It’s hard for a white guy to write about racism without sounding preachy.
If you subscribe to the News + Record, you’ve already read of the atrocious acts earlier this month at J.S. Waters School. Black students were taunted and bullied in a mock slave auction. The Chatham Organizing for Racial Equity (CORE) held the “Community Call to Action” news conference on March 14 to speak against these racist acts; I was among more than 100 people who gathered on the lawn of Pittsboro Presbyterian Church.
Racism is an ongoing reality, not just an isolated incident. Speakers at the press conference gave their testimonies about the bigotry and prejudice they experience on a daily basis. The witness of these citizens is supported by data from public health officials. The Chatham County Health Department released its “Spotlight on Health Disparities in Chatham County,” which documented that “health disparities are the consequence of structural inequities that push communities into the margins and create the external factors that redirect, reduce and remove opportunities to achieve optimal health.”
Few white people would defend a mock slave auction. But many do question ideas like “structural inequities.” They say it’s too political. Too preachy!
At the press conference, my friend the Rev. Larry Neal of Mount Zion Baptist Church invoked the biblical mandate “to train up children in the way they should go” from Proverbs 22:6. Neal applied this verse as a charge to guide young people to speak out against racist behavior and to cultivate relationships with people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. By reading this scripture in light of current events, Neal was evoking an ancient biblical interpretation known as “tikkun olam,” or “for the healing of the world.” The best sermons name the pain, then inspire listeners to become a part of the solution.
What was most powerful at the press conference was the way young people were practicing what Neal was preaching!
A handful of Latinx high school students spoke in support of the Black students. They had also experienced racism, including being mocked for their accents and told to “go home,” even though they were American citizens by birth. I would have thought these students would wish to fly under the radar. Why speak out and risk the backlash of even more abuse?
But those students stepped up to the microphone and pledged their support to the Black students. It reminded me of the promise that “a child shall lead them” from Isaiah 11:6.
Now I’m quoting scripture! It’s hard not to sound preachy when discussing matters of race and racism …
What I hope is that the images of standing together in solidarity and support would inspire readers to act.
Recently in The Atlantic, novelist Richard Russo posed this question: “Is there hope for us, and for America? Or are we witnessing the end of our experiment in democracy? On bad days, I’m inclined to believe the latter, because we seem to have been assigned the impossible task of putting the toothpaste back in the tube even as others continue to squeeze it.”
But I still have hope. Yes, racism continues to be a sin in our society. But you and I, gentle reader, are wiser and more wonderful than perhaps we can imagine. Together, we can bring healing to the world. That’ll preach.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church. His newly-published book is a collection of his columns for the Chatham News + Record titled “Hope Matters: Churchless Sermons.”
