If you don’t believe that racism exists today in America, you are…well, to put it kindly, not living in reality.

The failure to indict Darren Wilson in the shooting of unarmed teen, Michael Brown, in Ferguson was surprising and controversial. The failure to indict the officer involved in the death of Eric Garner this past week in Staten Island was simply unacceptable.

These events have catalyzed a new focus on race relations in America, and like pieces on a chess board, we are divided, black against white. Unfortunately, the conversation mainly focuses around police behavior towards blacks and other minorities. The truth is, we need to go much deeper. The (mainly) brave men and women in uniform who “serve and protect” happen to be in a position where the reality of racism in America manifests itself in very stressful situations and in the public eye. Undoubtedly, some of these officers have abused their position in horrific and tragic ways.

I know some of you are reading this and thinking, “Ok, but these are isolated incidents. Why make such a big deal about it now?”

The problem is that the “isolated incidents” premise is entirely false. The pattern of police brutality against unarmed black males especially, is only partially documented, but still shocking. Due to a lack of formal tracking , we don’t have a truly accurate picture of how many blacks are killed every year by the police, but this Rolling Stone article mentions 11 incidents where unarmed black men were killed to give you an idea of the widespread nature of this issue.

But again, my point is not to talk about police relations with minorities. That topic is already being hotly debated across the nation.

The deeper, more problematic issue is the mindset that people of different races, especially blacks and Latinos in this country, are “others.” (For more on this, see this previous post.) This view has contributed to an inequality between races prevalent in the United States today.

If you don’t believe me, here are some stats:

• In 2013, whites (non-hispanic) had a median net worth of $142,000 while the same stat for nonwhites was just $18,100. (source: Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances)
• In 2010, black men were more than six times as likely as white men to be incarcerated in federal and state prisons and local jails. (source: Pew Research)
• Black and Hispanic individuals have a much higher prevalence of parents who have spent time in jail, 20.6% and 14.8%, compared with 11.9% for white individuals. (source: Drugwarfacts.org) (This is not surprising considering the statistic just before.)
• Five times as many whites are using drugs as African Americans, yet African Americans are sent to prison for drug offenses at 10 times the rate of their white counterparts. (source: NAACP criminal justice fact sheet)
• The percentage of college degrees conferred to black and hispanic students in 2010 (as a function of the number of these minorities enrolled in higher education institutions) was 13.9% and 13.7% compared to 66.3% for whites. (source: National Center for Education Statistics)

I could go on about median income, home ownership, racial profiling and more, but I hope you are getting the point.

As Americans, this should disturb us. As Christians, this should break our hearts.

So what now? How do we live in this tension and still remain hopeful? What should our response as Christians be?

First, we must acknowledge the ugly truth that racism still exists today.

We live in a broken world, and this is a very sad part of that. It might not be representative of your personal circumstance, but do not discount the reality of the many people who suffer from various (and sometimes deadly) forms of racism everyday. Start by asking a black friend – or if you don’t have any black friends, a co-worker, neighbor or acquaintance – about their experiences growing up as a minority. Seek to empathize fully with their story and personal history. Then imagine similar experiences and stories being true for millions of people across the country.

Next, we have to openly and honestly dialogue about how we got here.

As Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative and professor at New York University School of Law, eloquently discussed in an interview on the Daily Show, “We’ve never committed ourselves to a process of truth and reconciliation about our history…and now we’re in an era where our failure to talk honestly about race and the legacy of racial inequality continues to haunt us.” (I highly recommend that you watch the 6:28 min video link above.)

As Stevenson goes on to state, unlike Germans who have forced themselves to confront the sins of their past through monuments and totems erected throughout their country, in the U.S. we have tried to hide the past. Slavery, Jim Crow laws, and segregation as an accepted societal norm have affected the present and future of blacks and other minorities in our country. We cannot conveniently make sweeping statements like “but we have a black President” or “slavery doesn’t exist today” to diminish or ignore our present state. And yes, in some ways, we have made progress, but as I wrote in my post, Are We There Yet?, we still have a long way to go.

Finally, we must be peacemakers. 

We have to seek to understand the suffering around us, grieve with those who are directly and daily affected, and do our best to emulate Jesus. We cannot be bystanders.

Now I’m not saying that we have to join the nonviolent protests happening in various cities around the country, although that is a good and viable option. Instead, when we witness injustice, regardless of cause or motive, we should at least speak out against it, and in some (maybe extreme) circumstances, physically intercede. In casual (or not so casual) conversations with friends or co-workers, we should (lovingly) voice disapproval of passive-aggressive racist comments and stereotyping. Within our own (even Christian) families, we should confront sinful ways of thinking about other races.

The future of our nation’s race relations is not the responsibility of the government or even the “Big C Church.” The future is entirely dependent on you and me. On every person, and especially every Christian who claims to love and follow Jesus. It depends on how we wrestle with and confront the subtle ways that racism infiltrates our families, inner circles and communities everyday. And then, only then, can our future look bright.

[photo credit: Pixabay]