Does the color of your skin impact your experiences in this world? Unfortunately, yes. It affects how you approach life and engage cultures. I reckon it’s been this way since Babel toppled over.
Being a married and educated Black father who is a follower of Jesus gives me a unique perspective. I think giving you a slice of my perspective would be fruitful. And that’s my goal for today’s message.
A quick aside: No one on this planet has truly black or white skin. We are all shades of brown. But for the sake of ease and to avoid confusion, I will use the word Black and the phrase Americans of African descent (whose ancestors were slaves in America) interchangeably.
It's not my job, nor is it my goal, to educate non-Blacks on all there is to know about a Black person's experience in America. One, I’m a man. The Black woman’s experience is totally different. Secondly, my life experiences and another Black man's life experiences are not the same (more on this below). Nonetheless, I make several points in this letter that can…
Help you appreciate the contributions of Americans of African descent in the United States.
Be a catalyst for you to educate yourself about the Black experience in America.
See color. It's beautiful.
Saying, "I don't see color.” does more harm than good. It numbs reality and can give you an excuse to remain silent on racial issues. God created us to be different shades of brown and it's beautiful. Embrace it!
Remember what God says.
In our Creator’s family, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for His children are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).
God loves unity in the body of Christ. The world, no matter what it says, loves division, classes, caste systems, and boxes (more on these later).
African flair and flavor
It's not automatic, but people of African descent often add flavor and soul to what they do--from our hair to our artistic expression. It's in our blood and part of our cultures. To try to strip away our flair (like you see in some sports and corporate America) is to try to remove a fabric of one's being. It’s hard to truly be yourself if you’re constantly concerned about how to fit in a box.
I encourage you to read Ian Desmond's recent Instagram thread about racism in America and baseball. He mentioned how black baseball players are often forced to fit within a white box…and how that can negatively impact performance. He also told a story about his high school teammates shouting “white power” in unison after saying the Lord’s prayer. It's a powerful, eye-opening message.
People of African descent are not homogeneous.
We don't all have the same experiences. Therefore, I/we can't speak for every Black person's experience in America. The Black experience is vast and individually unique like the African diaspora is vast and unique. It’s ignorant to think that I or any other Black person can provide a 360-degree view of every Black person’s experience.
Travel, get outside of your bubble, and meet as many different people as you can to round out your knowledge of different people groups and cultures.
Learn about Black excellence outside of sports and entertainment
It’s important for people, young and old, to know that Black people have excelled in medicine, science, technology, politics, and other areas outside of sports and entertainment (those accomplishments are great too).
There’s usually great adversity in Black people’s journeys to success. Think about what Mary W. Jackson had to go through at NASA. This makes the stories even more amazing and the innovation out of disadvantage and necessity even more impressive. Yes, there are many more opportunities these days but some of the same traps and disadvantages have morphed into new, more hidden forms. Economic disparities and disenfranchisement are still big issues today.
Back to my original point, learn the history of Black excellence in America and worldwide. Teach this history to children. A good place to start for kids would be with Vashti Harrison’s books (the links below are Amazon affiliate links):
Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
and
Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History
"My daddy calls you nigger."
Imagine being in my shoes and hearing those words come from a young girl who couldn't have been older than 8 years old. It happened at summer camp when I was 11 or 12 years old. I never expected to hear that word from such a young person. It’s sad and sickening how racism is taught to young children by parents who should be shepherding and guiding them in a righteous direction.
I've heard the N-word used in my direction for the purpose of trying to hurt me several times. Thankfully, it has been a while since I’ve heard it used for that negative purpose (since high school in the mid-90s). Being called the N-word never hurt my feelings though. One, I would always be shocked...it's a lot for a kid to process in the moment. But mostly, I would feel a sadness for the person that was saying it. I always knew that I was more valuable than their racist opinion of me. Each moment that involved the N-word taught me that racism is a learned behavior...a cycle that has to be broken.
Being in public = moving in survival mode
My father taught me how to comply with police because Black men often don't get second chances. I’m convinced that following my father’s teaching (and God’s grace and mercy of course) has kept me alive and without a criminal record.
Still today, I choose wisdom over convenience. Yes, racism is HIGHLY inconvenient. For instance, I don't take long walks in my own predominantly white neighborhood after dark. This is not because of fear, it's because I simply don't want any confusion to lead to my arrest or death. I choose to navigate this world differently out of necessity because I know “things happen.” For Black men, being in survival mode is wise and not living in fear. It’s not fair, but it is what it is. I pray this changes for the better.
What’s next? The benefits of having a believer's worldview.
It's easier to have these conversations when we can agree that we were are all made in God’s image...and that a person of African descent is fully man and not three-fifths.
Pray that God will guide your heart to love all--no matter their appearance--as you love yourself. Pray that God will teach you about biblical equality. Pray for opportunities to learn about all of America’s history, the good and the bad.
Round out your knowledge, America. We have more work to do.
I’ll leave you with this...
My wife was the last Black homecoming queen at her high school before they integrated the homecoming court. That was in 1996, y’all. A black homecoming court and a white homecoming court…how silly was that? This was only 24 years ago. We have more work to do.
Update: My wife informed me that her high school continued to have separate homecoming courts for several more years after she graduated in 1997. She was really close to boycotting the whole thing but she ultimately decided to participate. This got us thinking about the students who didn’t fit into the black or white box. Where did they belong?
Thanks for reading this article from Worldview with Chris Craft. Subscribe to receive my latest articles and more!