“Many fear that Christians who speak out against racism want to tear down America. That is not true; we are the fools who believe that America might better embody its ideals for all people. We are the people of hope.” –Why Christians Must Fight Systemic Racism by Esau McCaulley
I read these words of Esau McCaulley with a mixture of hope and anger.
Anger that fellow Christians accuse him and slander him and threaten him.
Hope that more and more Christians—of all races—will join him in proclaiming and challenging the reality of sinful structures within our society.
Hope that light will continue to shine in the darkness.
Hope that the commitment to truth and love will bear fruit.
“When people point out bias or racism in structures (health care, housing, policing, employment practices), they are engaging in the most Christian of practices: naming and resisting sins, personal and collective. A Christian theology of human fallibility leads us to expect structural and personal injustice. It is in the texts we hold dear. So when Christians stand up against racialized oppression, they are not losing the plot; they are discovering an element of Christian faith and practice that has been with us since the beginning…Many fear that Christians who speak out against racism want to tear down America. That is not true; we are the fools who believe that America might better embody its ideals for all people. We are the people of hope.”
-Esau McCaulley, The New York Times
Why Christians Must Fight Systemic Racism
Keep reading McCaulley’s article here.
Learn more with Amy Julia:
- S3 E11 | The Black Church’s Gift to Christianity with Esau McCaulley
- S4 E15 | Reparations: Imagining Ways to Repair and Restore with Duke Kwon and Greg Thompson
- S4 E1 | How Do We Fight Racism? with Jemar Tisby
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