Eradicating Racism

The Emergence of Critical Race Theory

The Bible teaches us that humanity has a sin problem, not a skin problem.  But we live in a fallen world and as colour-blind as we want to be, we can't help but observe the colour of people's skin.  From there, we can choose to either judge each person as an individual or we can choose to develop stereotypes and judgements based on how people look.  Critical Race Theory (CRT) is one such stereotype which says that whiteness is root cause of systemic problems in society.  One of CRT main books is called 'White Fragility' which popularised the notion that white people - and their worldview -are not permitted to have a voice in changing social norms. CRT goes against everything that Jesus death was meant to unite.  But what is the history of CRT and how did it emerge onto the scene?

​

In 2020, after the tragic death  of George Floyd, a new movement burst onto the streets of America. It was called 'Black Lives Matter' (BLM). This movement was not contained to the USA.  In solidarity, Australian indigenous activists and their allies held their own BLM protests to highlight the injustices they felt they were continuing to experience at the hands of society.  These protest saw the vandalism of and call for removal of statues of Captain James Cook.  Ironically, these BLM protests were held during COVID lockdowns when all other forms of protest were banned.  Yet, the governments proclaimed that racism was a public health issue and permitted these protests to proceed with their blessing. For democracies, these are significant developments and we should explore the impetus behind these racism protests. 

​

The drumbeat message behind the BLM protests is that systemic prejudice requires systemic change.  Nicole Hannah Jones and the New York Times released a project called the 1619 Project.  The theme is that America was not founded in 1620 when the pilgrims arrived, but instead was a pre-existing nation invaded by racist white settlers whose offspring 400 years later are still equally racist. Therefore reparations and equity policies must be implemented to right past wrongs.   Mixing history with ideology, the 1619 Project is a flagship project for implementing Critical Race Theory (CRT) into schools. 

CRTs spread is gaining pace across the globe. The Kyle Rittenhouse trial, which was an open and shut case of self-defence, was turned into a ‘white supremisit’ narrative when even no blacks were involved.  In South Africa the BLM movement is forcibly acquiring land based on race without compensation to the owners and people are losing their jobs if they won’t bow the knee to the BLM quasi-religious movement.  CRT is also merging with other other critical theories such as gender and queer theories.

​​

The phrase Black Lives Matter is brilliant.  What rational person could say that Black Lives Don’t Matter? Christians certainly believe that Black Lives Matter and that Jesus cares for and died for black lives just as much as any other life.  It's tragic that aborted babies are disproportionately black. We want justice for those unequally treated by the law and we support fair pay for equal work. Replacing the tipping culture (which falls predominately on the black community) with a genuinely fair living minimum wage and conditions is something Christians can get behind.

Just like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) said, Christians share the dream of when people will be judged by the content of their character rather than the colour of their skin.  But the phrase Black Lives Matter is very different to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Organisation which admits its ideological roots are Marxist.  Consider the subsequent censorship of the phrase ‘All Lives Matter’ which was deemed a racist slogan.   Again reflect on MLKs statement and then let that sink in.  BLM advocates for 'anti-racism.  But anti-racism is effectively reverse racism which is just plain racism.  

​

BLM the organisation is part of a broader ‘woke movement’ which coincides with a Marxist desire for systemic change to generational patterns.  The woke movement builds on identity politics - such as but not limited to race and grievances from past generations.  This mindset herds people into groups and tribes for the purpose of class warfare.  Their notion of justice is to move beyond equality and seek ‘revenge’.  Their idea of justice is to make others suffer the way they perceive that their ancestors suffered. 

​

Injustices of the past can only be replaced by injustices of the future.  

Ibram Kendi 

This is the re-heated ideology of the Bolsheviks which brought communism to the Soviet states, only this time that ideology has the power of mass promotion and enforcement enabled by modern technology.  In contrast to Critical Race Theory, the Bible has a very different message to promote.  Let's look at that now.