emerging mosaic

Last night as we watched the events unfold that ended the Democratic primary process and gave Barack Obama the nomination, the reactions of my family stick in my mind.

My son (who favors Obama a bit according to his peers) asked “Did he do it?”  “Did he get it?” When I replied he did his reaction was YESSSS!!!!! with a fist pump.

Later as I watched the Obama’s speech with me wife she said, “I’m worried for him, do you think he is safe?” My response I don’t know.

As I listened to Tom Brokaw talk about how the younger generation was more color blind than his I wondered how real that statement was and whether I really wanted the younger generation to be color blind.

So what was my reflections? I am still processing the church resignation thing and I watch a movie yesterday called Carbon Copy starring George Segal and a young Denzel Washington. The premise of the movie (which seemed cheesy to me when it first came out) is a white guy discovers he has a son from a relationship (fling) with a black woman he eventually left to marry into the ultimate WASP family. When his son shows up tries to may his father pay for the way his mother was hurt everything goes into the toilet for this well to do white guy. He loses all of the things he came to expect as a white person, job family, clubs etc.

When he finally comes to grips with white privilege he tells his WASP father-in-law that the real issue is not just that blacks come into the game with two strikes its that the game is rigged so blacks can’t even get a third swing. Later on he tells his son “when I saw you all I saw was black”.  In other words he didn’t see a person he saw his mental model of a whole race and then attached all he assumptions and preconceived notions about that race to the individual.

I wonder if that is what is happening with Barack Obama right now. I wonder if we are at a true moment in history when we can move beyond race as a defining factor? Or maybe if Obama is successfully it will be despite his race and because he is politically smart enough to beat at system that say to people like him two strikes and you are out!

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Technorati Tags: color blind, history, obama, politics

Over the weekend Barack Obama resigned from Trinity Church in the wake of another tirade by the pundits about his being responsible for what a preacher said in his church.

Obama Quits His Church - The Caucus - Politics - New York Times Blog

I am disappointed. I’m disappointed because he said he would speak the truth even when we didn’t want to hear it. I’m disappointed because the decision seems more political than principled. I’m disappointed it seems the accessory price or pound of flesh for a black man to  pay to gain credibility. I’m disappointed because I wonder if it is worth it?

While browsing the web I came across this quote. I don’t know if it is accurate or not but It certainly relevant.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy - Martin Luther King Jr.

I’m disappointed!!!!!

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Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, faith, politics

Welcome to another episode of adventures in missing the truth.
Priest Mocks Clinton in Sermon - AOL News

WARNING RANT AHEAD

Maybe I reading the wrong papers or viewing the wrong political pundits. But I heard them all say the same thing about Hillary Clinton thinking that she was the inevitable democratic nominee.

So once again Obama must be responsible for what everyone who is in anyway connected to him says. First it was a black man now he has to be responsible for whites as well. OK where is Clinton’s responsibility for here husband’s remarks. I must be so stupid because I don’t get it. How is it that anything no matter how true that ruffles the gender sensibilities of the Hillary Clinton folks be so rapidly overblown when patently offensive stuff others say about Obama gets downplayed.

This white priest is once again falling subject to the demonization of a particular group of people for speaking the truth. Does anyone say, This is one sermon from the guy. Look at who he is and what he has done to help people in the church the past?  Does anyone say yes maybe he didn’t way it is the nicest way but its true?

Instead it becomes another Barack Obama problem. For which he must apologize. Geraldine Ferarro has yet to apologize for saying that Obama was here he was because he was black. (read political affirmative action)

If the cost of having the first black president is having to miss, ignore or deny the truth about race, and gender issues; if we must deny the truth of white previlege rather than expose it, I wonder if it is worth it.

THIS RANT IS NOW COMPLETE

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Technorati Tags: church, Clinton, obama, pastor, truth

OK so it is clear that i wasn’t very clear in my thoughts in this post  damned if you do damned if you don’t. This is not about being politically for Obama or Clinton. It is my observation of how differently we relate to politicians based on  their race or gender.

It has been my observation that black men in America are on the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to the social pecking order. Black men are attached to all kinds of assumptions, preconceptions and cultural scripts. If we are articulate, we are the exception. If we aren’t, we prove “the point”.  If we succeed we benefited from affirmative action. If we don’t we prove “the point”. If we get frustrated about how we are perceived, we are the “angry black man.” If we seek compromise and consensus we are “sellouts” and not fighters. If we protest, we aren’t patriotic, loyal, or team players. If we treat women poorly we are “dogs”. If we greet each other as friends we are “dogs”. Our friends actions are reflected on all of us.

In the same way that the way we can recognize that some people view Hillary Clinton through the lens of her gender we need to recognize and admit that some maybe many people view Obama through their of his race and gender. In this culture, despite his biracial international roots he is distilled to simply being a black man. With that comes all the historical and social mental models that we (that is all of us black and white) attach to black men.

We can wish that we can move beyond race but it isn’t going to happen right now. I am curious why some Anglos who support  Obama sound like they are patting themselves on the back that they are supporting a “black man”. In a truly character not race oriented society that wouldn’t be. But it is.

