Wednesday
Mar192008
Carry the Dream
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 03:52PM
A few weeks ago I started reading a book about the Underground Railroad titled "Bound for Canaan". (CLICK HERE for more information on the book.) The book starts off with a brief history of slavery and how it came to America. Then it goes deeper into the abolitionist movement, how it ebbed and flowed, before more and more people decided to take action and we find the birth of the Underground Railroad.
It is a fascinating and deeply moving story. And it has opened my eyes to things I've gotten sadly numb to.
I live in Nashville, TN, a very racially divided city with a lot of Civil War history. Last week I put down the book to go eat lunch with some family. We went to a burger place in a very upscale part of town. Every customer was white and every worker was black. It was so obvious, especially after reading what I had just read, and I'm sure most people thought nothing of it. It's the landscape around us, in a lot of ways.
Rewind to our neighborhood group's meeting a couple weeks ago where I heard that two of our women are going soon to a prayer meeting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where, 40 years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his immortal "I have a dream" speech. They're going to pray for how that dream can continue to be moved towards. They're going to pray for a country that has never formally apologized for allowing slavery, and that is still very racially divided.
So this has all been rattling around in my brain when I ran across Barack Obama's amazing speech on race last night. Whatever you may think about the man, his policies, his experience, you need to read/watch this speech. (And you can RIGHT HERE)
He talks about the racial divide in a way I've never heard. He looks at resentments and anger and the history that's fueled them, without any anger or resentment of his own. He condemns racism from both the white and black communities as well as giving perspective on where both come from.
(Also, very interesting to note, this was the first speech by a president or presidential candidate since a 1969 speech by Richard Nixon that was NOT written with the aid of a speechwriter. Obama wrote the whole thing himself.)
I was deeply, deeply moved by his words. I thought it was, without a doubt, the most Christ-like way of looking at people I'd ever seen from a politician. If I've ever seen one at all. He gave great dignity to people, and instead of dismissing them as hateful or racist or arrogant or ignorant, he appealed to the fact that we all have good and bad within us, and that race is only one of the ways this gets played out.
But I'm not writing about how great his speech was. I'm writing about how it connected with me and the other things that I have to assume God is bringing up in my life. I have a desire to be a part of the healing of this racial divide, and these things have further encouraged this desire.
So here I am, in a hotel room in Atlanta, trying to make sense of it all. There's no Underground Railroad anymore. I'm not in a position to give anybody a job. There are no immediate and obvious ways, of that scale, for me to act on this stirring.
But there are many other ways. I am a father, and a husband, and a man who prays to a God who listens. I'm a friend and a church member. In all these roles there are opportunities for me to try and help break down walls, both ones that exist out here in the world and the ones that more subtly exist in my own heart.
I'd love to know your opinions on this stuff. Read Obama's speech. What did you think? In practical terms, is it disingenuous to try to seek out and cultivate relationships with people of other races? What do you make of "the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning", and what can we do about it? Do you have stories of people who are doing things to start healing what is broken?
It is a fascinating and deeply moving story. And it has opened my eyes to things I've gotten sadly numb to.
I live in Nashville, TN, a very racially divided city with a lot of Civil War history. Last week I put down the book to go eat lunch with some family. We went to a burger place in a very upscale part of town. Every customer was white and every worker was black. It was so obvious, especially after reading what I had just read, and I'm sure most people thought nothing of it. It's the landscape around us, in a lot of ways.
Rewind to our neighborhood group's meeting a couple weeks ago where I heard that two of our women are going soon to a prayer meeting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where, 40 years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his immortal "I have a dream" speech. They're going to pray for how that dream can continue to be moved towards. They're going to pray for a country that has never formally apologized for allowing slavery, and that is still very racially divided.
So this has all been rattling around in my brain when I ran across Barack Obama's amazing speech on race last night. Whatever you may think about the man, his policies, his experience, you need to read/watch this speech. (And you can RIGHT HERE)
He talks about the racial divide in a way I've never heard. He looks at resentments and anger and the history that's fueled them, without any anger or resentment of his own. He condemns racism from both the white and black communities as well as giving perspective on where both come from.
