black church fires -

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Hi Mary:

I liked your comments.  You are right sin is the culprit here.  But 
let me just say one thing.  

So often when race is mentioned white people seem to thing that 
people of color are looking for apologies for the past.  We are not!  
I do not want or need every white person on this list to write and 
say that they are sorry for what was done to African Americans.  That 
is not fruitful.  What would that do?  Nothing.

What African Americans want from white people is dialogue.  We need 
to be able to learn about one another.

Most of us profess to not being prejudiced.  Fine.  But do we work 
for diversity?  Meaning, if you attend a multi-cultural church, have 
you made friends with someone of another culture?  Have you had that 
person to dinner, or vice versa?  Or are you just polite and then you 
mingle with and socialize with people who look like you?

For the adults, there isn't a lot we can do but pray.  But for our 
children we can show them that people are people.  Children learn 
from watching us.  Do they see us with others or do they see us with 
the same.  How do we really feel about certain issues.  How would you 
feel if your son said he was going to marry a person from another 
culture?  Don't answer, just think.  These are the things I am 
talking about -- not apologies.  Apologies are worthless,.  It is for 
people to begin thinking about things that they might find 
uncomfortable.  And then for saved folks who may find an area in 
their life that they didn't know to exist, then to pray and ask God 
to take this out.

In that cross cultural class I mentioned in another note, I asked the 
professor how she would feel is her son brought home a black girl to 
marry.  She was very honest and she said that he first reaction would 
be that she didn't like it.  But then she said, she knew that she 
would pray about it and that in the long run it would be OK.  She had 
such an agonizing look on her face when she was answering that 
question.  I appreciated her honesty.  What she said that troubled 
her about her answer is that she couldn't just say "fine" at first.  
That something within her desired for her son to marry a person of 
their race.  That is the question.  Here was a God-fearing woman, a 
woman who professed Christ in her actions daily.  She was a light to 
me.  yet, this was an issue for her.  I hope you understand now.  And 
even if you don't respond to me, by reading this, I pray that you 
will consider these questions.  Because if it gets you to think, then 
a little bit of progress has been made.

K
_________________________________
K. L. Cabell
La Salle University
kay@pobox.com
cabellk1@alpha.lasalle.edu
http://www.emanon.net/~kcabell/

The major threat to blacks in America has not been oppression,
but rather the loss of hope and absence of meaning.

Cornel West
problem, an alcohol problem, or a drug problem
by denying it, a nation cannot deal
fundamentally with racism by denying its existence. 
White people don't like to talk about racism 
because it is ugly.
Roger Wilkins