{"id":40554,"date":"2025-03-13T08:00:41","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T15:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=40554"},"modified":"2025-02-11T15:04:34","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T23:04:34","slug":"colorblindness-or-reconciliation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/colorblindness-or-reconciliation\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorblindness or Reconciliation?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What I Believe About Racism and Why<\/strong><\/p>\n

Residing in a small town in north-central Alberta, a bedroom community of Edmonton, I am part of a population of approximately 22,000 people, among whom 820 are identified as visible minorities. Despite my upbringing in South Africa, where I was classified as a “coloured” person, I am not included in this demographic category here.<\/p>\n

However, an incident at a gas station in our town illustrates the racial prejudices I have encountered in my community. A man, visibly agitated, confronted me with the words, “Go back to your own country. Do you even speak English?” before storming off. Although tempted to respond with, “English is my last name,” I chose to refrain because he was not in a place to have a meaningful conversation.<\/p>\n

I have encountered racism under both oppressive and free political systems. Additionally, I have experienced misidentification. Due to my appearance, many people label me as an old white male. I normally respond in jest, \u201cI might be old, but I\u2019m not white\u201d. Consequently, I have also been told, “You couldn’t possibly understand the oppression of our First Nations people,” based on the erroneous assumption that I share a history with old Caucasian males from the West. I find the matter of race frustrating. Quite honestly, if race were my primary identity label, I\u2019d be confused. Where do I fit in, based on race?<\/p>\n

My belief in the existence of racism is informed by my personal experiences and experiences of others down through history. I believe that all forms of racism are wrong. I attribute the persistence of racism to our fallen human nature, believing that reconciliation can only be achieved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The early church grappled with issues of hatred and polarization between Jews and Gentiles. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:14-18:<\/p>\n

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What This Book Has Confirmed<\/strong><\/p>\n

The End of Race Politics: Arguments of a Colourblind America<\/em> by Coleman Hughes confirms that racism is alive and well in America and quite confusing. The labelling of people creates confusion more than clarity. His solution is, \u201cto get out of the business of racial classification.\u201d[1]<\/a> \u00a0I could say that I agree wholeheartedly. Racial classification confuses people, particularly when the races are mixed. I am case and point.<\/p>\n

Additionally, he presents a neo-racism that has replaced the traditional forms. He writes, \u201cNeoracists agree that race matters deeply and inherently, but not because of genetics or divine decree. Instead, they believe that race matters for societal and historical reasons: that discrimination in favor of non-whites is justified on account of the hardships they endured-at the hands of whites.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

This is confirmation of what I have witnessed happening in our world. Through initiatives like affirmative action, people are discriminated against based on race. According to a National Post<\/em> article, Canada has practiced this since 1980. In 1982, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms contained a clause protecting equality rights \u2014 and a sub-clause that permitted affirmative action. Since then, Canadian government institutions and universities have set \u201cequity targets\u201d and are growing \u201cidentity-based\u201d hiring and admission programs. The clause in the Charter of Rights encourages this practice. The author notes, \u201cEquality could be violated by government programs aimed at \u2018the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups including those that are disadvantaged because of race.\u2019\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

I would mostly agree with his assessment of what is happening. However, I am challenged by his solution.<\/p>\n

What This Book Has Challenged<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hughes\u2019 solution to the problem of neoracism is to return to the principles of the civil rights movement led, most notably, by Dr. Martin Luther King. He refers a lot to the civil rights movement in America. He writes, \u201cWe need to condemn neoracism for what it is: racism in anti-racist clothing.\u201d[4]<\/a> He goes on to describe how this might take place through employment, education and policy making. He also exhorts, \u201cAnd we need to strive to ensure that our personal relationships don\u2019t get infected with toxic thinking of any sort.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

While his desire resonates with me, my concern with his solution is that racism is part of the sinfulness of humanity. Condemning neoracism and working toward a \u201ccolourblind\u201d America doesn\u2019t deal with the sinful heart of humanity. Racism exists in every country of the world and without the power of the gospel, I don\u2019t see it changing any time soon. As Paul writes about Jesus in Ephesians 2.14, \u201cFor He himself (Jesus) is our peace.\u201d As a Christian it\u2019s challenging for me to see the issue of racism outside of redemption and reconciliation provided through the gospel.<\/p>\n

As we look toward our next Advance in Cape Town, I am reminded of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The central purpose of the TRC was to, \u201cpromote reconciliation and forgiveness among perpetrators and victims of apartheid by the full disclosure of the truth.\u201d[6]<\/a> While South Africa still grapples with the aftershocks of Apartheid, 35 years since it was abolished, Desmond Tutu was motivated by more than colorblindness. He was motivated by the ongoing work of reconciliation and redemption.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Coleman Hughes, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America<\/em> (New York: Thesis, 2024), 11.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Hughes, 18.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Jamie Sarkonak, \u201cAmerican Universities see End to Affirmative Action. Not so in Canada\u201d, The National Post, July 6, 2023. https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/opinion\/jamie-sarkonak-american-universities-see-end-to-affirmative-action-not-so-in-canada.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Hughes, The End of Race Politics<\/em>, 153.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Hughes, 153.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> https:\/\/www.apartheidmuseum.org\/exhibitions\/the-truth-and-reconciliation-commission-trc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What I Believe About Racism and Why Residing in a small town in north-central Alberta, a bedroom community of Edmonton, I am part of a population of approximately 22,000 people, among whom 820 are identified as visible minorities. Despite my upbringing in South Africa, where I was classified as a “coloured” person, I am not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":204,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3011,2843],"class_list":["post-40554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dglp03","tag-hughes","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/204"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40554"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40555,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40554\/revisions\/40555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}