(Also, very interesting to note, this was the first speech by a president or presidential candidate since a 1969 speech by Richard Nixon that was NOT written with the aid of a speechwriter. Obama wrote the whole thing himself.)
I was deeply, deeply moved by his words. I thought it was, without a doubt, the most Christ-like way of looking at people I'd ever seen from a politician. If I've ever seen one at all. He gave great dignity to people, and instead of dismissing them as hateful or racist or arrogant or ignorant, he appealed to the fact that we all have good and bad within us, and that race is only one of the ways this gets played out.
But I'm not writing about how great his speech was. I'm writing about how it connected with me and the other things that I have to assume God is bringing up in my life. I have a desire to be a part of the healing of this racial divide, and these things have further encouraged this desire.
So here I am, in a hotel room in Atlanta, trying to make sense of it all. There's no Underground Railroad anymore. I'm not in a position to give anybody a job. There are no immediate and obvious ways, of that scale, for me to act on this stirring.
But there are many other ways. I am a father, and a husband, and a man who prays to a God who listens. I'm a friend and a church member. In all these roles there are opportunities for me to try and help break down walls, both ones that exist out here in the world and the ones that more subtly exist in my own heart.
I'd love to know your opinions on this stuff. Read Obama's speech. What did you think? In practical terms, is it disingenuous to try to seek out and cultivate relationships with people of other races? What do you make of "the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning", and what can we do about it? Do you have stories of people who are doing things to start healing what is broken?
Reader Comments (22)
Shaun Groves just told one of those stories.
http://www.shaungroves.com/shlog/comments/a_miracle_in_my_hometown/
Thanks for writing this, Andrew.
I think when we truly interface with the history and pain that exists in the African American community it has a profound affect on us. I remember having a number of significant experiences my senior year of college that forced me to grapple with race in an environment of grace. It opened my eyes, infused me with passion, broke my heart, made me so angry I want to punch a wall, and repent. I don't think I'll ever be the same.
I often listen to Michael Card's podcasts and he frequently has one of his best friends, Denny Denson, on the show. Denny is probably in his 70s, is a former Black Panther from the MLK era, and now is a pastor in Nashville. He and Scott Rollie (the pastor at Christ Community) started this group call Empty Hands Fellowship in Nashville that is aimed at racial reconciliation. On Michael's show they regularly wrestle honestly with issues of race, existing segregation and true steps to reconciliation. He's truly an amazing man whom I love deeply without even knowing him (ever had that bond?).
Given what I've read and studied, not much of what Barack's pastor, Mr. Wright, says shocks me that much. What I've thought about the last couple of days is the astounding difference between Pastor Wright and Pastor Denson. One's anger consumes him it seems, and ones is consumed by Christ's love. You see in him a man who suffered tremendously, but allowed God to break him of his own sin, and then use him profoundly as a reconciler-it's just incredible. His honesty about race mixed with amazing humility is practically irresistible. It makes me wonder if Barack had sat under Pastor Denson for 20 years, what could be?
Andrew, your words are moving.
I had missed Obama's speech the other night, I didn't realize how much I missed. Thanks for making me take a moment out of my crazy day to hear a few powerful words on the past, present and future of our country.
Something that hit home for me was is hands-on attitude. It made me realize that I should not simply vote for a particular candidate to do the grunt work for me, but that, as a citizen of this country, I should put my hand to the plow.
After reading through my reply I'm a little nervous that I come off as arrogant or a know-it-all, I hope that is not the case. I'm posting my thoughts as that was the idea here, and this is something I've struggled with alot over the last 2 years.
I don't know that anybody will take the time to read this, but I felt it was important to post.
I am probably coming at this from a little different angle that most people here. I really didn't encounter racism until about 2 years ago when I moved to NC. Prior to that I lived in the most international city in the world [more people living there who were born in other countries than any other city]. I grew up the minority. I played on a soccer team where I was the only white kid. But you didn't really think in terms of race...you thought in terms of culture/herritage. If I go home chances are I'll spend a good bit of time with friends that speak only spanish or portuguese.
