From the editor

A 2012 survey finds that increasingly more and more white Americans want to stop talking about race.

According to the Portraits of American Life study, 45 percent of white participants in 2006 said one of the most effective ways to improve race relations was to stop talking about race. In 2012, this rose to 60 percent who wanted to stop talking about race. Black participants favoring less talk about race rose from 31 percent in 2006 to 39 percent in 2012.

However, Mennonite leaders at Hope for the Future did the exact opposite: They addressed the issue head on and worked to find ways to build leadership among Mennonite people of color. This was the first gathering of Hope for the Future in which members of the dominant culture were invited to join.

White leaders from the dominant culture, including myself, were guests at this event. However, Luke Hartman, vice president of enrollment of Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Va., presented a clear challenge for us to take home.

He said that acting as a white “ally” is good, and working as an “advocate” is even better. But this isn’t enough, he said. He called on us to work as “agents of change,” as the term “agency” means, “having the power to act to create change.”

“[Agents] engage in strategic action designed to bring about ongoing organizational improvement,” he said. This requires acknowledging the privilege that members of the dominant culture have and then rechanneling that power to build up leaders of color.

During one of the Learning to Undo Racism events in Elkhart, Ind., in 2013, Stanley Green, executive director of Mennonite Mission Network, also asked dominant culture members to speak out against institutional and individual racism so that the minority culture isn’t left to do this alone. Green outlined three types of racism he observes.

First, “benign racism,” while harmful, is not malicious and demonstrates an individual’s lack of awareness. Second, “blatant racism” is directly offensive and demonstrates one’s power over another. Third, “bruising racism” often comes from individuals who have friendships with people of color and/or have completed antiracism or diversity training.

These individuals feel enlightened and therefore entitled to “define the reality” of the minority culture, Green said. They think they have good intentions, but the consequences are detrimental.

This third type of racism remains the most difficult to counter in our society and in Mennonite Church USA.

It makes me think of my work at a domestic violence shelter in Arizona. The shelter was undergoing a review of its policies. The new director suggested eliminating all house “rules” or expectations for the victims living there. She said those rules, while couched in the pretense of providing safety for the women, actually demonstrated patriarchy or the notion that “we know what’s best for others.”

This challenged the advocates at the shelter as they hesitated to let go of their authority. They feared that victims wouldn’t make the right decisions, and they wouldn’t be able to protect them.

From a distance it is easy to see the arrogance of the advocates in this situation, but perhaps it is an easier trap to fall into than anyone would like to admit.

Let this remind us that while we in the dominant culture work to act as agents, we should intentionally look to leaders of color. Only they can define their own reality.

Leaders of color, thank you for inviting others into this conversation so that Mennonite Church USA can avoid a complacent silence.