America on the Brink

racism does not exist in face of overwhelming evidence. For Paul, reprobation is a dangerous corruption of the mind that should concern any person of faith. Cosby agreed and said he thinks of reprobation as moral ignorance. “Mental ignorance is when you don't know whereas moral ignorance is when you don't want to know. It is ignorance rooted in the will, the worst kind to correct.” He helped me to understand that the deeper reason why some white people do not even try to understand black experiences of racism is a moral issue. Mental ignorance is a reflection of our public-school system not educating us about racism, whereas moral ignorance is a deeper spiritual and moral problem where people insist in denying the truth of racism. This is a complex and thorny issue that religious institutions are uniquely positioned to take up. Seeing the moral nature of the problem provides a way forward. Let me explain. Religious institutions must come alongside educational institutions to cultivate values needed that enable more white Americans to see the need to change the way we educate ourselves. Religious institutions are positioned to do this because growth or transformation are linked to learning new ways of being in the world. Two values of supreme importance are humility and compassion. Learning about racism and learning how to talk about racism requires intelligence but also humility. White Americans must be humble enough to admit what they do not know and the limits of understanding something one does not directly experience. Humility enables real listening to happen and provides an opening for a different kind of conversation, one not characterized by defensiveness and combativeness. Humility, not national or racial pride, shifts the conversations from African Americans trying to prove that racism is real to embracing opportunities to learn about the painful realities of racism. The Bible says that God hates pride and resists the proud because they are rooted in the assertion of the self over and against others. Instead, God gives grace to the humble, because, unlike pride, humility is the path to following the commandment to love God and neighbor. Humility, in the end, can change the tenor of conversations about racism, encourage real listening to occur, and allow what’s heard and learned to build the compassion needed in white Americans to work for change. This is what is so exciting about the time in which we find ourselves. We are living in a special moment where thousands of Americans are having honest and difficult conversations about racism and interestingly educational and religious institutions are coming together to tackle these issues. I have been a part of five forums this summer that were joint collaborations between colleges and churches, including one at Bluefield College where I serve as Dean of Institutional Effectiveness. The theme of the forum was “A Time to be Silent and a Time to Speak.” We wanted to create space for listening and sharing, not talking past each other. I find that people are listening and open to conversations about making structural changes to address racism. Thousands of people are watching and participating in these forums. That is no small matter. There is great potential for change if we draw on the momentum of this moment and find ways to confront racism while also learning to listen to each other, not talking past each other.

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