I was very conscious during my time in the USA that the matter of race is never very far from the surface. And when I say race I mean of course the treatment of African Americans both in history and now. Somehow, especially in a southern state like North Carolina there is often something that touches on the issue of race. And although slavery was abolished in 1865, African Americans were not given anywhere near the same rights as white Americans until the 1970s. And it is open to debate about whether or not African Americans are truly equal in society now.
One of most interesting places I visited during my stay in the USA was the International Civil Rights museum in Greensboro. This looked at how the campaign by African Americans for equality and an end to segregation, developed.
The museum is housed in an old Woolworths store and this store played an instrumental part in the Civil Rights movement. On 1st February 1960 four black students entered the store and went up to the Whites only cafeteria and sat down. They each requested something from the menu and were refused service because the café was Whites only. Their action led to a whole lot of similar protests around the country.
I was expecting a fairly traditional museum with exhibits in cases. So I was really surprised by this excellent modern museum that tells the story of the Civil Rights movement through film, exhibits and a guided tour. (Our guide was excellent. A young African American guy who passionate about his subject but avoided being too preachy by use of some nice touches of humour.)
I was aware of course of the segregation that had existed in the South. But I had not appreciated the extent. For example not only were there separate Whites and Coloreds (sic) waiting rooms at bus stations, there were separate Coke vending machines. With the Coke in the Colored room costing 10 cents as opposed to 5 cents in the White room. There were countless other examples.
But there were a couple of things that I was pleased to note. Firstly our guide pointed out that a good many White people were active in their support of the Civil Rights movement. (In a montage of mug shots of people arrested for protesting, there were a good number of White people including a priest from one of the northern states.)
Secondly our guide emphasised that the Church played a big part in the Civil Rights movement. And of course Rev Dr Martin Luther King is perhaps the most famous church leader in this respect.
And yet sadly the Church, or at least certain parts of it, did play a part in condoning segregation. Anne and Tom visited a place called Old Salem. This was a town founded by Moravian Christians – you’ll remember that it was through an encounter with Moravians that John Wesley was greatly influenced. Sadly what Anne & Tom learned was that although originally the church in Old Salem was welcomed both white people and slaves, in time the church segregated so that the blacks had to have their own church.
Wednesday, 28th August marked the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s famous
“I have a dream” speech in which he set out his hopes for black people in the USA to be treated equally.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
When we were in Washington DC one of the museums we visited had an exhibition about the anniversary. And what I hadn’t fully appreciated was that Dr King’s speech was only one of a number of speeches given that day. And whilst his was perhaps the headline act, some of the other speeches were equally important and relevant.
The exhibit played several short films showing some of the speakers and one caught my attention. He was a Rabbi - Rabbi Joachim Prinz.
Rabbi Prinz had fled Nazi Germany in 1937 and settled in America. In his speech on 28th August 1963 Rabbi Prinz made this comment:
"As Jews …. our fathers taught us thousands of years ago that when God created man, he created him as everybody's neighbor. Neighbor is not a geographic term. It is a moral concept. It means our collective responsibility for the preservation of man's dignity and integrity.
It is for these reasons that it is not merely sympathy and compassion for the black people of America that motivates us. It is above all and beyond all such sympathies and emotions a sense of complete identification and solidarity born of our own painful historic experience"
Today we celebrated the Covenant service at Stratton. And also in British Methodism today was designated as Racial Justice Sunday. I mentioned Rabbi Prinz’s speech in the context of our Covenant service, as in the service we look back to the Covenant God originally made with the Jewish people but subsequently extended to all people through Jesus Christ. And that covenant is founded on love.
The words I read from the Worship Book explain:
"God made a covenant with the people of Israel, calling them to be a holy nation, chosen to bear witness to his steadfast love by finding delight in his law.
The covenant was renewed in Jesus Christ our Lord, in his life, work, death and resurrection. In him all people may be set free from and sin and its power, and united in love and obedience."
It was love of fellow human beings that made over 250,000 people attend the rally in Washington DC in 1963. It was a desire of Christlike love to see African American people being treated equally and compassionately.
Often when we think of showing Christ’s love we think in terms of acts of kindness and compassion. Acts of generosity. Acts of charity. And yet I feel that is only part of what it means to show Christ’s love. Or perhaps more accurately to be more Christlike. For being Christlike means showing love through acts but it also means being prepared to challenge. Being prepared to speak out. Being prepared to show that there is another way. The way of God’s Kingdom.
I remember having a conversation with a friend about this once and how we sometimes feel as Christians we are not to rock the boat and how we are called to turn the other cheek. How we are supposed to be nice. And my friend said to me:
"Don't be nice. Be more like Jesus..."
And that is true. Of course Jesus was “nice”. Of course he was kind and compassionate. But equally he could be challenging and forthright. The classic illustration of this is his conduct towards the money changers in the temple. But throughout his ministry Jesus set out to challenge the hypocrisy of the authorities and to challenge things that were not worthy of the Kingdom of God. So when we are being Christlike we’re not just being compassionate, we are being challenging too.
In his speech on 28th August 1963 Rabbi Prinz also said this:
“When I was the rabbi of the Jewish community in Berlin under the Hitler regime, I learned many things. The most important thing that I learned under those tragic circumstances was that bigotry and hatred are not the most urgent problem. The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence.”
And he goes on to relate how in Nazi Germany the vast majority of people became onlookers:
“A great people which had created a great civilization had become a nation of silent onlookers. They remained silent in the face of hate, in the face of brutality and in the face of mass murder.”
In the context of America 50 years ago Rabbi Prinz felt that most Americans were onlookers when they should have been speaking out against the injustice of racism.
The powerful words we hear in the Covenant Service remind us that
"Christ has many services to be done:
some are easy, others are difficult;
some bring honour, others bring reproach;
some are suitable to our natural inclinations and material interests,
others are contrary to both;
in some we may please Christ and please ourselves;
in others we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves.
Yet the power to do all these things is given to us in Christ, who strengthens us."
And it seems to me that in our Covenant service we promise that we will show Christlike love. But also we promise before God that we will be Christlike by not being silent onlookers. To quote Paul in his letter to the Ephesians 6
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
IN John’s Gospel chapter 15 Jesus reminds us that with him in our lives we will be Christlike.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
If we truly are one of Christ’s branches then we will be like him and we will bear fruit. We will show love and compassion. But we will also be prepared to speak out against injustice. We will speak out against sin. But we will do so in love and through love.
In this country the voice of Christ’s followers is not heard like it once was. But that does not mean we can be silent onlookers. If we see injustice we must speak out. If we see things that are morally wrong we must speak out. For Christ is the vine and we are the branches. And if we are connected to Christ we must be Christlike.
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
