“Truth” Herein Lies Buried
Nigel Biggar’s work, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning, is an ambitious, thorough, and all-encompassing analysis of Britain’s historical relationship with colonialism. I can understand why the book has received mixed reviews. It was a complex undertaking, and I consider myself just a few inches left of the center. However, rather than go point by point with what I thought was factually wrong or discuss the issues that were false equivalent comparisons or the instances of exaggerated equivocation, I’ll highlight a few more significant issues. The first issue is the unwillingness to accept one’s history and the resulting negative implications. Secondly, the re-emergence of book banning. And thirdly, the extreme and intentional undertakings to attempt to rewrite history in favor of an ideology or some other self-proclaimed “savior complex” mentality.
James Baldwin, an American author, wrote, “To accept one’s past—one’s history—is not the same thing as drowning in it. An invented past can never be used; it cracks and crumbles under the pressures of life like clay in a season of drought.”[1]
In politics, history, and particularly race relations, some people have difficulty accepting the truth of the past. Whether it conjures feelings of guilt or causes one to fear that people experiencing poverty will take their wealth away, who knows what is going on in someone’s mind? But I was taught that you will repeat the past if you do not understand it. I like how the scripture tells us in Nehemiah 1:6 (NIV), “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you.” There are many clear examples in our faith where we are encouraged to confess our sins, not deny, or try to change our sins or past, hoping others will look kindly upon us. One of the reasons America and other colonial empires, like Great Britain, have not been able to move forward on race issues is the lack of acknowledgment and repentance. But I digress since this is not a Bible study class. Alan Lester, in his article, The British Empire in the Culture War: Nigel Biggar’s Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning states, “There is an area of disputation, occupied by historical scholars, that different interpretations of the evidence allow… but Biggar’s and others’ culture war interventions have nothing to do with the practice of the historian’s craft… They are egregious distortions, motivated wholly by politics and patriotic emotion rather than any desire to understand the past.”[2]
Nigel Biggar mentioned in an interview with John Anderson that his initial publisher chose not to publish his book because of the backlash from the George Floyd murder and the potential of offending a particular group. He stated that he was concerned about the implications for a “liberal, free, and open society.”[3] The implication one can draw from his comment is that there could be a chilling effect on freedom of speech, freedom to publish, or freedom to read certain types of books. This implication leads to my second issue: the current environment we are in, where we are banning books based on what some people think is inappropriate. In an open debate on book banning, Yascha Mounk stated, “Once we allow the idea that “inappropriate” or “problematic” books should be banished from libraries, the question of which ones will be made to disappear becomes a sheer competition of power. That is why everyone should resist this kind of censorship as a matter of principle.”[4] While I disagree with Biggar’s publisher’s commitment not to publish his book, it is ironic that he experienced this backlash. Let me explain. In America, by most accounts, those who are championing book banning are the extreme far right. Based on Biggar’s work and the interview, he fits the profile of someone on the far right, or at least sympathetic to their overall ideology.
The last issue that gives me tremendous pause is the blatant culture war of rewriting history. Notice I did not say attempts to rewrite because it has been going on for so long that the truth is buried under centuries of whitewashing, erasing, twisting, and, at times, just plain lies. However, when people say we’ve come so far with race relations, my question is, if so, why do we still try to deny the truth of what happened? There have been so many scholarly books and articles that have uncovered the truth about colonialism, racism, and empire building; some make it to the bestseller list, but how many new books, as a backlash, are written to dispute or negate the truth because it doesn’t fit a particular narrative? Recall the 1619 Project?
I’ll end with this thought. Some of us complain that many young adults lack a solid understanding of history or how governments work. Yet, how can we expect others to respect our history if we continue to demonstrate our blatant disregard for it by banning books, especially historical ones, or if we continue to spew out misinformation and, at times, disinformation? One particularly poignant illustration is from Not So Black and White. On page 35, the author writes about a Harvard anthropologist who gave up on finding objective categories on race and made up arbitrary categories and wrote a 600-page book. The author profoundly states, “The acceptance of something that did not exist became the starting point for proving that it did.”[5]
I started with a quote by James Baldwin, and it is fitting to end with one of his quotes.
“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” ― James Baldwin.[6]
[1] James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time (United States: Dial Press, 1963), 81.
[2] Alan Lester, The British Empire in the Culture War: Nigel Biggar’s Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning, “The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History,” 51:4, (2023): 765, DOI: 10.1080/03086534.2023.2209947.
[3] Nigel Biggar, “Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning | Nigel Biggar,” interview by John Anderson, June 20, 2023, video, 7:34, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhNonmBA0Lo.
[4] Yascha Mounk@Yascha_Mounk, X post, November 1, 2021, https://twitter.com/Yascha_Mounk/status/1455299147070836740?lang=en.
[5] Kenan Malik, Not So Black and White (London: C. Hurst & Co. Publishers Ltd., 2023), 35.
[6] James Baldwin, Nobody Knows My Name (United States: Dial Press, 1961), 170.
