The Problem

The legacy of racism clings to humanity so closely; we ooze racism the way a heavy consumption of garlic can cause us to ooze the smell of garlic by merely sweating. Because of America’s slave legacy and its near annihilation of native peoples, among others, America can no more escape racism’s continued impact than a fish in the ocean can escape getting wet. Racism and cultural oppression not only persist in America but also endure around the world as if they were ancient anthropological holdovers—like cannibalism.

Is it any wonder that despite racism’s dogged persistence, almost no one admits to being a “racist?”

Isn’t doing something radically new, civilized, and effective long overdue?

In strictly scientific terms, we may not be “addicted” to racism, but we may as well be. The impact of each person’s or organization’s racism varies dramatically based upon the individual’s or group’s power and influence. But so does the racism that grows in the hearts and minds of those harmed by racism. As a result, humanity remains deadlocked in a never-ending conspiracy of silence as racism’s primitive iron grip keeps us all in cyclical bondage to death.

Isn’t it time for a generation of courageous people to rise, tell the truth, and break racism’s vicious cycle—in ourselves?

Few groups or systems ever relinquish power voluntarily. “Given racism’s continuing costs to society, is the payoff for not shaking its iron grip still worth it?”

Do we “get it”… that rooting racism out of ourselves is the first step toward rooting it out of our society and institutions? That it’s not just a “blind spot” in some of us, but it remains the “blind spot” in all of us?

Will we in our generation have the honesty, persistence, patience, and courage to unburden future generations by coming to the realization that, “It’s me, O God?” Or will we continue to deny the world this critically necessary ingredient without which Creation according to God’s design remains unfinished?