Lamenting our history of race
History is not the past, it is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history.1
~ James Baldwin
1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.2
The American church avoids lament. The power of lament is minimized and the underlying narrative of suffering that requires lament is lost. But absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder. Absence makes the heart forget. As in the psalm above, lament recognizes the struggles of life and cries out for justice against existing injustices. “Lament is the language of suffering”3
In Hurting with God, Glenn Pemberton notes that lament constitutes 40 percent of all psalms, but only 13 percent of the hymnal for the Churches of Christ, 19 percent of the Presbyterian hymnal and 13 percent of the Baptist hymnal. Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) licenses local churches in the use of contemporary worship songs and tracks the songs that are most frequently sung in local churches. CCLI’s list of the top one hundred worship songs in January 2024 reveals that only four of the songs would qualify as a lament.5 Most of the songs reflect themes of praise. When we forget the necessity of lamenting over suffering and pain, we can forget the reality of suffering and pain. Maybe one way to appreciate Kenan Malik’s book, Not So Black and White, is to look at it through the lens of lament.
Malik makes a profound statement early in his book, “Race did not give birth to racism. Racism gave birth to race.”6 Many people believe racism started with white people discriminating against others (Native Indians, Jews, African Americans, etc.) but Malik says historically, the opposite is the case, “Intellectuals and elites began dividing the world into distinct races to explain and justify the differential treatment of certain peoples.”7 In other words, Africans were enslaved because they were deemed racially distinct, as black people, to justify their enslavement.
Speaking of being racially distinct, Francis Fukuyama writes in his book, Identity, “identity increased dramatically, such that many of the benefits of growth flowed primarily to an elite defined by education.”8 Unfortunately, in the 17th century and beyond most white men and women educated themselves through science and Scripture that other races were inferior. All this highlights the importance of understanding how “racial divisions had, from the days of colonialism, been created and exploited as a means of fracturing the solidarity of people at the bottom of society, and of derailing political and economic opposition.”9 That is, racial divisions don’t arise from the objective circumstance of a species divided into different races, but in a society in which the idea of race has been fostered to enable those racial divisions. During these racial divisions, whether against African Americans, Native Americans, or Jews, they needed the Church to lament for them. They needed the Church to feel their pain as they cried, “Lord, how long will you forget me, forever.”10
Malik continues in his book and interlaces with the history of race is the resistance to racism and colonialism and how that resistance expanded the meaning of equality and universality through the Enlightenment period.
It is important to clarify, also, that Enlightenment philosophers were products of their environment. It may be inaccurate to frame them as “racist” in the sense that the term is used today. However, their ideas helped to reify race and racial categories at a critical time in the modern age. The result was, “slavery had created the conditions for a sense of a common black identity spanning the Atlantic.”11
Emmanuel C. Eze’s reader, Race and the Enlightenment, collected the ideas of these philosophers regarding the question of race. It is hard to ignore Hegel’s statement, “Africa has no history.”12 Or to dismiss as immaterial and inconsequential Immanuel Kant’s assertions concerning the capabilities and abilities of African Americans, which stated that they were “quite stupid.”13
Malik and Eze have done a superb job at helping us understand the philosophers of the Enlightenment. In doing this they have helped us see and maybe feel the pain of those who have suffered under white people, the left, and the right. There are most likely a few ways to construct a better world and tackle this wicked problem. I believe a part of the solution is learning to lament.
Lament is an act of protest as the lamenter is allowed to express indignation and even outrage about the experience of suffering. The one who laments can call out to God for help, and in that outcry, there is the hope and even the manifestation of praise. Here are a few ideas I’ve thought about that might be helpful in the area of lamenting.
- Studying a few Psalms of lament (Psalms 12,13,25,31,44,60,74,80,86,88).
- Read a good book, Lamentations and the Tears of the World by Kathleen M. O’ Connor or Prophetic Lament by Soong-Chan Rah.
- Help organize a “service” at your church, in your community, or at your business that helps your people to lament over a lossed loved one, injustice, divorce, loss of job, trauma, unresolved wounds, or whatever pain they have not been allowed to feel because we are so celebrative minded.
- Encourage the leadership at your church to include songs of lament and/or have a service of lament when something happens painful in the community. Or have a service just because lamenting is biblical and has been ignored for a life time.
- Organize a time to just listen to people’s pain. Listen and just sit in it with no “How to get past your pain lectures.” Just listen with our ears, eyes, and body in order to feel their unseen hurt.
