Dear Caldwell,
That’s right – I hit the jackpot. Just not that jackpot.
No, I am not suddenly $1.3 billion richer thanks to the Powerball lottery. But I am “rich” in some ways that are just as random. I didn’t choose or earn my birth as a white, male, able-bodied heterosexual into a middle-class family that believed in education and gave me every opportunity it could make possible. I didn’t choose to be raised in a nation that has for centuries slanted the playing field in favor of people who look like me over most all other types of people.
In a real sense, all that was how I hit the jackpot in life as I told an Uptown audience in a speech in 2014 at the time of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. That was my disclaimer as I sought to respond to their invitation to speak on the subject, “What might Dr. King say if he came to Charlotte today.”
Knowing that I had big blind spots and true points of ignorance from my social location that would limit my perspective, I endeavored to answer the question as best I could. Relying on input from my friend Willie Ratchford among others, I responded that Dr. King might well be profoundly proud and profoundly disappointed, at once. (Those remarks here.)
Some refer to the jackpot of my life and others as “unearned privilege.” There is truth in that, that the accident of my birth and the blessing of my parentage were under-girded by advantage that whites in America received at tragically high costs paid by African-Americans over 350 years. Those costs continue to be exacted through hidden institutional and societal bias, as I wrote in last week’s blog.
As people of faith, these realities shape our response to God’s grace and call to build the kingdom of God on earth. For people like me, that starts with an ongoing, ever-deepening recognition of the injustice of all lives that are undercut by the continuing injustices of racial and other types of discrimination today. But it is more than realization and education. There must be action that flows from our deepened understanding, action that is en-couraged by Christ and shaped by what Dr. King liked to call “the fierce urgency of now.”
As I mentioned Sunday in my sermon, we are given “ … the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” We are also given the church as an “earthen vessel” to hold Christ’s Gospel of love, mercy and justice. The “vessel” that is Caldwell church consists of many different types of clay. Our unique call is to blend into a church family that understands all the walks of life that led our diverse membership to find a home here. With race as one of our types of diversity, racial reconciliation is one of most important callings, pursued with both a recognition of our imperfections and a dedication to showing the gentle love of Christ in relationship with one another.
As one who hit the jackpot, I continue to try to respond to that call and invite you all to redouble your own commitment. An immediate way to show that commitment, where ever you are on this journey, is to march with Caldwell in the MLK Parade Saturday morning. We will gather here at Caldwell Saturday morning at 9. The parade starts at 11 and we should be done by 1. If you are unable to walk, a limited number of people can ride on the float.
Then on Sunday, our opportunity to deepen our journey with all of this continues when James Ford will be our guest preacher for MLK Weekend. James was part of the event we hosted on the re-segregation of our schools in the fall. He was the 2014-2015 N.C. Teacher of the Year and is an ordained minister. More about him in Caldwell This Week at the end of the week.
Finally, I hope to see you at the Wednesday night supper Chili Cook-Off tomorrow night at 5:30, with a program looking at the range of our Missions and Justice ministries and how you can get involved.
In Christ,
John