Last year in NC I was interviewing for a job at a prodominately black church. While talking to the pastor, I said "Black" and he corrected me "African American", and I had to reply "Sir where I grew up if I saw a black person chances are they were hatian, dominican, brazilian, trinidadian, jamacian, or a mix thereof..."African American" would be an insult to them. I'm not saying that I have no racist issues, I hope I am not that arrogant. But it is just something I never really saw as an issue until I moved to the South.
"Race" really is a problem unique to the states. Yes racism occurs in other countries; of course, but not to the same level. My problem with Obama's speech was I don't think he painted an accurate picture of history. My impression from listening to the speech and reading the transcript was that he was implying that due to our history of slavery and the problems that resulted in the way the abolishment of slavery took place we have a unique challenge to overcome. But there is necessarily a bigger issue at stake. Race IS most definitely a bigger issue in areas with a history of slavery. But the States is not as unique as his entire speech framed it to be. Of all the slaves shipped eastward to the americas, between 5% and 6% came to the United States. Between 30-35% went to Brazil [and interestingly enough Brazil has more racial issues than any other south american country].
Slave trade in Brazil goes back as far, if not farther, than slave trade in the US, and it wasn't abolished until 23 years after it was abolished in the States [and due to the difficulty in traveling through the brazil countryside it took even longer for it to really end]. Race is a problem in Brazil, but not like it is in the US. [btw there are a little over 200,000,000 people in brazil, so the country population is not as small as people tend to think].
Why then is there a difference in the attitude in the states? Even in his speech, the first 2/3 of the content Obama presented as white vs black. It wasn't until the end that he brought in hispanic and asian people. We really have a mindset that racism is about white vs black, and if we could just get over that -then we'd be fine. One of my best friends in college was a black dominican who moved to NY city when he was 4 and lived there until college. If you were to look at him he could easily pass as having just gotten off the plane from kenya, if you heard him speak english you'd bet he was from NY, and when you heard him speak spanish it would be obvious he was must be from a carribean island.
He always talked about problems he had in NY with black people not accepting him because he was hispanic. He said hispanics in NY ignored him because they thought he was "black". And white people treated him like any other black person...some with respect, others without. There are definite presuppositions that people tend to carry in regards to people based on their appearence, but even if we were to get passed that there is a whole world that is foreign to us; culture.
Race is alot more superficial than we tend to think. Racially a Columbian and a Puertorican are considered "Hispanic", but they probably have less in common than you do from the black or white person living in your neighborhood or serving you a burger. But we have given up cultural herretige in favor of racial herratige. And as a result alot of issues are missed. And that plays a big part in why racism is such an issue in our country. The vast majority of the world sees "race" but thinks in terms of "ethnicity", we see "race" and the buck stops there.
I thought Obama appealed to the emotional hurt of the country very well. I thought he spoke with elloquence and I have no reason to doubt his sincerity. But I don't know that he really touched the issue at all. I don't know that I did either.
Hey Josh Stockment... I thought that was an excellent observation of Obama's speech. I felt the same way about how he appealed mostly to the emotional, somewhat superficial hurts of racism without really delving much into the real issue behind what racism stems from in the first place.
I think it's sad how skin color supercedes cultural hertiage, upbringing, and basically everything else that makes a person who they are and leads us to make these crazy general assumptions about people. I'm from a small town in Mississippi and believe me i'm constantly spouting off offensive racial slurs and complaining that "they're all the same". It's not right and it's not excusable in any way, but it's something I struggle with constantly in my own heart. And I say that to illustrate the fact that I know how difficult it is going to be to get a handle on this racism situation if it's this much of a war just get my own self under control enough to listen to reason. It hurts me to admit to my own racism, but hey, admitting you have a problem is a good start right?
Sen. Obama's speech left me scratching my head for several reasons, I hope to honestly address. First, I had a hard time separating the social plea from the political reality of apologizing for the comments of another person. Second, Rev. Wrights comments bother me much more, not for their content, but for their geography: they came from a pulpit! I'm kinda bewildered about this. Third, I live in an area where it is very, very white. I am very white. I have no experience with constant racial division. My encounters with other races and cultures has always been rather brief and superficial, and I am almost 50! Therefore I have very little to draw from to even know how to respond to Sen. Obama or Rev. Wright. While these things all go into forming my opinions, I wonder how many 'experts' are offering up their analysis' with similar experiences. (btw, I think it was Mark Twain who said that an 'expert' is someone who guesses right 51% of the time)
Such strange timing.