- Study somatic healing with a few leaders to help people in our churches get their pain out of their body. Learn together what lament crying is all about and how you can make it part of your time with God, church, discipleship training, interview process, family time, etc.
- Who are the marginalized people in my community whom I can just listen to in order to learn about and feel their injustice/pain?
With all this in mind, how does lamenting relate to your NPO?
- From the film, I Am Not Your Negro. December 2016.
- Psalm 13:1-6, NIV.
- Walter Brueggeman, Peace. 3.
- Glenn Pemberton. Hurting With God. Kindle 441.
- https://songselect.ccli.com/search/topsongslists
- Kenan Malik. Not So Black and White. 13.
- Ibid. 4.
- Francis Fukuyama. 4.
- Kenan Malik. Not So Black and White. 195.
- Psalm 13:1. NIV.
- Kenan Malik. Not So Black and White. 156.
- Hegel, G.W.F.Lectures on The Philosophy of History. London: George Bell and Sons, 1902.
- Eze, Emmanuel, ed.Race and the Enlightenment: A Reader. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 1997.
About the Author
Todd E Henley
Todd is an avid cyclist who loves watching NASCAR, photography, and playing Madden football. He is addicted to reading, eating fruits and vegetables, and drinking H2O. His passion is talking about trauma, epigenetics, chromosomes, and the brain. He has been blessed with a sensationally sweet wife and four fun creative children (one of which resides in heaven). In his free time he teaches at Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary and is the Founder/Executive Director of Restore Counseling Center.26 responses to “Lamenting our history of race”
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Todd,
What an inspiring, heartfelt blog! To use the lens of lament to interpret this book brings a whole new perspective. I almost want to read the book again through that lens. And, truly, as I wrote in my blog, Malik begins by sharing a bit of his traumatic past with racism. Though the terms race and racism are relatively new, the interplay of injustice with social order is an age-old wicked problem. The Bible made that clear with the captivity of the Israelites in Egypt and one sees the age-old example in India and other countries with the caste system that has continued for over 3000 years. One article maintains that “250 million people worldwide are still living in a situation of segregation and servitude.” (https://www.hrw.org/news/2001/08/29/global-caste-discrimination). It truly is a sin condition that keeps perpetuating and yet, there is such hope as we continue to present the gospel of hope in creative, strategic ways. Thank you for listing so many more ways in your blog!
Esther, thank you soo much for that resource (HRW). It’s unimaginable to think that close to 300 million and most likely more are still enslaved in our world. It breaks my heart! And your NPO is such great way to bring the healing power of the gospel to people. God bless you as you continue to move forward! 😊
Todd- This was a wonderful post. I really liked your observations on what we sing about in our churches. Last week, our worship leader shared a new song he had written that prompted confession- also an unusual topic for hymns. A friend of mine repeatedly asks why our songs are always using. “I” language, instead of “We.” What we chose to sing about reflects some shared cultural values that are informative.
Second, I want to think about your question of the role of lament in my NPO. As I am helping people hear the “other” and to be heard, I think that there is a place for responding to what we have heard with lament. “I hear your story, and I the pain that is in it,” could be a good starting place to opening lines of dialogue. This will be a new consideration as I move forward in my work. Thank you!
Hello Jennifer! Thank you for the insights you shared about my blog. If you ever have time, I would love to have the words to the song your worship leader wrote. A song that prompts confession (when you are not planning to confess) is quite powerful.
Also, an excellent way to empathize is using your statement, which I love and will apply, “I hear your story, and I feel the pain that is in it,” That statement connects the hearts. Thank you Jennifer!!!
Todd, you gave as one of your ideas the question “Who are the marginalized people in my community whom I can just listen to in order to learn about and feel their injustice/pain?” I read your post immediately after reading Russell’s. He referenced the Asian American experience of feeling like the “perpetual outsider.” Your question, along with Russell’s post, makes me want to ask the Asian Americans, particularly those among the fast growing South Asian community, where I live more about their experience (not pretending to know/understand what they might be experiencing). And regarding lamenting…you are so right. We do not do this nearly enough. Being presbyterian, I resonate with the 19 percent from the Presbyterian hymnal (I wonder if he is referring to the Trinity Hymnal?). I’m surprised that it’s as much as 19 percent, actually.
And speaking of psalms of lament, my good friend from Seven Mile Road Church in Philadelphia preached the following as a guest preacher a few years ago at our home church: https://vimeo.com/374023690. His message on Psalm 88 came to mind as I read your post. I don’t think we read psalms like that enough.
