In People of the Dream: Multiracial Congregations in the United States, Dr. Michael Emerson analyzes the history of race in America and the problems for churches who want to be multiracial. One of the biggest challenges to multiracial churches and churches in general is the use of power of the dominant group. He said, “In the United States, white Americans have held and hold the greatest power…Their influence is disproportionate to what would be expected. At the same time, when whites are not the most powerful group in multiracial congregations, they seemed to struggle the most with this reality, be the most upset by power imbalances, have the least ability to deal with such situations, and be the most likely to leave.”[1] Dr. Emerson is white by the way. His analysis comes from his own experience and research. Now this might sound very controversial to my white brothers and sisters in Christ, but before tuning out everything I say, please take a moment and consider the reality of majority culture versus minority culture. This statement made by Dr. Emerson is not an attack on white America, it is simply an observation.
Any culture that is in the majority culture exhibits some type of power over those who are in the minority culture. This power is not necessarily bad or wrong, though it can be misused. Have you ever gone to someone’s house and played spades or monopoly? Nine times out of ten I would bet that each one of the homes you have visited has their own particular rules for the game. If you don’t play by those rules, then you don’t get to play. You are in the minority in this instance. Your vote counts, but it is usually overruled especially in games like spades or monopoly. You can protest, but that won’t do you any good. You only frustrate yourself. It would be as if I went to David Stern, NBA Commissioner, and told him that basketball should be played with 8 people on the floor, 4 players starting on both teams. What if I make it more interesting and told David Stern that the NBA should not only have 8 people on the floor but also that they should have all guards and no centers, one referee for every player, and 3 pointers count as 1 point. Imagine what would happen…done imagining? …You guessed it, David Stern would either be rolling on the ground laughing at me or like the Rock (a WWE wrestler), give me the people’s eyebrow in disbelief.
Dr. Emerson travelled to many multiracial churches over the course of an entire summer, spending weeks in each church that he visited. He observed the power dynamics between whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians and saw how power was misused by the dominant group. Dr. Emerson’s observations do not apply to all of the multi-racial congregations he visited, however they do provide the church with a set of issues to begin dialoguing about the misuse of power in majority groups, whether black or white. According to Dr. Emerson, “Dominant people and groups used power to:
- Declare what styles of music will and will not be used
- Determine what historical religious leaders looked like racially
- Decide which teachings to emphasize, and which to downplay
- Determine what religious education literature to use
- Decide which pictures or other art goes on the walls
- Declare who the spiritual heroes are and why
- Decide which aspects of history to remember and how to interpret the past
- Decide who is mature in their faith, and who is not
- Determine how much race and ethnicity will be talked about
- Declare that race is not important and will not be discussed
- Declare that the race of those in leadership does not matter
- Look at and treat the non-majority groups with paternalism
- Force others to assimilate or leave the congregation
- Determine the culture through which the faith will be interpreted
- Determine the culture through which faith will be practiced
- Make others feel powerless
- Remain ignorant about other cultures
- Determine if change will happen and the pace of change (almost always slowly)
- Make people feel small, unimportant, like outsiders
- Deny having power”[2]
If you are in the majority group, then these observations may be hard to swallow, understandably so. I know exactly how it feels to be in the majority group. I grew up in the Bahamas, a country that is 85% black. As someone who grew up in a black majority country, I never thought about race and power imbalances between races. It wasn’t a part of my life. Yes, they were some white Bahamians, but they mostly kept to themselves. The white Bahamians that did integrate with the rest of the majority of black Bahamians assimilated in every way, and so there was no clear distinction between a white Bahamian and a black Bahamian, other than skin color of course. I know what it means to decide what is acceptable culturally and what is not. I know what it means to remain ignorant about other cultures and make those in the minority cultures feel inferior. Haitians, Jamaicans, and Cubans were the minority culture during the time that I lived in the Bahamas. They all had to assimilate into the majority black Bahamian culture if they wanted to be successful. Those who didn’t assimilate remained in relative poverty.
When I came to the United States, I had to assimilate into American culture. I learned that all black people in America are African-American and are identified by race rather than ethnicity. Black Africans, Bahamians, Jamaicans, Haitians, Puerto Ricans
The American Christian church must become more race conscious than the secular church, which is leading the way in race relations through diversity programs, affirmative action, urban studies, and civil rights education. The American Christian church needs to commit to an internal analysis of its own misuse of power within its organizations. The kingdom of God is calling for those who are bold enough to humble themselves under the ultimate majority power found in Christ Jesus. God is calling a people to himself that include those of every race and ethnicity. The United States, one of the most diverse and powerful country in the world, is in a unique place in history to use its power and diversity as a force to be reckoned with. Secular institutions think the answer to bridge the racial gap between black, brown, and white is education. I believe, however, that education is a part of the solution. The real solution is found in the gospel of Christ, who humbled himself even to the point of death, so that we might be reconciled to God the Father. Man’s place in God’s kingdom should be the church’s ultimate concern. For churches wishing to practice racial reconciliation, those in the dominant groups must look at ways in which they have misused power so that those in the sub-dominant groups might become involved in the power structures for the glory of God, who confounds the wise and strengthens the weak.
