When Diversity Welcomes Hope

As I sat on my front porch, I watched the kids play in the cul-de-sac. One black kid, two whites, and three Latinos — two girls, four boys. They squealed with laughter, ran in circles, kidded each other like typical children enjoying an autumn evening.

Far from the murders caused by racism. Completely removed from the ugliness of social media. Not caring about who gets elected or what the pundits say. Not even aware of the sad scenario in a country that is supposed to stand for equality — all of us created equal by the God who gifted us with different skin tones.

Yet I have struggled to find a way, as a writer, to respond. What kind of voice can I add to the discussion as a white woman living in a comfortable cul-de-sac? Silence implies agreement.

My history did not prepare me for the headlines of today. No black farmers tended their crops in our community. I did not go to school or church with black or Hispanic kids, with Haitians or Asians. Not because I avoided them, but because our community was segregated. Everyone on both sides seemed to accept it as the status quo.

At least, that was the excuse that was given to us.

The 1960’s opened my eyes to more of the struggles and inequities that needed to be fixed. I succinctly remember standing in a worship circle at a college weekend retreat, grasping the hand next to me and looking at our white and black fingers intertwined.

“Cool,” I said to nobody in particular. But that day, my soul opened to more possibilities. I began to understand how the book of Revelation reminds us that every tribe, every language, every nation will be represented in the eternal kingdom of God. (Revelation 7:9-10)

I began to understand when I experienced racism myself.

As a missionary in Honduras, I lived as a very pale white woman in a Latino world. We were not allowed to go downtown alone and never traveled outside our post at night. It was simply unsafe. The culture shock was deep and real. It was a lonely identity thrust on me by location, culture, gender, and race.

But when I served as an international minister at the University of Kansas, I learned to appreciate and revel in the beatific richness of diverse cultures. Each week I met with Chinese post-docs, Kenyans, Muslims from the Middle East, Indians from New Delhi, Koreans, Japanese, Nepalese, Germans, and other European students.

Although I was the leader of each group, I learned several things from my students:

• the amazing food combinations with other world spices, textures, and smells
• the beauty of cultural differences and how we could still relate to one another
• the rhythm of multiple languages and how stilted we are knowing only English
• the colorful textures of dressing in various textiles
• the study of various religions and how talking about them enriched my own faith

None of us talked about racial differences or pointed fingers at each other. We all gathered together for one purpose — to learn to speak English better and share our lives with each other. Only the United States was behind the curve ball as we could not reconcile other races as equal partners.

Sadly, that racist attitude still continues today with people who refuse to open their hearts and minds to authentic truth.

So what can we do now to help move our country and our communities to a better place of acceptance and grace? How can we Jesus followers admit our mistakes and determine to think more clearly and act more lovingly?

Admit that we do not truly understand how it feels to belong to a different race. Until we open the conversation, truly listen to each other, ask the open-ended difficult questions, and desire to learn from each other — we will be tethered by our history.

Change and social justice only happen as we dare to believe that each of us can truly make a difference. We can work hard to show mercy and ignore those who exalt themselves in order to deny others.

Educate ourselves. Read more books that are written by authors of color. Research from a variety of sources. No matter which side of the aisle we support, if we listen only to news reports from that particular source — we risk being programmed to believe whatever we are told.

Finding out the truth takes intentional research and the willingness to use our brains and common sense. Most of us live and work from the viewpoint of our comfort zones. But growth only happens when we step out of our zone and dare to listen to other viewpoints.

Speak the Truth. Silence is indeed a form of consensus. Our voices will be heard through the ballot box, but how we conduct ourselves and how we speak before election day reflects not only who we vote for but the type of people we are.

Can’t we stand for civil rights and racial equality when our Savior was born in the Middle East and was not the pale-faced white Jesus some artists have depicted? Can we refuse to spread rumors and obvious lies when we have no first-hand knowledge of what actually happens?

Leadership matters, but change cannot happen when the same people protect the same lies and carry the same mindset about racism. Since we are going to live eternally with our brothers and sisters from all over the world, we had better learn how to peacefully live together now.

We have so much work to do and so many prayers to offer. I pray to God with steadfast hope that we focus on the truth. Maybe the children will have to show us the way.

©2024 RJ Thesman – All Rights Reserved

Image Attribution: Alexas-Fotos / Pixabay

Change comes day by day and moment by moment. Check out the daily meditations in Day by Day: Hope for Senior Wisdom.