“If you’re thinking about my baby, it don’t matter if you’re Black or White”
This week we read Not So Black and White: A History of Race from White Supremacy to Identity Politics[1] by Kenan Malik; this book was about how our society has come to think about race and the growing acceptance of race-based and identity-based ideology. We also explored the tension between diversity and equality, and pondered the implications that class might have in the conversation surrounding race. Along the way questions arose: “Is white privilege real?” And “Is there such thing as systemic racism?” And “what the heck exactly is CRT?” (my words, not Malik’s).
In other words, this book is about how we got to where we are in modern race relations. It was a lot to get my head around, primarily because of my personal history of trying to grasp racial issues, and the ping-ponging of racial imperatives I’ve lived my life under.
To start with (and as I’ve mentioned in a previous post) at different points in my life growing up, I was poor. Like government-cheese-and-peanut-butter and food-stamp poor (some of you know what I’m talking about). We had a happy, godly house and my dad and mom worked incredibly hard to provide for us within a lower income working class context. But there was very little money.
I can also recall growing up as a minority in the various places we lived. When I was in the 3rd grade my brother and I got beat up walking home from school because we were white with blonde hair (to be clear, we were explicitly told that was the reason why we were being beat up). We stopped using that street to get home after that.
Regardless of our challenges, we were taught to be “colorblind”. We learned that every human being was the same inside and that we were part of a human race, not segregated into races represented by colors or contexts. However, we were also raised to appreciate the many differences that did exist (skin color, culture, language, food, etc.), and it’s a lesson I took to heart—I recall on more than one occasion complaining to my parents that our family was boring, because we didn’t eat the food, or speak the language, or have the cultural heritage, that my friends did.
This “colorblind” attitude was reflected in the music I listened to. Whether it was DC Talk with “Colored People”[2], the Stevie Wonder/Paul McCartney duet “Ebony and Ivory”[3] or Michael Jackson’s “Black Or White”[4], these kinds of songs reminded me to look beyond color when I was encountering a person.
Then at some point in my adult life, I said something in public about working to be colorblind and I got dressed down for it. At first, I was confused. But as I explored the argument, I saw that the diversity of color, as well as other great things about people like background, language, culture, etc. shouldn’t be something I’m blind to, but something I learn to celebrate.
Point taken. I already personally appreciated diversity, so it was an easy jump to more publicly recognize and celebrate it. Then, one day I was talking to a black friend about the diversity on the platform at my then church, and he asked, “but how many people of color do you have on your executive team or council?”. He told me that non-white people were used to being the entertainers on the stage, but rarely had the opportunity to be the deciders in the boardroom.
Needless to say, I was schooled, and humbled, that day.
Before I run out of room, here are some things I learned from Malik, and how I overlay his book with my life experience:
- No matter how much I truly appreciate and celebrate diversity, it’s different than equality. In my opinion, we need to work towards both, with a priority on equality (but not dismissing diversity).
- Class may be an accurate predictor of discrimination and a foundation to racism, but racism itself is still a huge problem. Malik agrees that institutional (or structural) racism is a thing, and I would further suggest that white privilege is a thing, too. Because while I grew up often quite poor and sometimes excluded because I was white, I enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) benefits many of my non-white friends did not, for a lot of reasons I don’t have time to get into here. And, I also have non-white friends who grew up rich, who to this day must be aware of things I’ve never had to consider, such as being careful around authority, or dressing in ways that don’t make them a target of racism.
- To state the above in a different way, racism is one of the world’s Wicked Problems. It can’t be solved, only struggled with. That is tragic, but we must keep struggling. However, I get why “identitarianism” might make sense in this context; since we have failed to solve a problem that has impacted millions of people for hundreds of years, perhaps the next best solution for those impacted is to have safe spaces with others who have also been similarly impacted. To say racism isn’t dead but decry any type of identity grouping is, I feel, somewhat disingenuous.
- The significant decline of the universal liberal tradition represents a tectonic shift in our culture. Until reading Mounk [5], Petrusek [6], Lukianoff [7], and Malik, I had no idea that I was a classical liberal, but now I consider it a badge of honor.
Like I said, it’s a lot to get my head around, but I know I can’t put my head in the sand. This book more than any other we have read has caused me to want to ask more and deeper questions and “do my homework” regarding racial issues, so I can honestly, critically, and lovingly engage everybody who shares my common humanity.
[1] Kenan Malik, Not So Black and White: A History of Race from White Supremacy to Identity Politics, London: Hurst & Co, 2023.
[2] DC Talk, “Colored People”, from the Album Jesus Freak, 1995.
[3] Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, “Ebony and Ivory”, from the Paul McCartney Album Tug of War, 1982.
[4] Michael Jackson, “Black Or White”, from the Album Dangerous, 1991.
[5] Yascha Mounk, The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time, New York: Penguin Press, 2023.
[6] Matthew Petrusek, Evangelization and Ideology: How to Understand and Respond to the Political Culture, Park Ridge, Illinois: Word on Fire Institute, 2023.
[7] Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott, The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust and Threatens Us All, But There Is a Solution, New York: Simon and Schuster, 2023.
