Bridging the Racial Divide

Friends, we are doing our black brothers and sister a great injustice by being silent and ignorant about what’s happening to black people all around us. The Bible warns us:

Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others.

Philippians 2:4 NCV

I’ve always thought I was “color blind,” but it has been brought to my attention lately that that phrase is offensive. I am so sorry. 

I’ve always thought that “white privilege” was ignorant people making rude comments to and about people of color. It’s more than that. It’s me. Because I was born white, I don’t have to worry about being racially profiled, and that right there is my white privilege. 

By saying “all lives matter,” we’re ignoring the fact that right now, in 2020, black lives are in danger. All lives won’t matter until and unless black lives also matter. When your brother is stopped by the police and falsely accused, you don’t care that the “statistics” say it rarely happens. People’s real-life experiences matter. We don’t know the whole story unless we ask.

Our black neighbors just want to be heard and recognized for the struggles they’re experiencing. James exhorts us, “My dear brothers and sisters, always be willing to listen and slow to speak. Do not become angry easily” (1:19 NCV). If we have not gone through the same struggles, we cannot understand what they’re facing. And we should not even try. 

Neutral means you’re choosing not to see what I’m going through.

K.W.

I can never be color blind again. I am choosing to set aside my white privilege to stand with my black brothers and sisters. 

I am choosing not to be neutral. I am choosing to listen, to stand up for the rights of black people, and to use my voice as a writer to help bridge the racial divide in my sphere of influence. 

Now is the time to mourn with those who are mourning over injustice in our land toward black people. “Be happy with those who are happy, and be sad with those who are sad” (Romans 12:15 NCV).

What can you do? “Use the gifts God has given you to make a difference!” (K.W.). Not everyone is called to march in a protest. Not everyone can write. But everyone can listen. Everyone can pray for healing in our land. Everyone can say something when we hear racial slurs.