When Multiculturalism Trends...
When Multiculturalism Trends…
It will quickly become obvious to you that Common Hymnal is multi-ethnic. This, against a backdrop where racial diversity is trending in Christian churches and organizations that have been pioneered by white believers, yet not always with a careful consideration of the historic perils of white colonization. More often than not, in these endeavors, the whites retain decision-making power and financial ownership. Unity across racial lines is championed without a simultaneous commitment to tackling the systemic injustices that have plagued people of color. Therefore, you will probably never hear us throw around words like ‘diversity‘, ‘unity’ or ‘racial reconciliation’ as they are usually buzz words in these kinds of contexts. We are not pursuing a casual blending of cultures, but a just society, a world in which praise and protest live side by side.
Bishop Desmond Tutu effectively described the tragic consequences of multi-ethnic ministry where justice is not prioritized with this anecdote: ‘When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the bible and we had the land. They said: ‘let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the bible and they had the land.’
As a result, we are cautious of white-led initiatives that pursue racial diversity without a proven history and a well-thought-through commitment to tackling racial injustice, especially white-led initiatives that champion multiculturalism while boldly and confidently voting for political leaders who indulge in racist rhetoric, practices and policies. Their inattentiveness to the dissonance that the people of color amongst them will ultimately face has the potential to be extremely unhelpful. When these people of color, who are simply trying to seize opportunity and fulfill their dreams, realize that they are in communities that do not understand their life experience, and that they appear to be compromising their convictions in order to gain access to ‘white’ resources, it will be a difficult day. This reality is an all too frequent consequence of a Christianity where white privilege goes unchecked.
Therefore, we are not just pursuing diversity and unity. We are working to neuter white superiority and find a world in which non-white leaders and owners can rise up and be respected, not only for their skills, but also their ideological convictions, a world in which praise and protest live side by side.
This pursuit and these convictions will invariably put us in awkward relational situations. There is just no easy way to communicate these kinds of convictions without awkwardness. We are not trying to insult anyone but trying to do what we believe Christ has put on our hearts to do. We intend to do our best to navigate the lay of the land with conviction, courage and dignity.
Malcolm du Plessis
