Posted 159 days ago
Racism Is In the Eye of the Beholder
By David Park, Next Gener.Asian Church (.com) blogger
Racism is in the eye of the beholder. I don’t say this as a cute turn of phrase—I mean it in the sense of a well-known parable: you may call it a speck or a plank, but I assure you, it’s in your eye. The problem with racism is that we see what we want to see, but what we fail to see, is how it affects our sight. Rather than acknowledge real differences in ethnicity and race, we choose to turn a blind eye to it as though plucking our eyes out would prevent the sin altogether. In our haste for the kingdom come, we gloss over tainted histories and plant quasi-innovative churches in the belief that good doctrine and right worship together will solve our differences. But don’t you see? We’ve been trying that for hundreds of years already.
When it comes to issues of race and faith in the United States, the church as we know it has largely failed to remove the obstacles for open dialogue and meaningful racial reconciliation. In essence, we have not removed the plank from our eyes at all. You behold everything with the eyes of racism and perhaps more importantly, they behold you as well. Until we understand the two sides of the coin—how you see and how you are seen—we will fall short of glimpsing the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
In order to begin to address the issue of race, it’s necessary to understand a very important ground rule: if you are a White American male, you are at ground zero. I don’t say this to be offensive. Please don’t take it personally, but to be honest, this is a simple rule of Kingdom economics: “Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first” (Matt. 19:30). I know, I know, it’s not your fault that you may be White, and yes, your Christian faith is what compels you to pursue the greater understanding of living out and spreading shalom—I get it. But just as that incidental logo of an apple on an electronic device or computer suddenly elevates its desirability, you must recognize that Whiteness grants a certain degree of immunity, privilege, advantage, and a right that people of color have never felt. For centuries, people with the definitive characteristic of white skin have colonized others in every part of the world. There is a historical and palpable weight your skin tone bears. Thus, for the sake of true Godly racial reconciliation, you must realize this notion of White Privilege is not an abstraction. Whether you acknowledge it or not, it affects the way you see others and the manner in which you handle White Privilege viscerally impacts the way others see you.
Don’t believe me? Think this is a complete non-sequiter to shalom theology? Ask yourself if you can imagine life being qualitatively better if you were a race besides your own. Ask any random African-American man off the street if they believe in race equality despite the fact that the Civil Rights Movement was over forty years ago. As an Asian American, one of the few memories I have from first grade was running home to my mother and asking why I didn’t have blonde hair and blue eyes after I had been spit on and called “Chink” at school. I’m not asking for reparations or apologies. I’m simply stating that people of color see Whites as having a privileged status. When we fail to address our roles in the creation of the problem of racism, we perpetuate it. Thus, in order to lay White Privilege down, Whites must first pick it up and look at it. It is not a sense of responsibility for racism that people of color expect Whites to bear, but rather a new sensitivity tied closely to the posture of respect for others. We must see ourselves as we are seen.
White Privilege must be made a privilege for all colors. Neither a problem nor its solution can exist until you say it exists. This is the onus of the dominant majority for true healing to begin. Racism exercises its dominance not merely by oppression, but also by suppression. Although the letter of the law eliminated oppression, many people of color do not believe they have something to offer the Body of Christ. For many Whites, especially in church, racism doesn’t exist because they don’t hear or see it inside the walls. But for others who live conscious of their skin color—hair, eyes, noses, and lips—they must be encouraged to speak it out. Invitation is good, but not enough. It is essential to acknowledge and share the cultural gifts people of color bring to the table. We must allow others to express themselves openly and honestly, and we must be willing to listen.
We must not be afraid to acknowledge the differences among races. Differences are not inherently divisive. What the church can fail to recognize is that racial and cultural identities are the very fuel for positive and healthy reconciliation. That is to say, who we are adds substance to whom we forgive and vice versa. Relationships cannot be restored blindly, but must grow out of the deeper process of seeing another’s identity and restoring that which was broken. This is why the parable of the Good Samaritan matters, because racial identification is part of the subversive act of healing and forgiving. We must see others clearly in light of history in order to move forward.
And lastly, ending racism for an hour on the first day of the week would only amount to a Pyrrhic victory. The kingdom of God does not require that we carve out a utopian hour on Sunday for diversity in worship; a vision of God’s kingdom is to work towards making racial reconciliation and respectful diversity a reality from Monday through Saturday. Unless the church gains a more profound understanding of the pervasiveness of racism, then we will not strive to work towards a pervasive justice. We must dream bigger dreams and see greater visions.
Justice is not blind, nor is it White, but it is the work of those who have been called a royal priesthood. Racism is in the eye of the beholder and we must be bold enough to remove the plank in it. The work of making White Privilege a privilege of all colors is difficult but necessary—shalom must not be contained in a definable space among a closed set of people. We must behold a vision of God’s kingdom without walls, but with beautiful colors. Then we will see the eyes of the one who beholds us.
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