My daughter came home from kindergarten one day crying because she wasn’t white. She had picked up that white is better. “Why can’t I be white?”
This brought back memories of my childhood growing up in the first integrated class in my school, and it made me angry. I was angry that I couldn’t protect my daughters from a culture where Black is perceived as bad. But mostly I was angry because no matter what I did, I could never give my daughters the opportunities and wealth that their white counterparts receive simply because of history. Society would penalize and blame them for the disparity. As Marvin Gaye said, the situation “makes me wanna holler and throw up my hands” in defeat and frustration. I wanted to just give in to anger and vent on the world. But I had to stop. The still small voice in my spirit reminded me that being angry was ok, but how was I using it?
When it comes to race, how many times have we given up, stopped trying or refused to forgive? In this season of Lent, let us repent of anger that leads to hate, stereotyping and social or relational laziness. Let us embrace an anger that leads to justice, radical engagement and truth-telling inside a fierce relationality. We can’t give up on each other because Christ did not give up on us.
—Willie Bennett
Saints, share your personal REFLECTIONS here:
Lent Reflection – March 20th 2021
My daughter came home from kindergarten one day crying because she wasn’t white. She had picked up that white is better. “Why can’t I be white?”
This brought back memories of my childhood growing up in the first integrated class in my school, and it made me angry. I was angry that I couldn’t protect my daughters from a culture where Black is perceived as bad. But mostly I was angry because no matter what I did, I could never give my daughters the opportunities and wealth that their white counterparts receive simply because of history. Society would penalize and blame them for the disparity. As Marvin Gaye said, the situation “makes me wanna holler and throw up my hands” in defeat and frustration. I wanted to just give in to anger and vent on the world. But I had to stop. The still small voice in my spirit reminded me that being angry was ok, but how was I using it?
When it comes to race, how many times have we given up, stopped trying or refused to forgive? In this season of Lent, let us repent of anger that leads to hate, stereotyping and social or relational laziness. Let us embrace an anger that leads to justice, radical engagement and truth-telling inside a fierce relationality. We can’t give up on each other because Christ did not give up on us.
—Willie Bennett
Saints, share your personal REFLECTIONS here: