Marginal Christianity

Again, we need to clarify our terms. “Systemic racism” merely refers to the policies and normative practices that create or perpetuate discrimination or prejudice against people on the basis of race. Such “systems” are carried out by people. People establish or defend such policies. It is people who accept racist norms, which consciously or unconsciously. Before we get to the starting line Here’s an analogy that I found helpful (though I can’t recall where I heard it). Imagine two black men are allowed to enter an Olympic race, which also includes white runners. However, due to various discriminatory practices in the past, the black runners do not receive the same coaching, training, and nutrition as the white runners, who have received years of professional coaching and hours of rigorous training. What will happen when they finally start their race?  On the surface, the rules of the race equally apply to all runners. They all must run the same distance and start when th...

What can we say about the meaning of racism? It seems like a self-explanatory term, at least until you start reading books, listening to arguments, and attempt to understand what people mean by the phrase “systemic racism.” Jackson Wu offers this counsel. Two Definitions of Racism Let’s start with race. “ Race ” refers to the categorization of people according to observable, biological characteristics (e.g., skin color). That’s a pretty standard explanation that stands in contrast to “ethnicity.” While the two concepts are related, “ ethnicity ” refers to the categorization of people based on shared cultural background (e.g., heritage, language, traditions, etc.) We are now ready to consider the meaning of racism. Two definitions are most common, though authors might differ in their precise wording. 1.                Racism = Prejudice The average person on the street will say that racism is prejudice ag...