Hey Travis! Thanks for that sermon from Ajay. His quote of Abraham Lincoln was powerful, “I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth.” Now that’s lament!!! That’s feeling the pain of people…that’s leadership.
And you’re right, we don’t read psalms like that. In fact, I need to learn how to read the Psalms as a lament. Thanks for that holy nudge.
Thanks, Todd, I so appreciate your wisdom on this topic and on Malik’s book. I’m still feeling unsure about what to do with all that Malik said, but I love the idea of lament as a first step. And we do have so much to lament, so much injustice. I’ll be thinking about your question for quite a while to come: “Who are the marginalized people in my community whom I can just listen to in order to learn about and feel their injustice/pain?”
Hey Kim, oh yes, Malik’s book gives us so much to process and so much injustice to lament. I know you will continue to process people’s pain well. May our Lord guide you in lamenting and processing.
Ahhh…Lament. Thanks for sharing that background on lamenting.
I have two adopted children. My son Levente looks very Slavic, not the dark haired Hungarian sterotype. Asked AI about Slaves and Slavics…The connection between the words “Slavic” and “slave” arises from the medieval period, when many Slavic people were indeed taken as slaves by Europeans and others. The English word “slave” is derived from “Slav” due to the Slavic peoples being frequently enslaved during the Middle Ages. This etymological link is a reflection of historical circumstances rather than the meaning of the term “Slavic” itself.
Ah Slavery, Chinese have been enslaving their neighbors for THOUSANDS of years. Same for all the South Eastern Asian Nations. Japan used Korean woman slaves for sexual purposes.
Such a wicked problem. I guess I can blame Adam (the first one not Harris). I wonder if the whole tower of Babel was a test or an opportunity that God set before humanity. Wow – we fail.
Some fun U.S. Facts
1. Anti-Coolie Act (1862): Aimed at reducing the competition between Chinese laborers and white laborers by imposing a tax on Chinese workers.
2. Page Act of 1875: Considered one of the earliest immigration laws, it effectively prevented Chinese women from immigrating to the U.S. by classifying them as “undesirable,” targeting those suspected of prostitution or being brought for immoral purposes.
3. Chinese Exclusion Act (1882-1943): This act was the first and only major federal legislation to explicitly suspend immigration for a specific nationality, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for ten years, which was later extended.
Ending on a high note. I have lived in Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Turkey, Korea, and sideshows in Iraq. In all these places I have joined in worship with the Body of Christ. My identity in CHRIST, transcends borders, language, culture and gender. Praise God…
Shalom….
Hey Russell, thank you so much for that education on “Slavic” and “Slave” You really enlightened me!
Those U.S. fun facts were also insightful and educational. I can’t wait to read your book! You just opened my eyes to the Chinese too. I appreciate you sooo much man! You’re like a mentor!
Hey Russell, how has your son, Levente adjusted to living in a different culture?
Thanks for asking about Levi. (pronounced Levy). We have been blessed in Levi’s integration. At first it was difficult and then he discovered American Football! All of a sudden he was a bit of a hero, dating cheerleaders and popular. He adapted quickly to high school life (a bit of a rebel) and now is a Non Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army. I wondered how he was going to explain his last name “Chun” (He is 6ft, blond, blue/green eyes). Apparently, he doesn’t. People don’t get to know.
Thanks for letting me know about Levi. He’s an athlete like his dad! 😊 And I’m so glad he adjusted to a different culture. I’m sure his parents had a lot to do with that!
Thanks Todd….such a good post. We evangelicals avoid this topic of lament…in fact, bad things in general! At most we tend to want to quickly name the issue so that we can quickly move on to the solution or teach what the Bible really has to say about it. I mentioned that Malik didn’t really give any steps to move forward with the vision he was promoting in his book (my evangelical desire to problem solve!)…and I read your post as a gracious punch in the face: shut up, slow down, and lament (my interpretation of your much more gracious articulation!). That’s brilliant….and more than that, correct…place to start as we reflect on brokenness of this planet as it relates to our racism. Thanks. How long, O Lord…
Hey Scott, thanks for mentioning that Malik did not give any steps for moving forward because I thought, “Did I miss his answer to these wicked problems?” I kept waiting for it each chapter but to no avail.
I like your idea to lament as we reflect on the “BROKENESS OF THIS PLANET” Maybe lament is a great way to begin with all pain/brokeness. Something for me to process.
Todd, Thank you for such a thoughtful post and for the helpful resources for moving us through lament. I will answer your question and then ask you one.
