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QUESTIONS TO STIMULATE DISCUSSION
What "humiliation and doubt and fear" and anger do you think Reverend Wright and others of his generation experienced? Why does President Obama think it so important that these feelings be understood by others?
What makes Sunday morning "the most segregated hour in American life"? Read my article on "Mental Baptism" at the John Perkins Center Blog.
What do school busing, affirmative action and fears about crime have to do with white resentments against blacks? According to President Obama, how has this anger been exploited? By whom? Why?
In the book, Breaking Down Walls: A Model for Reconciliation in an Age of Strife, the authors discuss the community poisoning affects that are the result of same race conversations about a persons of a different race.
Have you experienced any of the conversations among people of your own race or ethnicity (black, white, Latino, Asian...) that touched on what President Obama calls "resentments" that "aren't always expressed in polite company?" Do you think people of different backgrounds should be able to discuss these issues with each other? What problems might there be in such a discussion? How might you structure such a discussion to ensure that everyone is heard and respected?
What do you think needs to be done in our schools? In our community? What about SPU, in particular?
Questions developed from Alan Shapiro's Teachable Moments site
According to the authors of Breaking Down Walls, the problem with same-race conversations about other people is that they don’t really solve the problem. Too often I’ll talk with people like me about people unlike me; it’s comfortable because we can both say things like “Oh you know those people are all like that – why can’t they do things right like we do?” – but that doesn’t really solve anything or build understanding.
ReplyDeleteWhat the authors promote, echoing Obama’s comments in his speech, is cross-racial conversation that builds strong relationships capable of supporting the kind of difficult conversation that’s needed to understand across racial differences. At Rock Church in Chicago this looks like quarterly meetings in which same-race groups (in this case Black and White) gather to discuss issues from same-race perspectives, then join together to talk about the issues as an entire congregation. This is difficult, of course, and requires trust and strong commitment to working on issues.
Maybe a good first-step question would be this: What would it take for me to build enough trust with someone from another race that we’d be able to talk about real issues and work toward reconciliation? That’ll mean that I have to be willing to listen and make changes when my friend tells me I’m wrong, and I’ll have to be bold enough to call out his or her stuff too.
What do you think?
Owen.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWhat's up Owen?
ReplyDeleteI really like where you're going here and it tempts me to go in a million different directions. But at the root of what you've written, I find a couple of nagging questions: Is reconciliation all about changing the "other" or letting the "other" change you?;am I as a child of God called to call my brother or sister?
Stated differently, is reconciliation about one group or one individual trying to change another group or individual? On one hand, the answer depends on how one views relationships. I know that a good relationship will lead to change, but I don't go into relationships looking to change others.
On the other hand, one of the reasons that I'm asking myself this question is the power involved in this kind of reconciliation project,the power to call someone to repentance,is pretty substantial. This questions emerges from my own ontology of the (spiritual) human being, which I have to admit is based on my personal spiritual journey.
To cut to the chase, at various points of my life, often I have often thought that I knew something, but over time the Holy Spirit, life forces/events, or experience has changed my perspective or my heart. Thus, I'm afraid that I might attempt to call someone out on something, but in the long run I might be speaking or criticizing in error. I hope that this makes sense.
Obama's speech has two big historic references within American social thought. Black anger and white resentment he argues have been at a stalemate though we have experienced racial and social progress. Interesting point. Why have we been able to experience racial progress to the electing of a mixed race president, but yet still sit at a stalemate in regards to black anger and white resentment? Have we progressed by means of competition...i.e. the best person for the job has increasingly been a person of color? Maybe that is too niave. Or maybe capitalism and globalism together has placed more wealth in the hands of ethnic minorities allowing for more social class integration and thus more Condaleeza Rice's or Colin Powell's or Barack Obama's. Yet, the stalemate that is evident within the church on sunday morning, has yet to be reconciled. Is the church lagging?
ReplyDeleteI think Owen puts the emphasis correctly as a person or groups pursue reconciliation, which is first to seek understanding, in which statements such as,“Oh you know those people are all like that – why can’t they do things right like we do?”, do not help. It is also good to understand that it's not about changing the other person. I would add that it is not even about calling a person to repentence, as only Christ does.
ReplyDeleteIt is about understanding the other person and the other person understanding you. It is also key that each of you understand the why and how you came to your own particular views.
It is a process of reflection and reeducation individually and together.
Thanks anonymous,
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother used to say "understanding is the best thing in the world." I think President Obama models an attempt to articulate the other person's perspective well. For me, reconciliation begins with trying to understand where another persons is coming from.
Max