Race Talk

Introduction

God made Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve. Black people are thugs. People from the south are unintelligent. White people are rich and hate black people. These types of generalizations and irrational thinking are typical of a society that has drawn a line between themselves and understanding people of different beliefs and backgrounds. One of the more difficult ways of understanding people and culture is by remaining distant from cultures and people which are different from us.

We each have differences and we are each different in some way. We should seek to embrace others by acknowledging that being different and doing things differently is not always wrong.

Embracing different cultures, races and ethnicity is a challenge for each of us. One must become deliberately involved in other cultures, ethnicities and races in order to gain sufficient of understanding of the people part of those cultures, ethnicities and races.

In this paper I would like to explore concepts, the role of the church and personal challenges involved in engaging race, ethnicity, and cultural diversity.

An Anthropological View

To understand other cultures, it is important to recognize the necessity of becoming involved with the culture and have a willingness to learn about the culture. Brian Howell and Jenell Paris writes, “The anthropological perspective refers to an approach to social research that seeks to understand culture from the point of view of the people within that culture” (Howell & Paris 2011, 4). Often when people are introduced to a culture they are unfamiliar with there is the tendency to become judgmental. These judgments most times form prejudices, which can hinder understanding and developing relationships. Cultural anthropology allows an individual the opportunity to gain sufficient understanding of other cultures without forcing the individual’s beliefs and traditions upon that culture. The idea is to learn and experience what life means and looks like from the perspective of those who are a part of the culture. Cultural anthropology attempts to lend some understanding about social structure and how people are affected. It questions whether there is privileged or unprivileged status. It explores the social inequality of certain groups of people in effort to learn if those injustices and inequalities have an effect upon the culture of the people within the group. According to Howell and Paris, “Anthropology doesn’t settle the question once and for all, but it provides important concepts like social structure, status, and role that help cultivate discernment in perception and clarity in communication about how society influences individual experiences” (Howell & Paris 2011, 70).

One of the greatest hurdles for understanding people from different backgrounds and cultures is that of stereotypes and prejudgments. When a person has subjected himself to stereotypes of other people it limits his capacity to genuinely understand that person or their culture. According to Paul Hiebert, “Premature judgments are usually wrong. Moreover, they close the door to further understanding and communication” (Hiebert 1985, 101). The anthropologist attempts to get beyond this thinking and examine closely why people act the way they act. The goal is not to humiliate any culture but to shed light and understanding for those who have not been exposed to them. Priest & Nieves remind us, “Communication and reconciliation among people from different backgrounds will not take place without an understanding of the complexity of their unique cultures” (Priest & Nieves 2007, 76). Again this is challenging but necessary to achieve what may be deemed as success.

Race

Race is not a culture but it is category which can often be labeled as culture. Contrary to the belief of some people race does not dictate the actions of any person. To conclude that a person does something or lives a certain way because of their race is an unfair and unreasonable judgment.

There is something, though, to the environment and social status that a person is a part of that may in fact reflect the actions of an individual. Culture can often influence the actions of people regardless of the race.

Ethnicity

According to Howell & Paris, “Ethnicity is a category based on the sense of group affiliation derived from a distinct heritage or worldview as a people” (Howell & Paris 2011, 77). This makes a distinction between race and ethnic group. Ethnicity is not limited to race. Ethnicity can change but race can not. Various anthropologist believe that ethnic identity is a consequence of human impulse. Truthfully, even with insurmountable reading and lecturing I am yet attempting to understand fully how to describe ethnicity in relation to myself. If it is heritage than what would my heritage be? Is it African? If so, what country in Africa? If I my ethnic group has changed then what is the name of the group?

Ethnicity poses some difficulties in understanding because it challenges us to look beyond the category of race. It challenges us to understand an individuals total background. According to Priest & Nieves, “If we try to treat all people just ‘as individuals’ and ignore the different histories and cultures of peoples, and how they may be subtly stereotyped by others, we do not realize the obstacles that minorities often face” (Priest & Nieves 2007, 71).