I hope that through my listening groups and retreat that lament will be part of what we experience together in community. I could easily see it as a theme for a retreat or having themes of lament come up in sharing times.
My question for you is what resources or training programs do you recommend for somatic healing?
Another really good resource coming out August 2024 is the Vagus Nerve Deck: 75 Exercises to Reset Your Nervous System by Melissa Romano.
Hey Jenny! First of all, I have led an evening of lamenting but never an entire retreat on lamenting. I say that because you just gave me a great idea. Thank you. Now to answer your question.
Resources I would recommend:
1. Somatic Therapy for Healing Trauma by Jordan Dann
2. The Somatic Therapy Workbook by Livia Shapiro
3. Somatic Psychotherapy Toolbox by Manuela Mistake-Reeds.
Certifications through:
1. The Embody Lab
2. Somatic Experience International
3. Antioch University – Certificate in Somatic Psychotherapy and Practices
Jenny, please let me know if you have any more questions. 😊
Hi Todd, It is a new idea for me too! I think there is great potential for inviting people into spaces for lament, especially post Covid and with all the trauma our world is experiencing now. Thank you so much for the resources! I’m sure to have more questions! I have not done any Somatic training and keep having to piece things together. It’s a weak spot in my practice. My Amazon wish list just got significantly longer, but I have made a purchase!
Jenny, I have incorporated somatic healing into my therapy but it is still new to me. This summer I will be reading more in depth about it and next year work on certification. As you learn about resources or ideas please pass them on. As you know, Gabor Mate is also an excellent resource, especially his book that your husband read, “When The Body Says No”
Todd! YES! we so quickly want to skip to solutions and “skip” over the lament and acknowledgment of suffering and our part in it! We do not do pain well as a culture and your understanding of how we skip over lament speaks so much to me. Lament is a key step of healing so no matter how many times we focus on positive ways to fix a problem, we cannot get very far if adequate time is not spent in lament! you said ” When we forget the necessity of lamenting over suffering and pain, we can forget the reality of suffering and pain. Maybe one way to appreciate Kenan Malik’s book, Not So Black and White, is to look at it through the lens of lament.” Thank you Todd! How does this book inform your lament for the problem of racism?
Hey Jana, my friend, excellent point about acknowledging our part in the suffering. I forget which author mentioned about acknowledging our part but this is huge because it keeps us from saying/thinking others are the problem.
I used to lead the “Embrace Unity Team” at my church. with this team, we:
1. We held 3 listening nights over an 8 month period. This is an event for our entire church to attend to come and simply listen to the pain and injustices of Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, women, or anyone who experienced prejudice and were never heard.
2. I taught a 6 week class on the book of Lamentations and the importance of lamenting. We also learned how to lament our pain and the pain of others.
3. Group Lament – For those who were interested I had 8 groups of five people study a historic racist moment and report to everyone how those involved in that moment lamented to grieve their pain.
Those are a few things I have done in the past. But this book reminds me of the importance of continuing to lament and helping others to lament for the problem of racism.
Todd,
This is a powerful post. Thank you for taking the time to go deeper with the text. I appreciate the invitation to lament and connect it to our individual NPO’s.
Well, that’s definitely a compliment coming from you, Jonita! Thank you. Lamenting is a lost art.
Hi Todd!
Thank you for your post which helps me to have a broader perspective on lamenting.
You wrote, “Malik and Eze have done a superb job at helping us understand the philosophers of the Enlightenment. In doing this they have helped us see and maybe feel the pain of those who have suffered under white people, the left, and the right .There are most likely a few ways to construct a better world and tackle this wicked problem. I believe a part of the solution is learning to lament.
Lament is an act of protest as the lamenter is allowed to express indignation and even outrage about the experience of suffering. The one who laments can call out to God for help, and in that outcry, there is the hope and even the manifestation of praise. Here are a few ideas I’ve thought about that might be helpful in the area of lamenting.”
My question is, how effective is the act of lamenting in efforts and processes to fight for equality and justice and eliminate racist acts in this modern era?
WOW! Dr. Dinka, that is an excellent question. I mean really good! First of all, lamenting can be an important tool to help us “feel” some of the pain injustices bring our way. Lamenting is part of the process and must go along with other tools. So, maybe it cannot eliminate racists acts alone. We still need people like Martin Luther King along with the Church to creatively and lovingly make sure certain laws are upheld and certain laws are taken away that promote racism.
Encouraging others to lament can put many people on the same playing field because instead of arguing, we come together to feel the pain of our fellow humans.