I have been listening to Uncle Tom's Cabin on audio. I will finish it today on my drive home. Coincidently, on today's date in 1852 it was release. Obviously that book stirs emotions related to racial issues. Because of that book just last night I was saying how I need to read a book on the underground railroad.
I am in the process of moving into a new apartment. I purposely chose an apartment that is in a lower class neighborhood, mostly black. I could just as easily do the 20-something thing and get a nice townhouse and car, but it doesn't bridge that gap. I am not trying to gentrify Harrisburg. I am not trying to force the black out. I am moving in and saying we will never become a community until we stop dividing and actually work together.
I'LL most likely get a lot of heat on this but here it goes. I listen to a lot of conservative talk radio so that might give yall a good Idea of where i'm coming from. I live in a very multicultural niegborhood and workplace. We all work within 2 feet from each other and it's great. we all get along great. So this leads me to a quote "Barack is not the agent of racial healing in this country, barack is the PRODUCT of healing in this country". He would not be where he is today of it wasn't for the awesome progress we have made in this country with race. Are we at full healing? No. Is there more progress to be made? Of course. But to go around and hear some people trying to take us back to the 50's and 60's is upserd! This is 2008, and when people try to potray that racisim is as bad as it was then, I can't help but think of Martin Luthur King must have died in vain. And I for one don't believe that. This country has made a wave of opportunities for every minority to be as successful as Barack, colin powell, and Condoleezza Rice. These are Great American's, and are a Product of healing this country.
Also, I'm sick and tired of the Guilt Trip. Is the only way for America to "Formaly apologize for allowing slavery", which by the way was natural in those days just as they were in biblical times. So to use the word "allowing" would be unfit. It was the course of the times, Not that there is an excuse for it so thank God that He brought us to our senses. Thank God that He opened our eyes to see this great Sin, just as he opened John Newton's eyes, the hynm writer of "Amazing Grace". So Is the only way for America to "Formally apologize for slavery" is to make an African American President? And i say "make" not "elect" cause we all know how distorted the election process is becoming now with Media Bias Driven elections.
I' don't know, Maybe i'm all wrong. Maybe I've said to much, but this is they way I see it. We have come along way and I strongly feel that Martin Luther King and other heros of the civil rights movement turn in their graves when we say they have not made that much of a difference. We say them in these "make white people feel guilty forever" remarks. We say them when the "Black" community, the "Black" church, the "Black" School, and the "Black" this or that. Which if the word "White" was place in front of those words they would be considered racist. The Progress now is not in government, it's in the heart of the people.
The progress will not be put forth by government, it's with the heart of the People.
call me cynical, but i saw two glaring issues within the lovely prose of the good senators speech. 1) i'm too white to understand why the reverend said such hateful things and 2) hey... it's no worse than than his grandmother's fear of strange black men.
like arny, i think this beautifully written speech betrays a deep misunderstanding of where the country _is_ on race relations in respect to where it _was_ and certainly lays out the wrong direction towards true equality.
i think andy is right to look for practical ways to act, but grand gestures such as "official apologies" are only that... gestures. clinton wanted dialog on race. good. bush has one of the most racially diverse cabinets in history. better. and that's what i'm getting at...
me? i grew up in the south. i remember my father saying "you can have black friends, just not best friends" how progressive, right? i would never say that to my son and we've lamented that our neighborhood is so homogeneous, but am i going to move downtown memphis? no. why? some would assume it's because i'm secretly racist. no... it's because i care more about my family's safety than i do about diversity and the murder rate in memphis is about the highest in the country.
do i suggest that's a product of the racial make up of memphis? no. i'm smart enough to know it's more about socioeconomic factors than anything else... and i'd know enough to change churches if my pastor was blaming black people for all the crime. i'd think a harvard educated lawyer to know enough to bail on one that blamed all the social ills in america on all us racist white people, too, not give a flowery, feel-good speech making white people feel guilty for not understanding his "motivation'
but, like i said... call me a cynic.
Geez arny... lay off the radio for awhile! It's making you sound a bit upserd.
Hi friends.
