Our "Dirty Little Secret?"
On Sunday during our worship service, a long-time member whose young adult daughter had attended GA related her daughter's account of some racial incidents during GA. This was the first I had heard of it - young UUs of color being mistaken for hotel employees, for one.
Well today I found out that there is much more to this issue. Apparently during the closing ceremony, there was a racially charged incident outside the arena, which resulted in the cancellation of the final GA dance. I was oblivious to all of this, having skipped the closing ceremony to get a good night of sleep. These incidents definitely have the attention of the UUA (here's a letter about it from the UUA Board), and it's sparked a lot of debate in the UU Blogosphere, particularly on the FUUSE website.
From my reading of the 57 (and counting) comments on FUUSE about this issue, here's what seems to have happened: an adult white male challenged a group of youth of color about their "right to be there" in the hall outside of the arena (where the closing ceremony was being held), because some or all of them were not wearing nametags; the youth reacted strongly to this challenge, and a shouting match ensued; finally, a minister became involved (on the side of the adult) and exchanged words with one of the youth. It got physical to the point where someone "had to be restrained." Ugly stuff. I wasn't there, so I don't claim to know what really happened, but that's my interpretation of what I read. Some of the commenters attribute it to end-of-GA fatigue and/or ageism rather than racism.
Reading about this issue and considering how white and middle-class my congregation is (and my previous congregation, and GA, and by extension, the UUA) makes me think about the other institution I'm deeply involved with. The Marine Corps is the most thoroughly integrated (racially, anyway) group I've ever been in. Marines are "dark green" or "light green," not black or white, and there is an effective system for dealing with incidents (or perceptions) of prejudice. It's not perfect, of course, and as I was just reminded, a "dark green Marine" might not agree with my perception of racial harmony in the Corps.
At any rate, there are a lot more people of color in my workplace than in my congregation. I would guess they feel comfortable in the Corps because of a shared ethos and common interests, whereas I've been told by a black woman that our congregation "just wasn't her people." Hmmm. Seems we have some work to do.
posted by Greg @ 8:28 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Ahem.
CC
Greg,
Throughout my life I have observed that those with similar interests, values, and backgrounds tend to congregate together - regardless of race/ethnicity/class. UUism may initially bring together those whose values are similar, but I am not sure that common values alone forge the strongest bonds between human beings, amongst members of a congregation - shared backgrounds, interests, and experiences also seem to be essential to creating a web amongst friends.
Hence, seeking racial/ethnic/class diversity in our congregations as a goal in and of itself may be unachievable, if we fail to recognize that to a certain extent our race/ethnicity/class may be inexorably tied to/defined by our background, interests, and experiences.
So if a non-white, non-Anglo Saxon, "other than middle class" individual finds that a particular UU congregation isn't "their people", it is possible that the individual failed to make a connection with other members due to a lack of shared commonalities, not a bias on the part of either. And we cannot, no matter how hard we try, change our past; nor can we alter how our past has defined who we are. We can however refuse to allow ourselves to "stick with what we know". We can reach out to newcomers and make them feel welcome. We can seek to identify the commonalities amongst members and friends in our congregation and focus on them as we build the bonds among us all. We cannot however ensure that every person who walks through the doors of our congregations will connect with the group and the individuals within.
I myself as a white, middle class, college educated Northeasterner, have experienced this first hand - this lack of connection to what I thought/hoped/wished would be a UU congregation I could call home. And quite honestly, after many months of reflection, I have concluded that it is due to a lack of common interests and experiences that I continue to feel like these people in my congregation are not "my people".
Actually that is a "little: secret compared to other rather more significant dirty U*U secrets. . .
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