Healing the Sin of Racism Requires Repentance and Hard Work, Say New York Episcopalians
Episcopal News Service. April 4, 1991 [91090]
If Episcopalians do not understand that racism is a sin, they will not understand the full meaning of salvation either, according to the keynote speaker at a recent conference in the Diocese of New York on "Healing the Sin of Racism."
"Racism is idolatry," said the Rev. Canon Lloyd Casson, vicar of Trinity Parish in New York City, during his keynote address to the conference on March 16. "There is only one way that we will be able to heal the sin of racism and that is first of all by acknowledging our guilt and our sickness and our need for healing...."
Casson told the conference's 200 participants that although there has been some improvement in the status of people of color in the United States, the persistence of racism continues to plague ethnic communities in America, including higher rates of infant mortality and homicide, a serious drug problem, overt racial hostility, and police brutality. He said that racism has an overwhelmingly destructive character in the way it "latches on and chokes everything in its wake -- households and institutions."
The Episcopal Church has all too often been identified as the defender of the status quo, according to Casson, and has dealt with societal problems as "social workers" rather than through understanding racism theologically as "a manifestation of the deepest human sin."
Casson said that the Episcopal Church had a long history of slow progress in dealing with slavery and racism because it was "afraid of schism." He pointed out that the Episcopal Church often lagged behind more outspoken denominations in the area of civil rights and had included defenders of slavery.
Casson exhorted the Anglican Communion to begin the process of healing. "Because the Anglican Church is comprised of so many races, it is in a special place to lead the way," he said.
The conference, sponsored by the Racism Task Force in the Diocese of New York and the Task Force Against Racism of Trinity Parish in New York City, provided workshops that focused on four arenas in society in which the sin of racism can be found -- economics, the criminal justice system, educational systems, and within environmental decisions and concerns.
In the workshop that addressed issues in the economic arena, participants emphasized the importance of supporting banks that, in turn, support small businesses. They also underscored the need to support political candidates who are committed to racial justice.
In the workshop that addressed issues involving the criminal justice system, one woman spoke about "black-on-black" crime and racism within her largely black community. "I'm glad that white people are concerned about what they have done to us in the past, but I am living in today, and I am frightened all the time," she said.
The Rev. Canon Cecil Williams, rector of St. George's Church in Brooklyn, and the workshop's cofacilitator, responded by exhorting the black community to work to heal itself, emphasizing that the same abilities available to mobilize in the white community are available in the black community as well.
In the workshop that addressed issues involving multicultural education, the Rev. Canon Frederick Williams urged participants not to be afraid to ask for help in the struggle against racism. He urged them to seek out new people in their community, warning against what he referred to as the "club mentality" of the Episcopal Church. Williams said, "The challenge is to do something and quit talking so much. If we seize the opportunity, the healing will begin."