There are parts of history that we prefer to gloss over because of the feelings that they conjure up. Take for instance a German who was involved in the destruction of the Jewish race. The shame and guilt from something like that is overwhelming and often easier just to not bring up.
Simple things like the hurt we may have caused another such as a friend or family member. If we don’t bring it up, we don’t have to confront it.
While some of those have come with a great deal of repentance and forgiveness, some have not and that became a realization for me once again just yesterday. It’s easy for me to excuse myself from the events that happened because after all, I was not born when this all happened. Yet, the continued issues that face our communities and country can’t be ignored.
Historical context… Kym and I are white. We live in the oldest, all-black community in the United States called Mound Bayou. Mound Bayou is a small community in rural Mississippi, located 10 miles north of Cleveland, MS and 25 miles south of Clarksdale, MS. If you were to drive on hwy 61 south from Memphis, you would eventually see a few brief signs for Mound Bayou.
Race and racial relations in our country have been a huge problem from the beginning. As a country we claimed that “all men were created equal” and as those words were spoken, our country slaughtered and moved several American Indians from their established homes to places that could be controlled. At the same time, many of the men that signed the Declaration of Independence were importing people from Africa with the sole purpose of enslaving them to do the unthinkable. After all, they would not have asked a white person to do the things that they expected the enslaved Africans to do. Along the way and in an effort to probably ease the guilt felt by what they were doing, they made a declaration that these people were 1/5 a human. This apparently gave the right to do the things that they were doing.
There is no easy way around this.
For some, when slavery “ended”, it seemed that all was well and everyone was equal and all should just go forward as nothing happened. Once again the white collective found ways to suppress those that were not white.
In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court landed a verdict of “separate but equal” in a case of Plessy vs. Furguson. This revived the “black codes” which were slave statues containing codes, provisions, and regulations. Essentially speaking, we went back to what was rather than moving forward and “separate but equal” allowed for the horrible treatment of people once again.
As an example of a black code, in the antebellum South heavily regulated the activities and behavior of blacks. North Carolina restricted slaves from leaving their plantation; if one tried to court (date) a woman on another property, he risked severe punishments at the hands of the patrollers or needed a pass in order to pursue this relationship.
Another example, Article 13 of Indiana’s 1851 Constitution stated: “No Negro or Mulatto shall come into, or settle in, the State, after the adoption of this Constitution.” The 1848 Constitution of Illinois contributed to the state legislature passing one of the harshest Black Code systems in the nation until the Civil War. The Illinois Black Code of 1853 prohibited any Black persons from outside of the state from staying in the state for more than ten days, subjecting Blacks who violated that rule to arrest, detention, a $50 fine, or deportation.
Separate but equal took our country right back to where it was. It robbed freedoms while granting, once again, “lordship”.
White supremacy, the KKK, and bigotry ensued and the cycle of slavery really began again, minus the physical representation of the chains. Heinous crimes against humanity took place just as they had before. Many of these crimes were committed by “God-fearing Christians” or so they were called. Distorted passages from the Bible became the claim as to why segregation existed and why it was ok to treat someone of another color the way that they did. Pretty sick…
Each year our town celebrates “Septemberfest”. Over Labor Day weekend, people come into town from all over for family reunions, class reunions and more. It is one giant party filled with great food, fellowship, and fun. For the past 7 years, Saturday morning at 7am, there is a 5k race. This year, my wife and I decided to take part.
Funny how God works. Obviously, Kym and I are the “outcast” by color yet when I use that word it isn’t meant in a derogatory way, just in an obvious “duh” sort of way. Many of our friends were at the 5k which was nice because we had a chance to talk and socialize. This is where it became real.
On two occasions, we met three men that had served faithfully in our military. One marine who served in the Vietnam war, one airman who was with the 101st Airborne, and one gentleman who was in the Army. All these men were retired from service and had faithfully served our country.
Think about this for a minute. In the midst of hate and racial division, these men willingly went into the service to defend the very country that seemingly didn’t appreciate them. I often say that I probably would have been more defiant than loving when it came to protesting the treatment of people groups. My blood boils when I think about it and I am not sure I would have been as loving as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I pray I would but just being honest. While I didn’t ask why they did it (because I didn’t really know them), I wonder what the reason was.
