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I wasn’t going to write about the racist pool incident that I heard about recently, but then I ran into this article and it was right on point, so I wanted to pass it on. Click here to read it… let me know what you think!
Here is a video as well… talking about what happened!
Rev. Dr. Drew G. I. Hart is an associate professor of theology at Messiah University and has 10 years of pastoral experience prior to teaching. He currently directs Messiah University's "Thriving Together: Congregations for Racial Justice" program and co-hosts Inverse Podcast with Jarrod McKenna, an award-winning peace activist from Australia. Hart is the author of Trouble I've Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism (2016) and Who Will Be A Witness?: Igniting Activism for God's Justice, Love, and Deliverance (2020). And he is also a co-editor and contributor to the recently published book entitled Reparations and the Theological Disciplines: Prophetic Voices for Remembrance, Reckoning, and Repair (Nov. 2023). Hart received bcmPEACE’s 2017 Peacemaker Award, the 2019 W.E.B. Du Bois Award in Harrisburg, PA, and most recently in December 2023 Life Esteem Ministries recognized him in Harrisburg with the Harambee Award for the Nguzo Saba Principle of Umoja—Unity for his faith-based activism and public scholarship in the community. Drew and his family live in Harrisburg, PA. View more posts
Drew G. I. Hart
This is simply unbelieveable. But then again this is what happens when people do not know Jesus (although I know many non-Christians who would be shocked as well).
Some people will never understand what it feels like to be told you’re inferior directly and indirectly all the time. It can be overcome but it takes a tremendous amount of drive and energy.
They need to see to it that those kids understand how to deal with this and rise above it.
I think the issue is greater than whether someone is Christian or not, but whether it reflects true Christianity or American Christianity-ism. From the beginning it was white Christian slave owners oppressing many times Christian slaves. It was Frederick Douglass who noted all the way back then the issue was “true Christianity” vs. “Christianity of this land”. When we don’t understand the implications of Jesus for the here and now and our responsibility to not only save people for heaven but also liberate people and empower people from poverty and oppression, then we miss the full implications of Jesus’ ministry. I don’t believe that Christ has been faithfully reflected for our world, and I want to point in house first at infantile Christians (1 cor. 3:1-3), rather than those who are not Christian.
But it is really sad to hear about such blatant and overt racism done to little children. While we know they will have to deal with it, as all of us have had to do as blacks in America, the truth is that there will remain psychological residue that they will never forget. Whether it develops into mistrust, stereotypes, hate, inferiority complexes, etc, there will be some effects as they as little children process the event that their minds can not fully comprehend at that age. And it leaves me wondering, when will the generational cycle ever end. For we could assume that they would all deal with something at some point in their lives, but not necessarily at that age and that outright racist.
“And it leaves me wondering, when will the generational cycle ever end.”
I would say, NEVER simply because within many cultures in other countries that are non-white there is a bias against those who are “darker”. I seem to remember the Shunimite woman mentioning it in the Song of Solomn.
How can it be expected to end with whites when it’s just as previlent among non-whites?
It will always be around.
Hey, what is your take on the racist comments and rulings of Sonya Sotomayor as it pertains to her being considered a Supreme Court Justice? Does it matter that she is (or at least talks like) one?
I’m inclined to believe The Young Turks got part of this backwards…
First, let’s stipulate to a few things:
-Private clubs are joined by people who see a value and a level of service they are willing to pay for.
-The management of a club has a responsibility to maintain that value and level of service.
-I do not read or hear that this was a “white only” pool club so I am assuming there were non-white members.
-There was a group of kids from the city at the pool the week before this incident and the chaperones said the kids were treated very well.
-The management was responsible for allowing this group to come in as a good will gesture since the public pools were not expected to open due to budget cuts (also – I’m sure there was a bit of business sense involved…a chance to make some extra money on this deal.) I do not see where they were being racist in any way.
-Certain club members were the ones who were offended by this group of kids being there and voiced their displeasure and made racial comments, not management.
I say – #1 Management reneged on it’s responsibility to maintain the expected level of service to it’s members (by allowing an overcrowded situation to develop) the shallow end of the pool could not accommodate that many little kids which created a hazardous and uncomfortable situation for regular pool members as well as those 60 kids.
#2 The members who made racial comments (not those who simply left the pool, which could have been simply for safety reasons) should be relieved of their membership.
Well… the manager was quoted as saying that the kids would change the “complexion and atmosphere” there. While the other racist comments were made by other members, this surely didn’t sound good being the first thing out of his mouth. And there are reports from other concerned members who after hearing about this incident, realized that it was basically all whites there. However, it is located in an extremely segregated white area anyway, so that is expected.
I’m sorry, but there response directly following the racist response from several members was ignorant and racially insensitive at its best. They have the institutional responsibility to provide a welcoming atmosphere to everyone who uses their facilities. They should not have been bumped, they should have received an apology by the club, for how their members acted. That’s my opinion at least.