I grew up in a middle-class white home with the understanding that we are all to be colorblind. I understood that we shouldn\u2019t see race, color, or ethnicity but that we should treat all people the same. Since my childhood, I have adopted three black, African children. They are African, not African American, or Black American and this has been a challenge for them and me to navigate. As a family we have seen racism affect us in many ways. In fact, one of the more prominent racist incidents happened at a Christian church in Berkley, CA of all places. Along with having children with dark brown skin, I have lived for five years as the only white family in an African village, on the coast of Kenya. My Whiteness was evident anywhere I went and though it came with privileges, it also came with significant racial perceptions. I now live in Minnesota: Center-stage of the BLM riots surrounding George Floyd in 2020. One branch of my NPO is focused on working with Somali people and racial misunderstandings of white Christians in our city.<\/p>\n
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I have dug deep on the issue of race in America. I have read all the significant voices across the spectrum from Voddie Bauchman to Ibram X. Kendi. My understanding of race is based on my understanding of scripture, specifically Rev. 7:9 \u201cAfter this I looked and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.\u201d[1]<\/a> I believe that our identities matter and have value. I believe that we are all created in the image of God and that we each, uniquely, offer a different aspect of that image. I do not think that we should simply be colorblind, but instead believe that our colors are there to portray God\u2019s glory. Our colors, our cultures and our ethnicity should be celebrated. However, in Rev. 7:9 these unique attributes highlight the God-given differences among a group of people that are unified in their identities as worshipers of the Lamb in the kingdom of heaven. In a commentary on the book of Romans, the author writes of the idea of colorblindness. “What people often mean today by colorblind is not that we should refrain from making racist judgments of people because of the color of their skin. Rather, they mean that we do not or should not see skin color when we see people, that we should ignore ethnic difference, or that ethnic difference or racialization does not play a role in how we perceive others.”[2]<\/a><\/p>\n _______________________________________________<\/p>\n I loved the first half of Coleman Hughes book, The End of Race Politics<\/em> and concurred with much of what was written. However, when I hit the second half of the book, I began arguing with the author via notes on the margins throughout. I found much of the working out weak and painted with a broad brush. In the beginning of his book, he defines terms: such as neoracists,[3]<\/a> anti-racists, color blindness, and common humanity.[4]<\/a> I appreciated his thesis that states, \u201cIn this book, I will argue that color blindness is the wisest principle by which to govern our fragile experiment in multi ethnic democracy.\u201d[5]<\/a> I agree with Hughes, that woke ideologists, whom he labels as neoracists, have overtaken agendas and have pushed for policies that are unsustainable or unrealistic. Yet, to minimize the role of race in our society, he downplays historic and current trends.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hughes argues that there’s an overall decline of white supremacy and white supremacist organizations, and I do not think that he is accurate. While he may offer numerically factual statements they are also misleading. There has been a rise in racial incidents and hate crimes over the last decade or so. There is increased racial tension. For a few decades, it was unacceptable to be openly racist. Now, with a president who will make racial remarks from behind the resolute desk, it not only is permissible to be racist but a badge of honor for some. Historian Jemar Tisby addresses this counterargument at length in his book, The Color of Compromise<\/em>.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Again, Hughes writes, “Neoracists continue depicting white supremacy as a powerful movement that threatens our democracy.”[7]<\/a> Though this book is very recently published, the recent political shift with President Trump taking office has demonstrated a very strong bent towards elevating Whites in our culture. He has done this through the work of immigration control, closing all refugee and immigration pathways, and implementing travel bans for certain nations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I concur with the idea of Hughes that we should strive towards a society that judges people by their character rather than their skin color. I also concur, that for the sake of common humanity, we should seek for reconciliation. True reconciliation must occur through honest and transparent conversations at the national and local levels. There are many churches that are complicit in the rise of Christian nationalism in our country right now just as historically there were many churches that were complicit during Jim Crow and slavery.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The beauty of the gospel is that it is for all nations, ethnicities, and languages. This must be demonstrated. Being completely colorblind is not the answer for our culture. Maybe it is the answer for the courts and the laws of this nation. But when we simply strive to be colorblind, we will miss the beauty of all the layers of creation that God has built into our humanity.<\/p>\n __________________________________________________________<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Zondervan, NRSV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Hardcover, Comfort Print: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture<\/em>, ed. Craig S. Keener and John H. Walton, Illustrated edition (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019).<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Jarvis Williams, \u201cLetter to the Romans,\u201d in The New Testament in Color: A Multiethnic Bible Commentary<\/em>, ed. Esau McCaulley et al., 1st ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2024), 308.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Coleman Hughes, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America<\/em> (New York: Thesis, 2024), 17.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Hughes, 61.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Hughes, xvii<\/em>.<\/p>\n