America on the Brink

I have been so greatly disappointed with the white church and its leadership…I felt that the white ministers, priests and rabbis of the South would be some of our strongest allies. Instead, some have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of the stain-glass windows…I have traveled the length and breadth of Alabama, Mississippi and all the other southern states. On sweltering summer days and crisp autumn mornings I have looked at her beautiful churches with lofty spires pointing heavenward. I have beheld the impressive outlay of her massive education buildings. Over and over again I have found myself asking: “What kind of people worship here? Who is their God? Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification? Where were they when Governor Wallace gave the clarion call for defiance and hatred? Where were their voices of support when tired, bruised and weary Negro men and women decided to rise from the dark dungeons of complacency to the bright hills of creative protest? Yes, these questions are still in my mind. In deep disappointment, I have wept over the laxity of the church. 7 King reminds us that this kind of disappointment is not new. In the past two years when the country has grappled with the four-hundred year history of blacks in America and a new wave of unrest emerged over the summer, we have only witnessed one national anti-racism and reparations campaign launched by a white denomination – Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. There have been initiatives and public statements released by white mainline denominations, but not major actions taken to correct structural racism. The largest predominately white congregations rarely, if ever, weigh in the issue of racism and escalating violence. Some of these churches have over five thousand members and so their influence could be significant. Many wealthy and influential white churches and institutions are silent. For example, many were quiet after the Mother Emanuel killings in Charleston and quiet after the Charlottesville march that turned into a riot. I cannot adequately put into words how painful this collective realization has been for many African Americans. We feel betrayed by people who call themselves Christians and worshippers of the One and only God. These things raise deeper questions for our consideration. Why do white churches refuse to speak up and speak out on this issue? Why the persistent and dogmatic denial of a problem with race in America? How is it spiritually and humanly possible in the face of so much evidence of a deep racial problem, churches decide to be quiet? Why not use its moral voice and authority to address these

7 Martin Luther King, Jr., “A Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. James Washington, ed. (San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, 1986), 298-99

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