I’m not upset that it is. I just then we need to admit it and talk about it. We need to talk about it in the church and not demonize each other when we do. We need to talk about it with friends and be gracious to each other when we do. We need to talk about it in general and ask what if there is something shaping my perspective that I’m not conscious of. We will never get beyond race until we deal with race and its place in the cultural conversation. We readily talk about sexism and but hyper when we try to talk about racism. But we unable to have a real conversation about race.

This morning I read an essay written by my biracial son who sees his mixed heritage as an opportunity and a challenge. He wonders if his black friends see him as black or white; if his white friends see him as black or white. He is wrestling at the ripe old age of 14 with the social perception that young men of his skin color simply “black”. The dream is not yet realized that our children’s character would matter more than their (socially constructed) race.

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Technorati Tags: black men, gender, obama, politics, race, racism, unintentional intolerance

One of the most powerful lessons learned in my recent diversity training with Steve Robbins is the power of asking the question, what if? I have applied that learning to the recent conversations about race and the emergent ( not necessarily emerging ) church. So here are some what ifs that I am pondering.

What if the mental model of those anglos emergents  unwilling to address race issue doesn’t allow them to see how limited their world view is?

What if they are just interpreting race though a limited cultural lens?

What if they are just falling in intentional intolerance because they can’t see the other options and don’t have all the information?

What if they haven’t critically examined their point of view?

What if we are all trying too hard to be nice?

What if we all buy into sub-conscious cultural messages?

What if some of us are just closed minded?

What if some of us are open minded when we don’t feel attacked?

What if there are many other what if around this conversation that I can’t even come up with?

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Technorati Tags: cultural messages, emergent, emerging church, race, racism, unintenional intolerance

First he was criticized for not being a fighter now Obama is being criticized because his was/is a political fighter. Check out his article on CNN.
Obama played hardball in first Chicago campaign - CNN.com

The double standard strains credibility even as the nation’s “first black president” talks about his candidate wife not getting a fair shake as a woman. I don’t get it. Obama is a wimp that can’t win in one breath and a mean nasty (black) man in the next. Is that fair.

Someone (an Obama supporter) asked me if he could win I said I don’t know. I beginning to move back to my original thought that unless the mental models that we have around race and particularly black men in this country changes he can’t win.

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Technorati Tags: chicago, obama, politics, race

Recently i discovered a voice in the emergent conversation that I was not aware of, melvin bray.

His bio reads

I  am a professional speaker and aspiring author. I am contributing the chapter “Reading the Prophets for Justice: How can we read the prophets to learn justice?” to An Emergent Manifesto of Justice [Baker Publishing: Emersion Books, February 2009]. I am seeking to broaden my audience with my regular contributions to God’s Politics blog (beyond those blogs I manage myself).

He has commented several times on the EV blog post on race. I am really interested to hear more of his perspective.

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Technorati Tags: diversity, emergent, emergent_village

So here’s another set of reasons why we can’t ignore the issue of race if the church is to emerge into something other than refuge a disgruntled white intellectuals. There is a credibility gap in our society and it strains belief. Were it not for the history of race and class in this country it would be unbelievable.

• Last week a judge acquitted NYC police officers black and white people of power in the case of the shooting of a young man fifty times because they thought they were in danger. The witnesses (all black and some of whom were also shot) the judge said were not credible.
• Jeremiah Wright former pastor of Barack Obama’s church has been reviled and called everything from unpatriotic to a loon and even worse. This because he expressed a perspective of the black community on a national tragedy. Remember black folks died that day along with people of other races. While white pastors who support current presidential candidates express their extreme opinions without impunity.
• Hillary Clinton wins a primary based on the notion that she (who was raised with privilege and has been in the highest seat of power in this country) has more credibility with working class folks than a black man raised by a single parent who worked his way through college and passed up a big time law office for working with the very class of people he now has no credibility with.

The thing is that Jesus brought credibility to the incredible. He brought God’s credibility to a poor and oppressed. He brought God’s credibility to disenfranchised. He brought God’s credibility to those who were outside of the status quo. He brought God’s credibility to people on the margins. He brought God’s credibility to an pregnant young girl, a motley crew of twelve followers, an adulterous woman asking spiritual questions. He brought God’s credibility to all human beings by breaking down the barrier between us and calling us to reconcile to God and each other. His first followers though they stumbled initially followed his pattern (after being prompted more than once by the Holy Spirit.)

So how will the church today, the church emerging deal with the credibility gap? I am fast losing hope that the church emerging or has the guts to take on this critical issue. We will tackle gays rights, worship wars, poverty in other countries and gender equality but race and by virtue of our cultural reality class right here in the USA, not so much.

Check out this post on the EV blog

The church not speaking out strains its credibility but then this is the church which increasing has less and less credibility anyway.

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Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, church, class, Clinton, credibility, diversity, Jeremiah Wright, race, Sean Bell, why race matters

I got this today from someone is concerned as I am about how we continue to live Dr King’s dream

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Technorati Tags: assassination, church, Dr King, legacy, Martin Luther King Jr., MLK

Dyson Explores How MLK’s Death Changed America : NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89344679
Friday marks the 40th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in Memphis, Tenn. Professor and author Michael Eric Dyson talks about his latest book, which examines how King’s death changed America.
Rev Dr. Mike Eric Dysin is an incredible social historian and theologian check out his talk on NPR about how Dr. King changed America

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Technorati Tags: Martin Luther King Jr., michael dyson