American Baptists proudly took part in the New Baptist Covenant Celebration in January called by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to encourage unity in spirit and mission among 30 different Baptist organizations. At that gathering of thousands of Baptists in Atlanta, Ga., participants considered what it means to live out the Luke 4 mandate. American Baptist pastor Dr. Alan Bean is executive director of Friends of Justice in Arlington, Tex. Dr. Miguel De La Torre directs the Justice and Peace Institute at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colo., where he is associate-professor of social ethics.

At January’s New Baptist Covenant celebration in Atlanta, National Ministries’ Executive Director Dr. Aidsand F. Wright-Riggins III served on a special interest session panel that examined the role of the church in issues of race facing America today.

Wright-Riggins opened both sessions of “Race as a Continuing Challenge,” attended by more than 100, with his remarks. Pointing out that it’s time to move the issue beyond race, he said, “On a deeper level, we need to deal with the insidious cancer that lies beneath the surface of everything—that is racism.”

American Baptist pastor Dr. Alan Bean, executive director of Friends of Justice in Arlington, Tex., served on the panel as well, along with Dr. Miguel De La Torre of the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colo., where he directs the Justice and Peace Institute.

The three panelists agreed that in the context of the United States’ two-tiered social system, dealing with racial issues means confronting more than Rodney King’s simple question: “Why can’t we all just get along?”

Wright-Riggins, an African-American, shared life stories of his brushes with prejudice, making the distinction that there is “a profound difference between prejudice and racism. I am talking about power plus prejudice, that’s racism—legitimized privilege for the few at the expense of the many.”

As an example, he spoke of his experience as a mid-week air traveler. Seldom does he find more than one or two fellow African-American passengers, yet approximately 12.5% of the United States population is African-American. “This says to me that African-Americans do not have the kinds of jobs that put them on those planes,” Wright-Riggins said.

Bean—a Euro-American who founded Friends of Justice, a faith-based grassroots organization that works for equal access to justice in the U.S. criminal justice system—spoke about racism in the context of old and new Jim Crow attitudes in his remarks. The “old” Jim Crow was based on the dogma of white supremacy and its tenet that African-American was inferior. The “new” Jim Crow, Bean said, considers Euro-American ways of life “normal” and expects African-Americans to conform.

Issues symptomatic of racism—racial injustice and inequality, disparities in health care, the demise of affirmative action and the rise of English-only policies, along with today’s immigration policies—are important for the church to face, Wright-Riggins said, because unequal treatment of people is a moral issue. Christians know that one God is the creator of all humankind, and that makes all of us brothers and sisters.

“As we come together in this New Baptist Covenant,” said Wright-Riggins, “it is important for us to mirror what it means to be the household of God and work through those barriers that lock some out of the systems—like schools, universities and workplaces—that prepare us for life.”

“Shouldn’t the church be at the forefront of changing society?” he asked.

De La Torre, a Hispanic, answered the question in his remarks: “The church must become a proactive agent of change in the community.”

And in that role, De La Torre said, the church must work to model the actions and commitments that will move our social systems to places of equality and justice. For example, he said, “The church should be involved in holding accountable folks in banks who charge people like me one quarter per cent more interest than Euro-Americans.”

But “how much is the church willing to change to become a new place?” De La Torre asked. “Is the church willing to put everything on the line (including its investment portfolio) to stand in solidarity with the marginalized?”

Admittedly, it can be costly to stand with those at the margins of society: “It can cost a church respectability and a pastor his or her job,” said De La Torre. Ultimately, however, when pastors preach action for change, and churches place others’ needs before their own, “the church will discover its own salvation by standing with the marginalized.”

De La Torre said some churches diversify because of their own need for political correctness, rather than to create a new community. In these cases, diversification of Euro-American churches can mean more struggles for congregations of color.

“African-American and Latino churches suffer brain drain when their members leave for Euro-American churches,” he said. “Euro-American churches serious about diversifying should ask churches of color how they can stand with them, rather than assuming they know what is best for them. Euro-American churches should strengthen churches of color, rather than steal their sheep.”

Dealing with issues of racism in the church, which means wiping away the sin of white supremacy, will be “a long, difficult and perilous” process, said De La Torre. Bean agreed: “We won’t make a lot of progress in this session, but we are starting the conversation. Maybe in 10 years we will get somewhere.”

Wright-Riggins reminded everyone: “We all need to affirm that what is important is who we are in God. Ultimately God calls us to move beyond tribe without forgetting to honor who we are. Pentecost made it possible for those obstacles to become bridges. It’s time to turn toward each other rather than on each other.”

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