we welcomed a Native American speaker, Dr. Mark Charles, who spoke to us about horrific acts of violent oppression against countless Native American tribes, and how he believed many white people, and many respected white political figures and theologians were complicit in the removal of Native people from their homelands. The general response was not disgust with these horrific acts or the condemnation of the centuries-long genocide of various Native American tribes. Rather, comments ran more along the lines of “He took that statistic out of context. Why did he sound so angry?”
Thinking through these responses to both Kaepernick and Charles, I have come up with a question of my own: In what ways can people of color speak up that will get conservative white people to listen?
In all honesty, it feels like a hopeless cause. When racial minorities peacefully protest, they are seen as ungrateful and un-American. When violent riots occur in the streets of Baltimore, the protesters are called “thugs” (which, by the way, has been used in the same ways and contexts as the word “nigger”). When speakers like Dr. Charles present a case for how America has not lived up to “liberty and justice for all,” he is chastised for twisting facts to make them fit an agenda.
Is there any way in which racial minorities can speak up in a more convenient and digestible way that would be easier for the average white American to hear?
The answer, in short, is no. There is simply nothing convenient about racial justice. There is nothing about systemic racism that is easy to digest. There is nothing easy about mass incarceration or police brutality. There is nothing convenient about America’s history of removing indigenous people groups from their homelands to build a white civilization. It is hard to hear that the nation you grew up revering has given an unfair hand to racial minorities.
If this were easy, our history would not be plagued with over 200 years of slavery, laws calling for the removal of Indian savages, over half a century of Jim Crow laws, internment camps, or stop-and-frisk policies that seem to allow for the racial profiling of black men in urban areas. If this were easy, we would not ha
ve to contend with the fact that many of our parents and grandparents still remember and lived through racial segregation. If this were easy, a black student on this very campus would never have received a note last spring saying, “You don’t belong here, nigger.”
We cannot ignore history and we, as the body of Christ, cannot be the ones to ignore the present realities of racial injustice in America. As a person of color, I will continue to use my voice until tangible change is made. Yes, we have taken many steps forward since the days of slavery and racial segregation, but there is still much to be done.
Unfortunately, I know that there will be many who are angered by this article. Even more unfortunate is the reality that few will actually engage me in a face-to-face conversation about racial reconciliation. For many, this will not be enough to take a step back and recognize that we have a serious problem with racial inequality in America. Some may disagree with one thing I say, and discredit this entire piece. It feels like a hopeless cause.
But we are not called to hopelessness. We are called to faith, hope, and revolutionary love, and I have hope that things can change. However, we can only improve if we practice active listening. Don’t just seek to discredit statements made by people of color. Instead, make an attempt to understand not only the statistics, but also the personal testimonies of the realities of modern racial discrimination.
Racism is not convenient, and seeking to restore justice is even less so. Still, we have a choice to make: do we as the body of Christ strive for what’s right, or do we settle for what is easy?
Joe is a senior majoring in communication.