Got privilege?

After a restful week of vacation following Easter Sunday, I spent a very intense week attending the national White Privilege Conference (18th annual) as part of my professional Study Leave this year. There were over 1,600 in attendance, mostly white, with a large percentage being school teachers or administrators.

For those not fully familiar with the often-misunderstood term ‘white privilege', this conference is not designed to rally white supremacists. Neither, however, is it designed to attack, degrade or beat up on white folks. It’s not about blame, shame, guilt, or needing to apologize for being white. 

Instead, it is a conference designed to examine issues of privilege/advantage connected to race (white), much like we are already aware of advantages connected with gender (male), sexuality (heterosexual), class (middle-upper), disability, etc. – the ways we all experience some form of privilege, and how we’re all affected by that privilege.

My interest in this topic was heightened last year when our Adult Church School class studied our denomination’s recently adopted antiracism policy, Facing Racism: A Vision of the Intercultural Community (to download a copy, click here). I am also part of a group of white progressive pastors here in Tulsa meeting monthly to understand and face our own white privilege. We are studying the book by Shelly Tochluk, Witnessing Whiteness: The Need to Talk About Race and How to Do It. I attended her workshop at the conference! 

Anti-racism work, as individuals and as a community of faith, isn’t just about recognizing how others are oppressed, and then working to right the wrongs of injustice. It’s also about understanding how us “good-intentioned inclusive white folks” have automatic (and sometimes invisible) societal and cultural advantages and opportunities not equally extended and afforded to people of color. Ultimately, it's about awareness and action.

This is a personal growth issue for me, and I’m discerning that it’s also something we must face as a congregation, one that's dedicated to inclusion and social justice. And yes, a certain level of discomfort and defensiveness is part of the process. There will obviously be much more to come, including the sermon this coming Sunday, May 7.

Blessings,

Rev. Todd Freeman