August 25, 2010

• We like to think

  We’d like to think we are past the whole problem of racism. After all, drinking fountains are no longer segregated. Schools are integrated. Discriminatory laws have been abolished. We even have a black president!

  But recently, a group of black and Hispanic day campers was kicked out of an all-white swimming pool in Philadelphia. Yes, we’ve come a long way from the days of slavery and Jim Crow, but the ills of that era linger on. Former secretary of state Condoleeza Rice calls racism “our nation’s birth defect.” These recent incidents only scratch the surface of a reality that many Americans, particularly whites, are unaware of.

  Racism continues to be a problem, but it rarely comes dressed in white sheets. It lingers on in a 400-year-old habit of how we see one another. Confronting this racism and rooting it out means taking an honest and extremely painful look at ourselves and our society.

  Sometimes we feel powerless against the problem of ongoing racism. But what is impossible for human beings is not impossible for God. With God’s help, we can combat racism, even in our own hearts. But it takes courage, honesty, and a willingness to change. God has the power. Do we have the will?

  • 9:00 am
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