SYSTEMIC RACISM. The other day a white friend told me that they have never done anything that was racist and so that they didn’t think that systemic racism in America was actually a real thing. Sadly they did not know much about the history of systemic racism in America.
One of the ways racism is systematic in America was redlining. This was a system that gave whites mortgages to neighborhoods where immigrants and African Americans were not allowed to live. Some new housing developments restricted in their property deeds that the houses were to be sold to “whites only.” Even the lending of the GI Bill, which should have been equitable, was restricted by redlining to disqualify blacks from using it to gain mortgages. This practice of redlining continued to be legal in the United States until the 1970’s. But the financial damage of redlining has caused a racial wealth gap between whites and people of color. The average black household has 1/10th of the household wealth of the average white household. –Without the ability to get a loan to purchase a house, people of color were at the lifelong mercy of landlords. Without home ownership equity, often college education or starting a business was completely out of financial reach. Without the college diploma, they were limited to manufacturing or service jobs, which have not kept pace with the cost of living.
So what does all of this mean for us here today? When you see people hold up signs saying, “Black Lives Matter” they are NOT saying that Black lives matter more than white lives. Instead, they are begging us to understand that because ALL lives matter, that Black lives MUST also matter. Currently in the United States, black lives are not being valued as much as white lives. The systemic racism that is part of American history has been revealed before our eyes. Because ALL lives matter equally in the eyes of God, Christians need to follow the way of Christ and work for the end of systemic racism. This work will not be easy, it requires determination, intentionality, sacrifice and the power of the Holy Spirit. But through the love of Christ, we as the people of God can work to change the hearts, minds and behaviors of people on both a personal and an institutional level. If change is to occur, it must acknowledge the interconnectiveness of each of our actions as part of the systems we live in and it will take a commitment for all of us to love and care for all people, no matter what their skin color. So be it. Amen.
Article in Rockford Squire Newspaper 9/8/2020.