I'm from Brazil, my english doesn't the best of the world, but I'm going to try explain something.
In our land the slavery really was a part or culture. This country born with natives at slavery and remains some years after, with blacks.
We don't have today many conflicts around this question, but we have seen the effects from that slavery in society's culture.
Blacks in Brazil don't go to college, is very unusual. They live in far places from cities, and the money to these peoples is a little part of all economy.
I have many hope in Obama think for your country. More than pray, USA has in your hands other guns that don't are the iron guns.
I really love the brothers of America. I'm very happy with your new mind about the real christianity.
People as Andrew Osenga, Derek Webb, Don Miller and others from America, shows me the beauty of simplicity. Please look our country in your prayer!
Thanks!
Oi Thaigo, tudo bem? e bem-vindos a esta comunidade! Obrigado por os seus pensamentos. Por favor continue pondo no correio aqui!
-Josue
Hahaha Josh. Way to welcome the new guy.
Tambem falo portugues. ;-)
I ate at a churrascaria in downtown Baltimore yesterday. It was wonderful. I drank Guarana and caipirinhas... ;-)
Not to hijack the conversation. I do like what people have had to say, and I tend to agree with Josh.
Caipirinha is very good!!!! :)
Guaraná is to me stand wake.
Thanks to all, your portuguese is the best, hehe.
i recommend reading:
free to be bound: church beyond the color line - Jonathan Wilson-Hartrgrove
more than equals: racial healing for the sake of the gospel - chris rice and spencer perkins
divided by faith: evangelicalism and the problem of race - michael emerson
let justice roll down - john perkins
consuming jesus: beyond race and class divisions in a consumer church - paul louis metzger
Andy,
I thought Barack's speech was superb in its observations about race relations in America, and after more reflection I think it was weak in its prescriptions or lack thereof for resolving the issues. Basically, I thought the first two-thirds or so was very good and the last third was not so much. The speech also reflected a well-disguised double standard regarding the way he treated Rev. Wright (who has been his spiritual mentor for the last two decades) and his white grandmother, who only raised him. He made a moral equivalency between his grandmother's reflexive apprehension about being around black male strangers (notice the language that she "confessed") and Rev. Wright's bold, loud, consistent preaching that rich white men are the cause of just about all the evil in the world, from the crucifixion of Christ to the alleged invention of AIDS as well as its intentional spread through the black community.
I would also argue that his speech was basically populist: while he did not deny blacks the right to play the victim card, but instead (and I'm sure he intended magnanimity here) extended it to poor and possibly middle-class whites too. He effectively maintains that Wright was wrong only on race; but that the rich - the capitalists, the corporate ownership class - are now the evil that we all need to come together to overthrow. This is still the old saw that my problems are someone else's fault. It just restricts the definition of "someone else" a bit, and then heartily congratulates itself for being a marginal improvement. Obama did give some corner to personal responsibility (which frankly I was impressed with, as I didn't expect even that much from a Democratic pol) when he mentioned that some of the welfare policies were part of the problem. I do find it hard to reconcile Obama's conciliatory rhetoric with the fact that his chosen pastor consistently preaches identity theology and identity politics.
i think it was a brilliant political speech. but i have a hard time completely trusting him, even though i agree with certain parts of it. he HAD to deliver this speech if he had any hopes of maintaining his campaign. i didn't feel like he adequately explained his relationship with rev. wright. you cannot simply toss wright's comments aside and claim we don't understand the context. not when they're that inflammatory. and if you watch the reaction from the congregation, it would seem that comments like those are not at all out of the ordinary from him. so i guess i align myself with the skeptics.
andrew
robbie seay here
hope all is well
obama's speech was one of the great speeches in recent history by a public figure.
not because of its eloquence, which he is more than capable of.
not because of its presentation, which was void of applause and hype which accompanies most of obama's speeches, and rightly so
but because he didn't have to make it.
speaking of race relations can be huge political backfire, and he went against that notion with honesty and discomforting dialogue that spurs meaningful action and change among folks of different backgrounds and skin tones.
i'm grateful for such a leader and appreciate you taking the time out to write about it in your blog.
hope to connect soon.
btw, i'm trying to blog more via the band site.
