5 Ways to Confront Racism
The recent news of the tragic deaths of two unarmed black men, 25 year-old Ahmaud Arbery and 46 year-old George Floyd, have sent shockwaves of sadness and anger throughout the world. Arbery was jogging through a southern Georgia neighbourhood when two white men shot and killed him. Floyd died in police custody after a white police officer pressed his knee onto Floyd’s neck preventing him from breathing. Their deaths highlight the struggle with racism that persists in our society. Whether it is discrimination experienced by indigenous people in Canada, black people in America, Uyghurs in China, Rohingya people in Myanmar or the indigenous communities of northeast India, racism is prevalent throughout the world. The pandemic of racism is infecting and destroying the value and dignity of human life.
Racism is the belief that one ethnicity or group is superior to another, which often results in discrimination, prejudice, or control.
Why do we divide?
We are programmed to recognize shapes, patterns and colours, and categorize them based on what we see. Through visual cues, we divide people based on dominant external physical characteristics, primarily skin colour. Unfortunately, that which helps us to recognize and decipher, is also used to discriminate. Countries struggling with racial divisions have created significant damage to their social fabric.
We live in a world where skin colour, language, and religion have been used as a basis for systemic discrimination and brutality.
I was born on the small island of Sri Lanka as part of the ethnic minority in the country. Since its decolonization in 1948, Sri Lanka has seen legal, political, and economic discrimination of minorities, including extreme racist violence against them during a civil war from 1983 to 2009.
Here are a few examples of what the ethnic minority endured: the disenfranchisement of citizenship, language policies, horrific riots in 1958, 1977 and 1983, limited access to state lands and development funds, and poor quality housing, healthcare and education. As a result, the minority group promoted an armed campaign which escalated the conflict. In 1983, the country endured the beginning of a bloody and violent ethnic war. At the time, my dad was a lieutenant commander in the Navy. He was stationed in the north part of the country to deal with the conflict.
He received advanced word of an imminent attack on our lives and sent a Naval officer to take us away from our home. Within hours of leaving, a group of armed fighters swept through the streets, mutilating and viciously killing people and burning down properties. Our house was set ablaze, the car burnt and flipped, and the items in our home were destroyed.
The contents of our home were destroyed.
Our car was burnt and flipped.
Our family was fortunate to survive the racial and ethnic war. The following year, we secretly escaped the country fearing for our lives and came to Canada. Tragically, a nation was set back and tens of thousands of innocent people died simply because of hatred between two people groups. Even while growing up in Canada, I experienced derogatory and hurtful language and physical assault from classmates because of my skin colour. The effects of racism are interwoven in my story.
Nelson Mandela once said, “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
How do we develop racist tendencies?
Stereotypes create prejudices, and prejudices form a racist mindset.
Stereotypes are widely held ideas and oversimplified images of a particular type of ethnicity, person or thing. Prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or experience but formed by stereotypes. Racism is a mental state created out of fear, ignorance and feelings of insecurity.
Racism is primarily a sin issue, rather than just a skin issue. It is sin that magnifies the differences in our skin.
Christians around the world must shun racism and exemplify a new way of living that Jesus came to model. Racial reconciliation is part of the Good News that Jesus proclaims. Sin divides us and separates us from God and one another.
James, the brother of Jesus, said, “Love your neighbour as yourself. But if you favour some people over others, you are committing a sin” (James 2:8-9).
We are to embrace diversity between various ethnicities and discover the beauty in our different cultures.
Regardless of the colour of our skin, we are all precious in God’s sight.
Unfortunately, the word “racist” has been used so liberally and casually against those we may dislike or disagree with politically that the gravity of its meaning has diminished. For example, if we label someone who is insensitive or ignorant of cultural practices as “racist”, we immediately lose the ability to dialogue and educate. Understanding the nuances of a person’s prejudice enables us to respond wisely and address their mindset effectively. Rick Warren proposes a valuable spectrum for self-examination and for dealing with various types of attitudes with regard to racism.
Racist - one who hates, discriminates and intentionally harms another race.
Bigot - one who believes specific stereotypes about a particular race and belittles them.
Avoider - one who is uncomfortable around people who aren’t like them.
