White Anti-Racism and Privilege
In the United States White people must recognize that racism is a cultural and institutional condition which they help to sustain and from which they themselves reap benefits. One who is truly committed to the fight against racism—as opposed to just talking the talk and avoiding overt acts of discrimination against people of color—must stand up, confess participation in a system of systemic privilege and become actively anti-racist. To "do" anti-racism—in other words, to witness and work for that cause—white people must make conscious choices to act and thereby to suffer some discomfort, to sacrifice some power and to surrender some assumptions. For those white people ready to do anti-racism, here are some strategic steps to be taken: 1. Choose repentance over denial. 2. Choose belief over doubt. 3. Choose to address white people's racism as cause, not just oppression among people of color as effect. 4. Choose anti-racism over non-racialism. We will not solve this problem by not dealing with it. 5. Choose to join with and be led by people of color who are already doing anti-racism work. 6. Commit to anti-racism for the long haul, not just for a season. 7. Examine your close relationships with people on your job, at church and in other settings. Will they become allies, sympathizers or obstacles to your anti-racism efforts? 8. Examine not only your organization's official policies, but also the "unwritten" ones that perpetuate racism. 9. Advocate with and for people of color whenever opportunities arise, not only when it is to your advantage. 10. Move beyond guilt to responsibility and action for therein you will find freedom and true righteousness. Too often we want to heal the wounds of the broken family of God with immediate actions that demand too little of white persons’ need to let go of privilege and power. White members and allies of GCORR understand that the path to racial justice must be a lifelong commitment by followers of Christ, including those who call themselves United Methodists. Biblical and theological mandates command white Christians to step into new racial/ethnic understandings that draw upon historical and current perspectives. White people must meet the challenge to cross into truth by crossing into the beauty, passion, pain and wisdom of others whose racial/ethnic identities both differ from and enrich their own. We must disassemble the false, oversimplified, standardized view of the one who is different from me. Christ calls us to take the steps that would make real knowing and real loving of our neighbors possible. We come to know the other through holy steps taken beside one another. We who benefit from the white privilege embedded in our culture must confront the whiteness of our political, social, and economic institutions. We must lose the privilege, so the
In addition, this Web site will periodically report news and information, insightful perspectives, and recommended events and resources to help United Methodists and others embrace and engage more deeply in anti-racism as a ministry and a lifestyle. John Wesley’s understanding of our Christian faith, as rooted in Holy Scriptures, tradition, experience, and reason, provides rich theological perspectives that can empower faithful pilgrims on the journey to racial justice. Through the perspectives of our Methodist heritage and our Christian hope, we can penetrate false assumptions about one another and embrace new ways of being the church, fulfilling our commitment to racial reconciliation and becoming God’s beloved community. Dr. Barbara R. I. Isaacs |
