Divided By Faith
Karen McKinney co-presented the Divided by Faith presentation with Michael Emerson. While Emerson discussed the gap between Blacks and Whites in the church, McKinney used her experience as a professor in Christian higher education to relate those ideas to CCCU institutions. When Emerson finished explaining the results of his research in regard to Black-White relations between evangelical Christians, McKinney stepped in and shared some action steps to take.
According to Emerson's research, the majority of White evangelicals see race as an individual problem, one that can be overcome by befriending people of color. Black evangelicals see the problem as a larger, social issue that manifests itself on an institutional level, as well. McKinney drew from her own experiences to illustrate this more subtle kind of racism:
In 1990, I took a Baptist history class at my seminary. The required textbook included 140 pages on the Southern Baptist tradition (typically White) and 45 pages on American Baptists (also typically White). Even though the National Baptist Convention (typically Black) is the second largest Baptist group in the country, all Black Baptist groups combined into 13 and a half pages. I was livid. I said to the professor, "You can't do this to us. You're erasing our history." He responded by offering to bring a book on Black Baptist history in for me, but when I asked if he would require the entire class to read it, he said, "No, I don't really think they're interested." I said, "Do you see?" And he didn't see. I sat there and I wanted to cry and I wanted to throw that book in the trash and walk out. But I also wanted to graduate. So I sat there and just ate it.
McKinney explained, "That's institutionalized racism. The teachers weren't inherently racist, they were just teaching." The individuals do not set out to do anything destructive, but compliance with existing institutional rules and codes often is destructive to races that are not White.
An institution is comprised of many layers, some of which are more visible than others. The outer layers, those that are , include personnel, policy, program and practice and constituency. Those layers that are at the core, and therefore less visible, include the organizational structure and the mission, purpose and identity of the institution. For transformational change to take place within the institution, change must take place within those two core elements first.
If we're going to change institutions, we need to ask questions. We should ask:
1. How does what we do in our institutions oppress people ofcolor (whether it's our practices, our programs, our constituency,our mission, etc.)?
2. How does this uphold White power and privilege? This is a difficult question because the answer is invisible. You'll need to have more than one person think about the answer to get a better perspective.
3. How does what we do reinforce the racialized society? Howdo es it reinforce that paradigm of socialization?
Institutional evaluations must be thorough. "We must carefully examine everything: curriculum, hiring and enrollment practices,athletic programs, food service, library resources, everything."The evaluation must be as pervasive as race is: it must touch everything.
Before a White person at a predominantly White institution implements an evaluation process, however, he or she needs to gain a personal awareness and understanding of racialization and White privilege. McKinney lists examples of White privilege at a typical Christian academic institution:
- I can walk down the halls and into rooms andsee people who look like me 98% of the time.
- I know exactly which box to check on anyform that asks the race question.
- Almost all my teachers and administratorslook like me.
- Generally everyone understands my slang without explanation.
- Almost everything I learn and study has an Eurocentric base, unless it's pointed out as as example from another culture.
- I'm viewed as a whole person, not a category.
- I have to go out of my way to have an experience of difference or diversity.
- I never have to second guess incidents that happen and ask, "Did that happen because I'm black?"
- I never have to tone down my ethnic expressions.
If our goal is to become transformational Christ-centered higher education institutions, McKinney recommends that institutions be direct and intentional about the kinds of partnerships we establish. "Find agencies and businesses where their perspective is different from the perspective you hold. Build relationships and partnerships with them because they're coming at it from a different perspective. Learn to dialogue with them." We should beopen to the idea that there are other ways of being and doing. Referring to the area of racial harmony, McKinney reminded the audience, "If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got.