Insensitive - one who is insensitive to what hurts others, and very often says things out of ignorance.
Apathetic - one who doesn’t care about racism and its effects on society.
Sensitive - one who is kind and inclusive.
Reconciler - one who actively builds bridges between races and advocates for those suffering from injustice.
Did you identify yourself in this spectrum? The goal is to become a reconciler: a person who unites and advocates for justice for the marginalized and forgotten.
God hates racial prejudice. Every human being is created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). We diminish God and question his creation when we elevate one group of people above another. Racism is a serious sin because it produces hatred and conflict which can lead to oppression, violence and murder. It is also an attempt to thwart God’s ultimate purpose of reconciling the world to himself (2 Cor. 5:17). The Christian vocation is to serve the world as God’s representatives (image-bearers), reflecting his love to all humanity. If racist ideologies reside in our minds, we harm our witness and impair our ability to be uniters.
Jesus is our peace and has brought together the nations of the world as one by destroying the dividing wall of hostility. His purpose is to create, in himself, one new humanity, reconciling them in one body to God through the cross. (Eph. 2:14-16). The reconciliation of all people is at the heart of the gospel and not just a by-product of it.
I believe racism is one of the most prevalent and insidious sins in the world. While legislative laws are necessary to help fix the problems of systemic racism, they cannot change the human heart. Only Christ can transform hearts. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy to a friend.” Love is a powerful force that can release those captive by the chains of resentment and restore shattered relationships.
It is both the responsibility of ourselves and the church to advocate for racial reconciliation, seek justice, defend the oppressed and unify people by proclaiming the good news of God’s love (Isa. 1:17).
I want to offer five ways to deal with racism: Look, Listen, Learn, Love and Lead.
Look
Look within and recognize any prejudices (preconceived opinions of others that are not based on reason or actual appearance) in us.
Look without and see people as God sees them. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). God sees us through the eyes of unconditional love.
Listen
Listening and hearing are different. We tend to hear what people say but not listen to them.
Hearing is an accidental and automatic response to sound that requires no effort. While listening, at its best, requires active, focused attention with the purpose of understanding the speaker.
Listening to others with respect will create dialogue, and not prejudice and judgment.
Learn
Take time to learn about other countries, cultures, practices and beliefs.
Seek to understand others before prejudging them.
Some racist ideologies evolve from ignorance.
Love
Jesus commands us to love each other as he loves us (John 15:12).
Love does not focus on the differences that divide but on the intrinsic value of every individual.
Love is not merely an emotional feeling expressed to someone, but an intentional act of goodwill done for our neighbours.
Lead
Use your place and platform to influence racial reconciliation.
Lead by exemplifying what it means to be a uniter.
Advocate for justice and promote inclusion and diversity.
Eliminating racial prejudices in ourselves and our society is not easy and demands introspection and effort. We need to reject any racial tendencies as well as engage and educate those who propagate racial insensitivity and bigotry.
While racists ideologies are cultivated by prejudices rooted in negative stereotypes, love has the power to break down walls of discrimination and build bridges of connection.
Whatever platform or position you possess, use it to promote peace and racial unity.
Use your place of influence and authority to enact change. Racial reconciliation should first begin in us and then ripple out to transform our culture and community. We cannot remain silent, cocooned in our safe, comfortable spaces pretending that the world is alright. For some people, the racism they experience is a matter of life and death.There are many people who feel rejected by society, live in fear, and are unable to progress in life because of racial inequality. To live and function within God’s ultimate purpose for creation, we are to be reconcilers.
We long for the day when a great multitude of people, from every nation, tribe, and language stand worshipping God as one (Rev. 7:9-12).
PRAYER OF EXAMINATION:
(from the Sisters of Mercy)
Let us affirm together:
WE pledge to examine our own biases and positions of privilege through self-reflection, and earnestly work to resolve them.
WE pledge to live by compassion and be consciously inclusive of all individuals.
WE pledge to affirm the value of diversity.
WE pledge to promote understanding, inclusion, and mutual respect, and thus build community within all races, ethnicities and cultures.
WE pledge to transform our institutions into authentically anti-racist and anti-oppressive communities of action.
WE pledge to advocate for justice, demand equal opportunities for all and so help to create a beloved community for everyone to share.
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