About the Author
Tim Clark
I'm on a lifelong journey of discovering the person God has created me to be and aligning that with the purpose God has created me for. I've been pressing hard after Jesus for 40 years, and I currently serve Him as the lead pastor of vision and voice at The Church On The Way in Los Angeles. I live with my wife and 3 kids in Burbank California.13 responses to ““If you’re thinking about my baby, it don’t matter if you’re Black or White””
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Tim! Oh my brother! I sooo appreciate you even more. Thank you for sharing about growing up as young man. Man, you are a beautiful soul.
Based upon your post, I have an easy question. What is one way we can prioritize equality without dismissing diversity?
Thanks, Todd, and great question.
One answer to your question: We treat every person equally, with dignity and respect, and we drive for relationship and “mine for gold” in underrepresented groups.
Like I said, I think equality has to take precedence, but that it’s much easier to do that if you already have or have worked to have diversity.
In other words, I might want to have different colors and cultures represented in my leadership team at church (equality), but if my church is 99% white that’s going to be hard to do.
Hey Sir Tim, yeah I see so many churches where they are 98.5% white, which makes it so hard to have different cultures on the leadership team. With these churches (and I have been a part of two of them) I wonder if it becomes a matter of prayer and education to help the leadership to enjoy the benefits of different cultures/thinking. Just a thought.
The way you weaved personal narrative (some of which, oddly, I did NOT know…I thought we were best friends!), and solid scholarship is really quick a gift Tim.
You helped me understand this resource better, and gave me some helpful handles. I was especially challenged in my thinking regarding diversity and equality.
A guy has to keep SOME secrets!
Thanks…yeah diversity vs. equality was a big one for me. Like a threshold concept. I’ll be wrestling with that for a long time.
Tim, I really like how you provided your own experience as a backdrop to this content. What stood out to me is that you are very skilled at honoring both sides of an issue. With that open mindset, I am curious: did you feel that Malik took his argument too far in any way?
Also, I feel the need to ask: did you eat the government cheese WITH the peanut butter? Because, that would be another interesting insight into your diverse background!
I mentioned that this book was important to me, I intend to go back and read every word. But I could not do so in the time I had.
I say that for transparency sake when I answer your question: Yes I do feel like he took things too far away from the reality of how racism impacts so much. However, I may have missed some of his own counterarguments (which is why I must read all of this).
For instance, I would suggest from what I read that he was too picky about the terms “white privilege” and “identity politics” (Stay in Your Lane, chapter). On one hand he admits that there is a sense in which there is white privilege (not being discriminated against because of your color) but then explains that isn’t ‘really’ a privilege. Or he says there is an “aggressive” vs. “defensive” from of identity politics and one is ok but not the other. I get that he cares about words and terns (as do I) but sometimes you have to work beyond the term/word and recognize that there is more of a problem than you are recognizing with your minimization of the impact of the concept.
Again, I didn’t read every word, so I want to be careful about demonizing his intent.
Finally: Government cheese isn’t really cheese, it’s ‘processed cheese food” (like a big block of craft slices). I’ve been known to add cheddar to my peanut butter (thanks for the tip, John Fehlen) but not that stuff!!! 🙂
Tim, I agree with you that this book, more than any others, has made me want to dig deeper and look closer. I am interested in the historical parts of his book but am not able to spend any more time reading closely (or even skimming)!
I really appreciated how you articulated your number three. I think I’ve been trying to say this but haven’t been able to say it well – you helped me with that. I especially appreciated your last sentence, “To say racism isn’t dead but decry any type of identity grouping is, I feel, somewhat disingenuous.”
Kally, sorry for the delay, my last week was insane.
As much as it was useful, I struggled with this book. I do think Malik approached it very philosophically without much care about the lived experience of others.
White people had official “identities” for a long time, and still ‘enjoy’ unofficial ones that had nothing to do with class (for instance even the KKK was incredibly class-diverse). It’s perplexing to me that now we would call any non-white identity group something that shouldn’t happen.
I’m sure there is a deeper, better response, but like you I currently have time to inspect or even skim our books and lack bandwidth. But this is definitely worth thinking more deeply about.
Tim,
I always thought government cheese was the best growing up (before the luxury of charcuterie boards and numerous cheese options). There was very little money in my family. My parents both loved Jesus and I am thankful for their embrace of the faith community in times of trouble. Thanks for sharing your back story in relation to our text this week.
Thanks Cathy, Sorry for the late response. Crazy week.
I can still taste the cheese-food if I think about it :). What a blessing to not have to go hungry. Maybe we can round some up in DC and make some nachos.
By the way, Happy Birthday!!
Wonderful post Tim, love your openness and willingness to explore this subject and dive deeper to meet others where they are and express the love of Christ. You mentioned wanting to dive deeper into this subject and I came across Thomas Sowell again. I listened to him a while back, but kind of forgot until now with all this talk of race. He has some very interesting things to say about race, especially in America. If you’ve never listened to him, he is worth a listen or read. Appreciate the honest post!
Adam, Thanks man. I need to read Sowell… I’ll put him on my ever growing list of things to tackle when I have a moment!