Simon Cox Blog: The Election Forces Us to Talk about Race

Thursday, 17 November 2016

The Election Forces Us to Talk about Race

One of the Church’s great challenges is unity in a very divided country.

Our country has elected a new President who was able to uncover a great deal of anxiety and frustration with our government. From social concerns like the economy or ethical concerns like Supreme Court judges, President-elect Donald Trump made a case that resonated with major parts of our country.

Yet in our urban centers, Mr. Trump’s narrative about illegal Mexicans, violent Muslims, the measurements of women, and his perception that Black people are living in hell has been shocking and has caused a great deal of fear.

Our country is at a pivotal point of division, and the dividing line for the most part is in regards to race, whether we like it or not.

We know that God’s intention in creation was to create people in His image and the wide range of ethnicities in our country speak to the how marvelous is the variety He created. The Church reflects this beauty in our diversity and our unity (2 Cor. 5:16-21).

For the next four years, one of the Church’s greatest challenges will be unity in a very divided country.

For unity to be accomplished, it must begin with dialogue and discussion. A church program or sermon would be a great starting point, but we must also bring up the topic of race with people who are different than us. Our country and the Church have a tendency to drift into ‘racial cordialness.’

We think we have racially diverse friendships because our Black co-worker always calls us helpful, the Latina mom at the playground is really sweet when we trade child-rearing tips, and we have a good laugh with the Muslim guy at the gym.

But, truth be told, when we go back to our ethnic huddles, we have deep beliefs about race that may not bleed into the small interactions of the workplace, playground, ...