About the Author
Audrey Robinson
19 responses to ““Truth” Herein Lies Buried”
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Hello Audrey!
I enjoyed your post.
I hear this point:
In politics, history, and particularly race relations, some people have difficulty accepting the truth of the past.
In my blog post I talk about the need for forgiveness. I am curious what your thoughts on this. How are we to forgive atrocities in history? After the bombing in Pearl Harbor, Americans made camps for the Japanese. This seems incredible to me that we would punish innocent civilians.
I am wondering how God will judge the nations. There are days that I long for this and then I consider how God might judge me/my family.
Your blog has me thinking!!
The Baldwin quotes are spot on.
They have relevance in the therapy office. How are we to reconcile the past (history of sin) with the present. My goal is always to bring empathy and understanding for the purpose of change.
I appreciate your thoughts.
Kristy,
Thanks for reading and asking the most laser-focused questions. I responded to the forgiveness question on your blog.
One additional thought, also from Walter Wink’s book. One of the things he stresses is how we (Christians) have missed the totality of Jesus’ nonviolence. He argues (justifiably) that Jesus never responded to evil with evil. Instead, he found a way to rise above it, flipping it on its head, but in a manner that extended forgiveness and redemption.
Audrey,
Powerful post and great quote.
“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” ― James Baldwin
Way to go Audrey.
Dr. Greg,
I agree; that quote is so on point.
Thank you for reading.
Audrey, this is well written, thoughtful, and provokes further questions. Yes, revisionist history that overlooks atrocities is never a good idea. Far from helping us process as a society, it keeps us stuck in a regressed state, unable to move beyond (such as the conversation around racism in the US when the sins are not acknowledged, confessed, and repented of). Well done.
David,
Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts.
Way to go, Dr. Audrey,
I love your post, bringing in various voices that speak with authority on the matter. Indeed if repentance, forgiveness, and true reconciliation had taken priority injuries and failures due to history would have been healed.
Jean,
Thank you for reading. I’m glad the post resonated with you.
Almost done, Dr. Jean de
Audrey,
I always enjoy your thought-provoking posts. Your beginning and ending quotes by James Baldwin are most timely. For some time, I have been bothered by how our society seems to be obsessed with rewriting history. I have also been concerned with our students’ lack of understanding about major world events. A couple of weeks ago I had a student in class wanting the others to call him “Adolf Hitler” without any recognition whatsoever of who or what that name represented. I stopped teaching math that day and we had a mini-lesson on World War II. I told them of a statue that stands in a concentration camp in Germany with the words “May we never forget” printed on it and asked them to explain to me why that would be on that statue when we finished with the lesson. One little boy said, “So we never let it happen again to anybody.” That’s it, isn’t it? History WILL repeat itself if allowed to. Thank you again, Audrey!
Tonette,
Thank you for reading and for your thoughtful response. The concentration camp statue is definitely a powerful reminder.
For me as an educator, it can be disheartening to see the lack of curiosity or appreciation for history in many younger adults (even school-age children). At times, it is the one-on-one interactions we are presented with that, prayerfully, will have a tremendous impact.
Audrey, thank you so much for sharing such a thought provoking post. What are we learning from our past and how are we going to do better? I so appreciate being challenged in my thinking to do better, learn more, stay humble, and continue to grow. I have been at an academic conference for the past several days discussing the Pentecostal response to the refugee crisis, learning from and listening to incredible scholars. I pray that I will continually remain open to being challenged to grow and reconsider my bias and privilege.
Hi Audrey
Great posts. I also was caught by this quote:
“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” ― James Baldwin.
It does seems as if we are destined to repeat the same mistakes. It’s as if we don’t really ever learn from the past.
I am also concerned with banning books and censorship. That is a power-filled slipper slope.
It makes me wonder how we can have honest conversations. It seems feasible for small groups but larger conversations seem impossible. Thank you for your perspective on the book!
Dr. Chad,
You are most welcome!
Audrey, Thank you so much for your blog. I really appreciate the way you shared your wisdom and perspective through the quotes of others, as well as through your own strong voice. I’m mulling over Walter Wink’s quote that you used in your conversation with Kristy: ” …Jesus never responded to evil with evil. Instead, he found a way to rise above it, flipping it on its head, but in a manner that extended forgiveness and redemption.” Thank you for continuing to remind us of this focus.
Dr. Jenny,
Thank you for reading. I am enjoying Wink’s work because it is an alternative way to think about our wicked problems.
Audrey – You are such a strong, wise woman. Please never stop speaking truth into the world. Thank you for bringing book banning into the conversation. It’s an imortant reminder of the need to stand for all voices and perspectives, even when they are different from our own. I appreciate you!
Dr. Laura,
Thank you for reading and for your kind words.
Your calmness and insights always penetrate the dark.
Audrey,
This has always been my thought “However, when people say we’ve come so far with race relations, my question is, if so, why do we still try to deny the truth of what happened?” I love, love, love that you brought this up.
Audrey, once again you have brought so many pieces of the puzzle together for us all! Thank you for all of your work on this piece!