It's a good thing racist whites are wrong, for their own sake

[Tom Rinaldo]

Racism is the belief that one race is superior to another, with White racists believing Whites are superior to Blacks. Racism isn't just morally wrong, it's scientifically wrong. But had Martians dropped in on Earth recently (or more specifically the United States) with an eye toward evaluating humanity, they could be forgiven if preliminary findings indicated some validity for racism, with Whites found often lacking in comparison to African Americans.

I'm White myself but I would forgive Martians for reaching that conclusion. The grace and keen insightfulness evident at the funeral for John Lewis yesterday was absolutely stunning, and that same grace and insightfulness has powerfully shown among people of color in each corner of our nation in recent weeks. Not that it hasn't always been there, but the impact of that grace on our society as a whole of late can not be minimized, not by any but the most bigoted of souls. African Americans are repeated victims of racism, they know the disease too well, but still they summon the power of love to promote the healing of us all. Righteous anger is present also, but rarely a heart that's closed. When I think of the words grace under fire, I think of men like John Lewis, and accounts such as the following. But in truth and with humility, I witness the same qualities shown daily by countless frequent victims of white oppression whose names I rarely know:

This is an excerpt from an article entitled: "What John Lewis taught me about forgiveness" published on the website "Teaching American History" (the bolding is mine)

"...Several tributes to Lewis included the story of a former KKK member who attacked the Freedom Riders at the Rock Hill, South Carolina bus station in 1961. Late in his life, Elwin Wilson, the former Klansman, motivated by the election of Barack Obama and Wilson’s own fear of hell, sought to find the man he beat in 1961 and seek his forgiveness. He discovered that man was Georgia Congressman John Lewis. Wilson traveled to Washington, met with Lewis, apologized for his actions, and Lewis forgave him. The two men became friends and made several appearances together, including one on Oprah Winfrey’s show.

When this story of forgiveness broke in the national news, I was teaching South Carolina history at York Preparatory Academy in Rock Hill, SC. My students and I invited Elwin Wilson to our class to talk about his experience. Wilson spoke about his gratitude to Lewis for Lewis’s forgiveness. He spoke about learning to turn his back on hate and love all of his fellow human beings.

I asked him if he had encountered any African-Americans who could not forgive him for his past actions as a Klansman and his role in attacking the Freedom Riders. He said, “No, but I have had white people say that they can’t forgive me.” I wanted to make sure that I understood him correctly so I asked him: “Do you mean former buddies in the KKK?” Wilson said yes. He had violated the secrecy oath of the Klan and that was unforgivable to them, he replied."
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/blog/what-john-lewis-taught-me-about-forgiveness/

I do not subscribe to racism in any form, so of course I reject white inferiority, dispite seeming evidence to the contrary. Grace inhabits people of every race. The spiritual anthem "Amazing Grace" was written by a White Slave Ship Captain after all, when his eyes were finally opened. John Lewis overflowed with grace, but Elwin Wilson ultimately found some also. Martin Luther King Jr gave his life for justice, with the belief we all could become better people, though not all would answer that call. One of those who did was Lyndon Baines Johnson. a southern White politician who rode to power by mastering and manipulating the racial and racist currents of politics in his native Texas. LBJ was not perfect, no one is, but when destiny called he rose to the occasion, and used those skills he had mastered to get the most sweeping set of civil rights legislation since the wake of the Civil War, passed through Congress and signed into law.

All of us are capable of achieving grace, regardless of the race or races we are born into. But it sure helps to know grace when you see it, which fortunatelyt has been on ample display of late, never more evident than in the final words John Lewis wrote, or in those spoken yesterday at his funeral. There is time still for other ex Klan men like Elvin Wilson to be touched by grace and in so doing be redeemed by those who live in it with the love it takes to forgive them. But this nation can't wait any longer. It is time to turn the page on those whose eyes still refuse to open.My hope is with the young.

[brush]

1. Good post. Thank you.

[yonder]

2. As always Tom, a good post.

[Tom Rinaldo]

3. yonder, Thank you, as always, for your encouragement. n/t

[malaise]

4. I disagree with your definition of racism

That is prejudice. It becomes racism when a person or an institution denies/deny others the right to socio-economic or political opportunity because of their race or ethnicity.

I agree with the rest of your thoughts

[Tom Rinaldo]

5. Admittedly I blurred some lines. Your point is correct

Partially I worded it as I did because I was thinking about professed White Supremacists when I wrote this, including those who literally organize organizations such as the KKK which do exactly what you describe as racism. Part of it probably was use of "poetic license" which is an illogical concept since no one is granted formal permission to distort the meaning of words, for whatever purpose.

Thanks

[malaise]

7. You're 100% correct re White supremacists, KKK and other racists groups

Thanks for a thoughtful post. We're all guilty of "poetic license"

[llashram]

6. this

too bad the waters have been poisoned so bad that America is going to have to take decades, after the election, to clean up its racial, cultural and political environment.