With the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, among many others, the country came to this flashpoint of awakening that racism is not a past but a lived experience of black and brown people. There was so much energy and moment around real change.
And then, well then, White people struck back. It came in the form of these anti-Critical Race Theory champions, removing certain history books from schools, and white people doing what white people do. However, we often miss out on a profound opportunity when we get so caught up in what these white people are doing.
There are many, and I’d include myself in this group, that want to be a part of bringing racial equity to our world but may not realize they are still biased towards black and brown neighbors.
“You cannot understand people’s stories without understanding their history. You cannot understand Black people in the present moment without understanding how history has affected them. Ignoring that history can lead to all sorts of misconceptions,” urged Dr. Terence Lester on the CBF Podcast Conversation.
Lester, the founder of Love Beyond Walls, sat down with me to discuss his new book, All God’s Children: How Confronting Buried History Can Build Racial Solidarity.
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Andy Hale is the creator and host of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Podcast. Hale is the Associate Executive Coordinator of CBF North Carolina. He’s also served as CBF’s Church Start Specialist, the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Clayton, and the senior pastor of University Baptist Church of Baton Rouge. Follow on Twitter @haleandy.