America on the Brink

has a Minister of Racial Equality, Annielle Franco. Brazil has the largest African population of the diaspora with 55.9 million, while the United States is second with 46.4 million. Brazil was the only country represented at the Forum by a government office focusing only on policies for the Black population. Minister Franco said, “The government's presence at this Forum is crucial. We're taking with us strategies that are aligned with Brazilian Black organizations and movements to extend the International Decade for People of African Descent for another ten years, as well as submitting our candidacy for a permanent seat at the next Forum's election and for Brazil to host next year's edition." America can learn a lot from our sisters and brothers in Brazil. 4. The Permanent Forum gives attention to global antiracist movements. There are movements all over God’s world to address racism. I learned about new organizations doing work on reparations such as the African American Redress Network and First Repair. Seeing organizations that shared examples of repair done in recent years was encouraging. While feverishly taking notes, I wondered why I was in the room. It became clear over the two days I was involved. I noticed that Christian organizations and leaders played a small role in the work of the Forum. During the sessions I attended, I do not recall a single denominational leader, major church, or organization speaking out on the dual issues of racism and reparations. I did not hear of partnerships between Christian organizations and agencies doing racial justice work. The U.N. Permanent Forum for People of African Descent is the latest example of large political and or grassroots activist movements –think Black Lives Matter (BLM) or American Descendant of Slavery (ADOS) – that have taken up the mantle of addressing the material conditions of Black people with little to no involvement from churches. I was reminded of Dr. Eddie Glaude’s 2010 article, “The Black Church is Dead,” published in The Huffington Post . Glaude’s contention was that while religion is important to African Americans, the idea that the Black church is central to the religious lives of African Americans has long been abandoned. I remember scores of African American pastors across the nation taking issue with Glaude’s assessment of the death of the Black church. They claimed that the Black church was as viable today as it has ever been to the religious lives of Black people. However, the misleading title of his essay caused Black pastors to miss the core issue Glaude sought to raise, which was the decentralization of the church in the African American community. There are two factors to this: (1) the growing number of African Americans who choose to practice their faith outside the bounds of the Black church; and (2) the growing number of African Americans who practice non-Christian religions or those with no religious affiliation. As far back as 2010, we were seeing these trends. The former issue stood out in my mind as I witnessed the marginal witness of the church in this space. I wondered how many of these leaders are deeply Christian but left churches that refuse to take up God’s work outside the walls of their church. What I observed and Glaude’s contention back in 2010 are microcosms of a larger issue for churches in America.

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