As Kym and I were talking with one of our friends (his friend was standing there), they shared with us a bit of the history of their upbringing in Mound Bayou. They shared that Mound Bayou was a bit of a “safe haven”, not in the sense of it being “safe” for safety sake but because you knew the people and there was a strong sense of belonging. Everyone treated everyone with dignity no matter what the color of skin might be. However, those rules did not apply outside of the town.
The gentlemen shared with me one particular instance. During high school, he and a few friends went to Cleveland, MS which is 10 miles south of our town. They were going to the drive-in for a movie, some popcorn and a nice time. As they arrived at the drive-in, the rules were about to change. They got out of their car to go and get some refreshments. They waited at the window until their turn to only hear the words, “we don’t serve your kind here. Go around to the back of the building.” I will forever remember the words that this man said, “what kinda of bull is this?” See, if you didn’t go out of Mound Bayou, you never had to deal with this junk. They walked around to the back of the building where they found a literal hole in the wall with no signs. You would call out what you want and you would reach in, give your money and they would reach out with whatever you ordered. No face to face contact, just a hole. Needless to say, they left because they were not going to put up with it.
So here Kym and I are standing as we listen to this story. What do we say? About the only thing we can say is that “we are so sorry”, yet those words are going to bring little in the way of solace and comfort.
I have never had to deal with anything like that. If I wear a hoodie in any neighborhood, I am unlikely to be considered suspicious. Yet if a young black man or student is walking home from school with a hoodie on (because it’s cold), they are subject to questioning from the police, and maybe a bag search because of course, they are up to something. I would like to say that this happened a long time ago and that we are past it but that is not the case. Advantages and disadvantages still exist because of the color of a persons skin. While we claim to have a “level playing field” that is just not the case. A level playing field may exist for a particular group of people but if you don’t qualify for that group, anything level or fair goes right out the window.
I am going to make a wildly broad statement that will offend quite a few but it is just true. First, race problems have been in existence since the beginning of time. Biblically speaking, when sin entered the world, it brought every problem along with it, including racism. Historically, we can go back as far as you would like and see racist acts committed from one people group to another. In the context of the United States, white people helped to perpetuate the problem by segregating anyone who did not fit into the white social group into something lesser than. This was quickly followed up, in many circumstances, with acts of hate, punishment, rape, and murder. We follow that up today by saying that everything is “equal” and people need to “get over it.” Is it hard to believe that “getting over it” does not help build bridges and reconciliation? Those phrases create issues and separation. If our context is primarily all white, it is hard for us to put ourselves into another context. It is hard for us to relate to anything outside of what we know and what we encounter. When our interaction with people of another color is limited to the news, movies and tv shows, the portrait that can be seen may taint the truth of what really is.
A white pastor of a church said to me that he has a hard time getting his congregation to the east of a certain street because according to the news, nothing but bad things happen there. When the perception becomes reality it is harder to press into the real problem.
When white flight happened it created pockets of poverty, poorer schools, crime and more. White people seldom think that they caused the problem because, after all, it is easier to just look at someone as lesser than and that they caused the problem and we had nothing to do with it. The reality is that we did have a part to play and it was a result of someone’s skin color.
As a white person, I feel a deep sense of privilege because of my being white. I am afforded certain things without even trying just because of my skin tone. There are things that I never have to worry about what others carry with them every day. I am not sure that the goal here is to feel a sense of guilt but rather to use that which has been given for the greater good towards real justice and healing. From a Christian perspective, the only real solution to this issue has to come through the church. If anyone needs to apologize for the atrocities that took place it is the church. When Christians sat idol at best and allowed the things to happen that did, a sincere apology would be appropriate and a great start.
What would it look like if we spent time trying to get to know one another and started to ask the tough questions about racism and relations? What if we did that in a way that honored one another as we pressed into discussions and life together? Kym and I have the chance to do that daily and it is a great chance for us to learn real history and the way that people interpret what happened. This perspective is real, relative and true and does not allow room for “everything is equal now” or “get over it.”
When we press in rather than ignore there is a chance to make a difference and change the course of history. Christian’s have a greater responsibility (my opinion) when it comes to all of this. We have been reconciled through Christ and therefore we should be reconciled one to another. Easy? No. Time-consuming? Yep. Worth it? Definitely!