Forgiveness transforming race relations in the South

Anthony B. Bradley, associate professor of Religious Studies at King's College in New York, writing on Al Jazeera America, pointed to the aftermath of the June 17th murder of nine worshipers at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC.

"Why were [the families] so quick to forgive? . . .  [They] were simply exercising a fundamental Christian virtue. In so doing, they possibly changed the South forever in the process as Confederate flags and symbols are removed from state buildings across the South.

"When we suffer injustice, the human heart craves revenge, vindication and retaliation. . . .  [But] Christians are commanded to respond to injustice with forgiveness. . . .  [Forgiveness]  is what Christianity is all about. . . . an extension of love. . . . 

"The grace of forgiveness, in turn, empowers forgiven people to forgive others. . . . The families at Emanuel set the tone for how the rest of us should respond. . . .  [They] oriented Charleston and the whole country toward love, peace and justice.  Their act was a pre-emptive strike against social unrest, more violence and greater racial division . . . 

 "There were protests, but they were shrouded in prayer and singing. There was rage and mourning but no riots. There was despair and confusion but no retaliation. The victim’s families ushered in a spirit of unity and racial solidarity. Black and white people across South Carolina came together. . . .   

"Moreover . . . the Confederate battle flag is finally being viewed from an African-American perspective. Politicians are responding to African-Americans’ concerns about that symbol of white supremacism in communities across the country. . . .   Amazon, Walmart, Sears, Kmart and eBay are no longer selling Confederate flag merchandise. . . .  

". . . [E]xpressing forgiveness publicly does not grant freedom from the consequences of transgressions. Forgiveness is not a substitute for justice. . . .  [Dylann] Roof must still stand trial for the crimes he committed. 

"The families of the victims are now free, however, from the snare of hate and vengeance and instead are empowered by love.  At the funeral of shooting victim Ethan Lance . . .  her granddaughter Aja Risher said, 'I want my grandmother’s legacy to be what she stood for, and that’s love.'  Risher wants her death to be viewed as not in vain but as 'a catalyst for this country to change.'"

*   *   * 

At least, it seems there has been a start in that direction.   Strom Thurmond once ran for President as a "Dixiecrat" and was one of the conservative political powers in South Carolina and Washington for decades.   His son, now a state senator himself, was one of the first to declare his commitment to taking down the Confederate flag.

But we whites should not hide behind an easy forgiveness from those we harmed.   There can be no real change without our, first, owning up to the brutal and horrific treatment that white supremacy has done to our black brothers and sisters.   Even if we did not participate in the KKK or the Jim Crow laws, we have benefited -- always, even if unknowingly -- from white privilege.   Scholars and philosophers are now studying the meaning of "whiteness" as a cultural phenomenon.   A milder form of white supremacy, white privilege is insidious because we absorbed it like mother's milk as we were growing up.

Black families saying "we forgive you" can't have any true meaning for us unless we stop and think deeply about our responsibility and that of our direct ancestors -- and do something positive about the wrongs.

Ralph