The Need for Historical Honesty

My identities as Anglo-American, working class, female, cisgendered, and heterosexual interact in complex ways. The complex interaction of my white privilege and economic background led to confused feelings of disparity in my youth. While I understood that my family had fewer economic resources than many of my peers and that my neighborhood looked different than some others, my white privilege also obscured my economic disadvantages. Comfortable within western educational formats and given privileged treatment because of the normativity of whiteness in American culture, it has not been until this semester that I have made the connection between “having less” and the reality of my upbringing. The weight of my family’s financial struggles does not feel heavy to me, not only because of my parent’s frugality and emotional support and commitment, but because of my white privilege-- I was not treated “poor” the same way that a person of color would be (not that I am suggesting my family was poor-- we were working class/lower middle class). Because my life is relatively privileged in most other ways, I have been able to succeed within the public school system and employment. My achievements are seen and recognized; few members of society view me with suspicion, despite whatever criminal, economic, family, or other background I may or may not have because I present in ways that are normative. Understanding my own intersections and borders has allowed me to see my own sensitivities, blind spots, advantages, and disadvantages in a new way. This journey will hopefully allow me to help others analyze their own intersections in pastoral contexts.

Knowing that many ethnic communities are still effectively segregated and impoverished, I have a better understanding of the historical uses of power that have oppressed communities (and continue to oppress them) as well as a better ability to discern historical patterns of discrimination. I now see more clearly how our politicians and many leaders and individuals in positions of extreme privilege seek to foment racial conflict among laboring and working class individuals (often under the guise of “immigration” or “criminality”), in order to direct economic and employment frustrations horizontally instead of laterally. This pattern of positioning ethnic and racial labor groups against one another has kept Americans from seeking effective change together in labor conflicts throughout the history of our country. Better understanding the history of my country also compels me to share this knowledge. Knowing that our school systems are failing to provide our people with this kind of information, I feel it is the responsibility of our churches to help people understand these histories and the affects they have on communities and individuals today. Seeing these patterns and knowing this alternative telling of our history, I hope I can better understand the communities I may be called to serve and also promote prophetic engagement with the continuing injustices and prejudices that plague our society and keep us complicit in and ignorant of systems of injustice. These stories will elevate and contextualize the justice and community work of our religious institutions and help future generations to better understand the big and small ways that our lives interact.