What Is the Role of the Church?

The church has grounds for understanding and engaging race, ethnicity and cultural differences. Jesus left directives for the Church in Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

This command from Christ challenges the church to become involved in other cultures, ethnicities and races. If the church will be effective there must be genuine effort to develop relationships that will expand the Kingdom of God. This means we must seek to understand the people we are attempting to reach. This understanding cannot be based upon our own selfish thoughts and backgrounds. Hiebert warns, “Missionaries too often have equated the good news with their own cultural background. This has led them to condemn most native customs and to impose their own customs on converts” Hiebert 1985, 53).

The church must take more vocal role against injustices and inequality of people. The silence of the church causes conflict for those who would be believers. A conflict which challenges the very heart of every Christian. If we are God’s people and His ambassadors why would we ignore the suffering of others. Howell & Paris argue, “However we read the Scriptures, there is no doubt that the church has often been shamefully slow to challenge systems of inequality” (Howell & Paris 2011, 84). Slow is putting it mildly. The church has become stagnant towards understanding culture and vocalizing objection for injustice.

Personal Challenges

I am an African American who grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana. My father is a pastor and we were poor. The high school I went to, Woodlawn High School, exposed me to voluntary segregation. In the cafeteria there was a white side and a black side. There was a black cold line and a white cold line. There was a white hot line and a black hot line. There were no signs that dictated which line or side was black or white and we were not directed by anyone from the administration to segregate this way. It was just understood that that is the way it is. Nobody ever corrected this. I explained this to my father and he stated that this was not racism it was voluntary oppression. He told me what I should do is begin eating on the opposite side and standing in the so called white line from then on. As I began to do this some of my friends began to do the same thing, we did not know it then but we were changing the culture of our school cafeteria.

The challenge I face is how to change the culture of America. We claim to be diverse but in many ways we appear to be further from understanding each other than we were during segregation.

I moved into a neighborhood that is predominately Caucasian and two months’ later sale signs went up. I thought things like that only happened in the movies. I began seminary feeling excited about it and found that even in seminary cultural differences and racial misunderstandings are prevalent. During breaks from classes I feel like I’m back in the cafeteria at Woodlawn High School. Only this time its not voluntary. I’ve made attempts to befriend people however to no avail I have made no progress. So my challenge is how do I rationalize learning to understand different cultures abroad when I can’t gain understanding or be understood by the dominant culture in my neighborhood, city, school, state, or country.

According to Howell and Paris, “Many anthropologists have noted that in highly stratified societies, class identity is less about having money than it is about having the opportunity to learn the cultural norms that suggest membership in a particular social class” (Howell & Paris 2011, 82). Perhaps my struggle is a class issue for which I haven’t entered. Paul Hiebert says, “To participate fully in another society we must be given a status within it. Otherwise we are ‘enemies’ and must be speared, or strangers who can not be trusted” (Hiebert 1985, 260-61). I pray with them, I sing with them and I even participate in the clean-up and breakdown of the chapel. Whom do I speak to about a status so that I may be accepted?

Mainly my challenge is to integrate into the social structure of this culture by learning the ways and ideas of those around me. I find that difficult though, because this culture appears to have little regard for me. Instead of being viewed as a brother in Christ it appears I am only seen from a racial perspective. The dominant culture of this school is obvious and perhaps intentional. Only one African American faculty member and the only other African American employees appear to be those who work in the cafeteria. Is this a systemic issue that has become visible even on a Christian school campus? The same could probably be said about the Church I serve. We are predominately African American with one exception it is not our choice. We have done outreaches and attempted to partner with Caucasian ministries and none have accepted our opportunities for commonality.

Conclusion

Cultural anthropologist have determined that to successfully understand other cultures one must be intentional about learning from within that culture. To engage with race, ethnicity, and cultural diversity, stereotypes and prejudgments must be done away with. Understanding other cultures, ethnicities, and races can be challenging. The difficulties often stem from persons unwilling to recognize that being different and doing things different is not necessarily wrong or abnormal. Its just difference.