Before I go further, let me be clear that good and faithful Unitarian Universalists (UUs) support all three of the remaining contenders for President of our country. But the political climate (and Barack Obama’s recent speech) has given us an opportunity to think together about the issue of race in this country and how we as Unitarian Universalists, and we as citizens, engage with that very large elephant in our room.
I believe that conversation about race in the United States is relevant to every day of all of our lives. While the country actually focuses on race for at least a news-nanosecond, this could be the moment to take the step of amplifying the conversation with every resource we have. And when a Presidential candidate invites us into a meaningful conversation on this topic, we need to accept with heart and soul; such an opportunity is long-overdue and may not soon come again.
I am tremendously thankful that Unitarian Universalism has given me numerous opportunities to learn who I am as a white person. It’s not something I was taught in school, and I’ve learned the hard way that bringing it up in my family is much like mentioning alcoholism or sexual abuse. When I heard Barack Obama speak of his white grandmother’s acknowledged fear Black men, I thought of my own life. I am the parent of an adopted child of color. Her pain about race is a large part of who she is. Were I still unable to ‘see’ race, or to talk about it, we would not have the close trust which allows me to be present to her.
Still, I know that there is much that my daughter does not share with me, just as I know that there are certain pains even my closest friends of color will save to share with those who can resonate from the inside. I remember years ago when an African American friend shared an encounter with a white colleague which she experienced as racist. I replied with some convoluted explanation of how she might have misunderstood the colleague. “Oh, stop being so white!” she exclaimed with annoyance. “Could you just listen to me?”
Listening turns out to be incredibly hard for many of us who are white to do—to just listen. The derision with which Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s prophetic words are greeted reflects that very unwillingness. “No,” we respond too often, albeit unconsciously. “We won’t listen, because we don’t have to. We’ve got the pundits, the judges, the rulers on our side. Why listen to you?”
If we’re lucky, we can learn to let the voice of faith speak up in response to the impulse of privilege, and say, “It’s hard, but yes, I want to listen. I need to listen. I can’t be whole unless I listen.” And after we listen, I hope that we will be able to then say, “I need to speak up and be an ally. I want to speak up and be an ally. I can’t be whole unless I am an ally.”
I hope that you will take that first step, either alone or with your family, or with members of your congregation. The Unitarian Universalist Association offers some significant resources to help people make these conversations faithful, helpful, and truthful. Our Related Content section at the bottom of this post offers some possibilities.
I strongly urge you to seize this opportunity. Use covenant groups, adult education classes, religious education for youth, forums, and every other venue possible to do this. Share together some of the questions, and responses these questions elicit, in a structured listening format. Share from your heart and from your faith.
It is hard for those of us who are white to talk about race. I still remember the first time, in seminary, that a professor asked me to write about how being white impacted my theology. I was truly bewildered. In response I wrote about being Appalachian, fat, a lesbian, and in a marginal religious group. “All this is true,” she wrote back in the margins, “But you are still white. You did not answer my question.”
It is time for those of us who are white to struggle with the question. What does it mean to be white in our country at this time? What does it mean to have white privilege? Let us not lose this moment to begin that sacred and saving conversation with one another.
Rev. Meg A. Riley is Director of the UUA Advocacy and Witness staff group. She has served as Director of the UUA’s Office of Lesbian, Bisexual and Gay Concerns, the Washington Office for Advocacy, Youth Programs, and as a religious educator in several Unitarian Universalist congregations. She is currently President of the Board of Faith in Public Life: A Resource Center for Justice and the Common Good.
Resources/Related Content:
Barack Obama’s speech on race and politics (March 18, 2008)
A Long Overdue Conversation About Race: UUA President Rev Bill Sinkford responds to Obama's speech.
“Of National Lies and Racial Amnesia: Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama, and the Audacity of Truth” by Tim Wise
"Sample Questions for Discussion on Race, Politics, Religion" by Michael Salwasser
NPR’s On Point Talk Radio (audio): Anna Deavere Smith and Andrew Young, guests, discuss Obama’s speech with host Tom Ashbrook
“Religion, Race, and Reverend Wright” – UUA Advocacy and Witness Blog
“What Kind of Prophet? - A Statement by United Church of Christ General Minister John H. Thomas
“Claiming Our History, Warts and All” by David Pettee (UUA)
