As a Black woman, a pastor, a mother, a wife and a community leader, I have a hard truth to share with you: Racism is alive and well, including in the church communities you know and love. What do I mean by racism? Well, while any group can experience racial prejudice or discrimination, racism is the prejudice and discrimination that are unfairly baked into society’s power structures.
Many of us good churchgoers advocate for ending racial injustice. But we can’t hug away (or quilt away or bake away) racism. And if the majority of white Americans wanted to dismantle institutional racism, they would.
We can commit to learning more about racism and white supremacy. We can recognize that denying the existence of racism may be driving out the prophets in our church who are speaking the truth. As Christians, facing the sins of oppression can be a painful, difficult process, yet doing so can remove “scales,” uncover truths and lead to holy, amazing transformation. After all, each week we confess together that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves.
This message is excerpted from the Bible study “Just L.I.F.E. (Liberation is for Everyone!)” by Angela T. !Khabeb in the July/August 2021 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate Bartholomew, Apostle.
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