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David M. Bailey is director of and a program affiliate with 91ÁÔĆć. is worship leader and teaching pastor at in Richmond, Virginia. She sings with , a band that seeks reconciliation through worship. In this edited conversation, Bailey and Rose talk about how a violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, made more people think about white supremacy.
DB: At Arrabon, Urban Doxology, and East End Fellowship, we navigate the space between people with a theology of protest and those who believe the United States is a Christian nation. We are more pastoral than prophetic. We try to accept people where they are and pastorally lead them.
White supremacy isnât a term we used much before the August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. No one expected it to get so crazy or that someone would die. After that weekend, . That rally was yet another example of what divided times we are living in.
ER: The proximity of Charlottesville to Richmond was jarring. This could have happened in Richmond, which was the capital of the Confederacy. My attention always returns to how the church responds to divisive events. God has reconciled himself to us, so we as churches are called to lead in reconciliation.
ER: Yes. Sometimes Christians hear a story about racism and start quoting Revelation 5, about how Godâs kingdom includes people from every tribe, language, people and nation, or Revelation 21, about God making all things new. Those visions describe Godâs intention. But we caution against jumping too quickly to talk of heaven without naming and dealing with all the fallenness and brokenness between earth and heaven.
DB: The terms overlap, but is different than racism. Supremacy is the belief that whatever adjective goes in front of itâwhite supremacy, Christian supremacy, male supremacyâdescribes something that is better than the rest. Our country is founded on a system that puts whiteness on top. This value is built into our legal, cultural, economic, and political systems. We donât choose white supremacy. Itâs a history that we Americans are born into. But if white supremacy is a spirit and practice, then itâs something we all have to struggle against within ourselves.
DB: Youâve probably heard about the famous cited in the U.S. Supreme Courtâs 1954 Brown vs Board of Education about integrating public schools. Two black psychologists, Kenneth and Mamie Clark, used dolls to test how segregation psychologically affects black children. They showed white and black little kids some doll babies, asked them to identify the babyâs race, and asked which doll baby was better. Even the majority of black children chose the white doll baby.
I often use that example to explain that, just because I have black skin, it doesnât mean I donât have to wrestle with white supremacy. We have hundreds of years of U.S. history premised on whiteness. Also, white supremacy especially contrasts whites and blacks. It often ignores Asians, Hispanics, and Native Americans.
DB: We can , repent, and ask God to change and transform us. You donât have to be perfect. It takes time to learn how to talk about and move from diversity to shalom. Also, remember that white supremacy is a belief system weâre born into. White privilege describes the systemic benefits conferred by the norm of white supremacy. to white people but not to people of color.
DB: Saying that we are all white supremacists doesnât mean we are all KKK or neo-Nazi. It means we live in a system that overtly and covertly sees white supremacy as normal. The church should be part of the solution, but Christians often feel overwhelmed, embarrassed, ashamed, or afraid of saying the wrong thing. Theological training hasnât equipped us to address living in such a diverse and divided society.
ER: Lots of people really donât know about racism in our country. When they give surface responsesâBut weâre just one human family! I donât see color!âit can be really painful to people whoâve had a history with racism. People often try to put a bandage on things too quickly. Theyâre not okay with lamenting or crying out to God. Most churches donât really practice lament. Practicing it doesnât make tragedy easier, but it gives you a community, language, and framework to have authentic conversations about race.
DB: Weâve had a colorblind approach for so long. We need to suspend judgment and hear other cultural narratives. We each come from cultures with different experiences, perspectives, and ideas about the best way to do things and solve divisive problems. As Christians, our theology of shalom needs to shape our sociology. Shalom means completeness, wholeness, and flourishing. We need to do more listening and learning, like Jesus did for 30 years. Thatâs how he practiced reconciliation.
ER: Try to listen long enough to understand whatâs going on under the surface of a question or statement. For example, saying that black lives matter doesnât mean weâre saying white lives or police lives donât matter. Itâs not a zero-sum game. When people insist that our country operates as if all lives matter, we can show empirical evidence that government policy and historical practices donât equally support all lives.
ER: Iâd recommend that a church do a deep dive into Isaiah 58. God tells Israel, âYou think youâre doing the right thing with fasting and worship, but youâre oppressing your brothers and sisters. You donât get to pick who I count as your family, âyour own flesh and blood.ââ Thatâs the best place for churches to start if they want to be effective leaders in a ministry of reconciliation. God identifies your blind spot, tells you how to fix it, and promises your light will break forth.
DB: âs mission is to write music and liturgy for reconciliation in racially and economically diverse congregations. worked with us on a . Itâs spoken word with background instrumental music. You can use it as a call to worship. Arrabon recently released the video studies. It can help your congregation become a foretaste of a reconciled heaven in our divided world.
He recommends . Check out educational and liturgical resources from , , and .