www.robbieseayband.blogspot.com
i'd be thrilled if you would link me on your page here, as i'm fairly new to the blog world
my recent entry concerns the dilemma of DONKEY DIAPERS, so i'm sure you can't pass up the chance to associate yourself with such greatness.
blessings
robbie seay
I live in a city in central PA that is pretty much divided by a river...the west side of the river is often called the white shore. My husband and I purposely are living in the area that has more diversity. In my row of 6 townhomes 4 of them are black families. I attend a church that purposefully tries to be multi-ethnic and multi-racial. That is actuallly part of their mission statement and had a huge part in deciding where to build their church. It is still I'd say 60% white, but many other ethnicities do attend. There is no need for "white" and "black" churches. Our worship pastor is black and also from England. If churches would try to integrate more, I think we could solve a lot of problems within the church about race relations, and also learn a lot from each other. I think most of us are content to attend an all white or all black church, however I don't think that's the way God would want it. My pastor was saying the other day about a popular teaching for new pastors and new churches is if your members all look alike, you will grow as a church. What a horrible teaching! We can all learn so much from each other.
Anyways, just some thoughts of mine.
Andy:
Not to be picky, but Ronald Reagan wrote many of his own speeches. As far as Sen. Obama's speech goes, I thought it was a great political speech but I am not quite ready to jump on his bandwagon. I love Derek Webb's line about you can always trust the Devil or a politician to be a devil or a politician. Come on, the guy is locked in a battle to become the most powerful man in the world. Every word, phrase and gesture is CALCULATED to make you feel those emotions and then transfer that hope into his campaign. I don't doubt his desire to be a good president, I doubt his ability. And Hillary's. And McCain's. This is far too large a nation to effectively govern. If you want to change our country don't look to ANY politician. The last politician to cause major change was Abe Lincoln and he had to tear the country in two and slam it back together at a cost of hudreds of thousands of lives. Look into your own habits. Shop in a different neighborhood. Go to a different restaurant. Develop relationships out of your comfort zone. Find out for yourself that our differences are more about social class than race. Examine your own prejudices. Then confess them to someone you trust and have them hold you to account for changing them. That is the way you heal sins in your life. And sin is what racism is.
Wow, that is a nice mix of cynicism and wishful thinking.
It's been a while since anyone posted, but I just happened this blog and thought I'd add to the conversation.
Andrew, I agree with you that Obama's speech was powerful. Honestly, i cried through the majority of it for several reasons. One, most Americans have little to no contact with people unlike them and so have no perspective one what "others" expereince in daily life. Two, he gave voice to the great chasm that still exists in our nation today. While I respect Amy's views from her earlier post, there is a great difference between getting along with people who are different than you and cherishing the differnces that make us unique. Race is a man-made concept with the only purpose to establish boundaries and separate people. In Revelation, John is told that one day people of every "nation, tribe, and tongue" will gather and worship as one in heaven before the throne of God. Those(nation, tribe, tongue) are God ordained differences put in place so that we can stand in amazement at the majesty and creativity of a God who would take humanity and give us so much diversity.
You see, when I see and hear Barack Obama speak I see and hear hope for what is possible. I am a "white" woman married to a "black" man. I use those terms loosely becasue they have no meaning beyond the initial impression of strangers who see only the color of my skin. I KNOW that there is still a deep problem in this nation. I had lived the avoidance, curious stares, harsh words, rejection. Is it in every city and community, probably not, but it is still there. And part of the problem is because since the work of those like MLK, we have reached a place where decency in public prevails and have swept problems under the rug, only to be acknowledged in the privacy of our homes.
How do we turn the tide in our own little corners of the world. In my experience, I have tried to learn and walk in anothers' experience as much as possible. I do not think there is anything inherently wrong with intentionally befriending people unlike us. I think the example of Christ is all over the Gospels. He did nothing by accident. Samaritans, taxpayers, adulterers, prostitutes, the lame, all those counted as less than ideal by society. make your motivation not that "others" need you, but that you need them and the experience of their lives to come to a fuller place of healing.
And I have challenged within myself every ugly thought and assumption that rears its head and sought by the grace of God to overcome them. My our eyes be opened to our own short-comings and may we have the courage to stand for what is right.
-Via Con Dios