I was born in 1961, when it was still illegal in many place for "colored" people to even drink from the same water fountain as whites. I remember when I was 5, we moved to a very middle class, but very racially and ethnically mixed neighborhood. The "rich people" on the block, with the fancy house and built-in swimming pool, well, they were black! My best friends on the block, Patty and Rose, they had a house with wall to wall, plush, white carpet and really fancy furniture in their living room, and their mom drove a Cadillac...they were black too. The family across the street, they owned their house...also black. The "old people" next door, Mr. and Mrs. Ellis, they were the typical "nice old people who lived next door"...black. Most of the music my mom listened to was by black artists. (Yay Motown!) WE lived in a duplex, and bill collectors called our house. So I really had no idea until about 1st or 2nd grade that there were people who did not like other people just because of the color of their skin. I found out because I noticed my friends' mother had a baseball bat in her Caddie. They told me it was to keep her safe, and when I asked my mother about it, well the pieces fell into place...It was about the same time there were race riots in New Brunswick, NJ, where my father worked at the time. (Those of you who have been on the Rutgers Campus in New Brunswick recently and have seen the fancy downtown area, I remember when that area was made-up of blown-out, boarded up storefronts after the riots.)
As the years went on, my parents bought their first house in a very white, very small town. There were 2 black families in the entire town, and they both lived on my street. Again, I didn't think anything of it, until one day I told one of my new classmates that my old friends from my last school were black. She said "EWWW! You like BLACK people!" I will always remember that moment vividly, because I had never heard anybody say anything like that before. I remember her name, where we were standing, I think I remember what I was wearing. The whole idea that people could make such a blanket statement was as bewildering to me in 4th grade as is still is now.
Now before you go thinking that I must have grown up in some kind of progressive household...that's not the case. Yes, my mother never indicated any sort of racial prejudice, but my father was a different story. He just wasn't around much, he was working a lot, so it was a long time before I got to know his ideas about the whole thing. My sister was the same age as the black girl up the street, and they became friends. They were a very educated family, the father was a chemist or engineer for Johnson and Johnson, and they lived in the proverbial house with the white picket fence. They also happened to be very light skinned. My father always rationalized that they were the way they were (educated and successful) because they must really be "Polynesian" or something like that! The son was my age, and we became good friends. He was EXTREMELY intelligent. I mentioned to my dad that I thought maybe he and I would go to the senior prom together as friends...well that was a big "NO!" That's all I'm going to say about my dad's views...Fortunately I stayed with my own opinions.
Can I honestly say I've never had a racially or ethnically motivated unkind thought in my life...unfortunately no. I believe the evil one finds every opportunity to use that weapon...humans always want to find someone to be superior to. Every society has some sort of "underclass" that is categorized that way simply because of some superficial, blanket stereotype. I just try very hard to battle those thoughts. We live in one of the most diverse towns in the area...some people wonder why we live here if we can afford to live someplace "better." I'm glad to say my kids like living here, they like the diversity. My kids and their friends, (of many racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds) are surprisingly candid about racial differences. They make fun of each other, and themselves, in ways that sometimes horrify me! But their motivation is so different than what I'm used to...they're honest, appreciate the differences, accept the differences, and they don't seem to think one difference is superior to other differences. Like Jerry and Lynn Jones say: "Not right, not wrong, just different."
We worked hard to teach our kids not to distinguish people by their race. The only times I mentioned the color of someone's skin was if it was important to what I was saying. It's amazing how often people will tell me a story, and mention that the people they are talking about are black, as if that changes the perspective. And unfortunately, for a lot of people, it does change perception. I have told the same story two different times to the same people, and when skin color is mentioned their entire demeanor changes. Sad. When Steven was in kindergarten, he has a video game that featured one "white" and one "black" character. You could choose which one you wanted to be. Steven called them "beige" and "brown" and he usually picked the brown boy because Steven had a flat top crew cut at the time, and so did the brown boy in the video game. Sadly, it wasn't until my children celebrated Black History Month in school that they learned how often people are distinguished by the color of their skin.
Anyway...this wasn't even what I sat down to write, but I'll trust the Spirit knows it needed to be written and I'll go with it. My point is, when I chose not to vote for Barack Obama (boy, everyone's going to have to update their spell check now!) it had nothing to do with the color of his skin. And I feel good that I can say that with complete honesty. I looked for reasons TO vote for him, because I wanted to be a part of this historic change, but I had to vote based on the issues and where my conscience was leading me.
There are so many people who feel that the world as we know it will cease to exist, (for better or for worse,) because Obama was elected. Some because of the historic change, some because they were so dissatisfied with the current administration, some because they fear the economic down-turn they are sure will come with Democrats in office, some because they feel the lowly masses will rise-up and overthrow white America, and some who really believe Obama is an undercover Muslim terrorist. All those people are entitled to their opinions and beliefs. I truly embrace the "don't argue about religion and politics" way of relating to others..."you can catch more flies with sugar than vinegar" works for me. So I don't go there. All I know is that I got goose-bumps when I heard an African-American woman on TV cry because she can honestly tell her son that he can grow up to be president of the United States, or anything else he wanted to be, with total honesty and confidence that it can happen.
In our church family, Pitman church of Christ, we have a little slice of heaven. We are diverse, we welcome and respect diversity. But we are truly one in the body of Christ. I've never experienced anything like it, and I doubt I will any place else on this side of heaven. It is a blessing from God that I am grateful for everyday. I believe this kind of unity can only come through Christ. Ultimately, our freedom, our equality, and our unity come from God through Jesus Christ.
As I said...I had no intention of writing this post this way...what I planned to write can wait until the next post because this is SO long already. So in all these thoughts, this is where I derive my JOY today....
"For God does not show favoritism." Romans 2:11
"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:26-28
"We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother,he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command;
Whoever loves God must also love his brother." 1 John 4:21
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Luke 4:14-21
