Treading Carefully: An Entry Point to Race in America has begun to unpack the American cultural undercurrent that is white privilege. This concept is complex and potentially threatening, but in truth must be examined prior to entering into deeper conversations seeking racial equity in our society. This concept is not meant to be to erase one’s achievements; it simply is a set of conditions that people of color do not experience. Peggy McIntosh, at the time working at the Wellesley Centers for Women, was not the first to write about white privilege, but her piece titled “The Invisible Knapsack” was the first to truly gain traction and jumpstart the conversation. She lists fifty conditions that her African American friends and colleagues cannot count on and expect. This is a helpful list to review as it assists those of us who are white to better understand the experience of being a person of color in America. Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen: An American Lyric and newly named MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient, writes “just getting along shouldn’t be an ambition.” Frankly, this is hard stuff. I would encourage you to come, to pray for those of us who gather, to pray for our community and congregation. As we begin to turn towards the theological, our call to discipleship may very well give us something to fear. Moses led the Hebrews across the sea liberating them from Egyptian slavery where they promptly began wandering the desert for forty years. I don’t promise a happy ending but instead something that warrants our commitment.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
