Black History Month - February 17, 2022
Racism is sin. We must all stand up and speak, work, and preach against the sin of racism. This is not political action; it is a biblical position. (Biblical and theological foundations for this faith-based vision can be found in the CRC's “God’s Diverse and Unified Family” adopted by Synod 1996). We know this of course. It’s just hard to live into it when we aren’t confronted by it in our daily lives.
Some of you may know that our oldest daughter’s partner is a black Jamaican-Canadian man. He has told us numerous stories of micro-aggressions and blatant racism that he’s experienced: being called the “N” word; being pulled over for no reason. We have no reason not to believe him. He was recently pulled over because his license plate couldn’t be traced: he explained he was borrowing his friend’s car who had been having trouble getting to the Ministry of Transportation to make the changes necessary to the plates; he could call him right now on his cell and clear it up. But no, he wasn’t allowed to reach for his phone; and now two officers are near his car. Do you know if this was Pastor Erick, a middle-aged, middle-class white man, they would have believed his (true) story about the delay with the Ministry of Transportation and/or let him call the friend if necessary, and everyone would have moved on? Why do we assume a black man would reach for a gun, but a white man would just get his phone? How have we come to this point in society that we are afraid of a black man? Dig deep down to answer this question.
I worked at CrossPoint CRC in Brampton as Worship Ministry Team Leader for 3+ years, where there is a beautiful mix of brown, black, and white sisters and brothers in Christ. I have heard racist comments from white parishioners, behind black backs; and stories of a black brother traveling in the US and being un-lawfully and without cause followed by a sheriff and taken into the police office for un-necessary questioning. You know why this can and continues to happen, without protest, and even with resignation? Because systemic racism still lives, here and around the world. Sadly, it’s in our DNA, our history, the very foundations of our country. We all have internal biases towards people who are “other” than us. We fail to acknowledge and see the God-image in everyone.
Black History month (February) is so important: to remember the contributions of black writers, historians, artists, and composers; to remember the “overcomers” and remind ourselves (because we need it!) that diversity is good and beautiful and necessary, and part of God’s creation plan. I am not an expert in black history in Canada. School teachers have lots more information on this and would gladly share with you the things they are sharing in their classrooms. Elaine Kelley can point you to lots of resources about the Underground Railroad in Canada, and local places to learn more. And you can google and learn on your own too!
In worship, I will try to highlight a song by a black composer or a prayer from a black theologian during this month. Last week we sang “Way Maker” by Osinachi Okoro, a woman from Nigeria. Read more about this song here: “Even When I can’t see it You’re Working: The Overlooked Authorship of “WAY MAKER” by Sinach.”
This coming Sunday we will sing “Soon and very Soon” a well-known Gospel song by Andrae Crouch, a prominent black Gospel song-writer of the twentieth-century.
I really appreciated this Banner article from 2 years ago, a Q & A with a black American woman, a Dutch Canadian teacher, and a young Korean-American pastor in New York: “Why Christians Should observe Black History Month.” And Shiao Chong has an article in the most recent Banner entitled “Racism and the Bible” which links our spiritual reconciliation with God to our social reconciliation with each other.
Last spring I had the opportunity to take a 3-week class at Calvin Seminary entitled: “Faithful Anti-Racism in a Time of Pandemic.” It was challenging and sometimes really, really sad learning. With humility I continue to learn. I think one of our most common (white) responses to racism (and indigenous issues) is that “we weren’t there; it’s not our fault; I’m not racist.” The professor in this class helped us see how we live in the reality of our country’s racist foundations and ignoring it is not an option. She used the metaphor of a leaky roof: we move into a new house and it has a leaky roof, and we say “I didn’t cause that leaky roof, and I didn’t make a hole in it, so I’m not fixing it” But the fact is you now live in this house, and ignoring the leaky roof is not an option, it will need to be fixed, whether you caused the original issue or not. You inherited the “leaky roof.” We inherited the “messy” country. And once you know, you cannot un-know the tragic and racist foundation that North America is built on.
My prayer is that we celebrate alongside our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Persons of Colour) brothers and sisters in Christ the good these image-bearers bring into culture, communities, churches and God's world. More importantly though, I pray that we will see the leaks, acknowledge the leaks and maybe even work towards investigating what is causing those leaks and work to stop them. Reading some of the articles and watching some of the videos attached throughout this email is one place to start.
Ruth Ann