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My Analysis Of Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression & Multiculturalism  
by John T. Crestwell, Jr.

  As an African-American male, I have never allowed issues of race and ethnicity to stifle my success, but it is obvious when you look at America and the world-over, the White/Black or White/Other-than White dichotomy is ever-present.

My first racial experience was quite introspective.  It was an “awakening” encounter—a moment when my consciousness was pricked and my worldview changed forever.  This occurred when I was sixteen years old during a stay-in-school internship at WJLA ABC 7 in Washington, DC.  I would ride the 32-bus from Alabama Avenue, in Southeast, to the TV station on Connecticut Avenue in Northwest.   I was fascinated by the dynamics of the bus as I rode from a predominately Black neighborhood to a mostly White area in N.W.  The bus went from one-hundred-percent Black to one-percent-Black and I represented the one-percent.  By the time I arrived at my stop, even the bus driver changed colors. 

When I got on the bus in my neighborhood, I saw rundown schools, dilapidated neighborhoods; trash in too many places, poorly landscaped communities, plenty of carry-outs and fast-food “joints”, almost no sit-down restaurants and several liquor stores. 

In contrast, when I got off the bus on Connecticut Avenue in Northwest, I saw people walking their dogs, couples walking on the sidewalk— happy; beautifully landscaped lawns, quality businesses and several fine dining restaurants, I saw bikers, and people jogging.  I loved it!  But then I realized there weren’t many folk who looked like me.  Not much has changed today if you ride the 32 from Alabama Avenue to Connecticut Avenue (the south to the north—you get it?    (You can clearly see the race/class struggle in the street names too).   I know we’ve made progress in America, but this revealed to me a world that was still very separate and unequal. 

Then, when I studied African American culture in seminary, some startling statistics revealed to me that my color still plays a role in my ability to live the “American Dream”.  Look at the statistics below:

POPULATION:  Blacks 13% or 36-million of the nearly 300,000,000 (million) total pop.

POVERTY RATE:  26% Black; 11% White; 14% Asian/Pacific Islander; 27% Hispanic; National rate 13%

MEDIAN INCOME: 25,000 Blacks; $45,000 Asians; 40,000 Whites; 26,000 Hispanics

National Avg: $38,000

PRISON SYSTEM: 1,023,572 inmates in federal and state systems

488,000 are Black (48% of population); 364,000 White (35% of pop), 171,000 Other--17% of prison pop. Note: Blacks are 13% of the US population showing a disproportionate # in prison

1 in 3 Black males are involved in the criminal justice system in some capacity.

1 in 15 Black males are incarcerated. 

1 in 10 Black men addicted to drugs

35% of African-American men 18-25 are unemployed

Black youths are 30-times more likely than Whites to be detained for drug offenses.

African-Americans have the highest death rate, excluding the elderly.

Sources:  American Correctional Association; Bureau of Labor Statistics; Census Bureau; Federal Bureau of Investigation

What do you see?  What do I see?  I see that racism is alive and well unfortunately.   When you look at a globe what do you see?  What countries are considered “industrialized” and “First World,” juxtaposed against those countries that are seen as “developing” or “unindustrialized” or “Third World”?  When you look at the world with open eyes, you see the continent of Africa, places like Brazil, Haiti, India, many Arab nations, and East and Southeast Asia as Third World.  Then there are the First World countries we are all quite familiar with—  England, Germany, Spain, France, and America, among other European entities. 

Look at a globe closely and those countries above the equator are Northern Hemisphere (mostly Europe), and below Southern Hemisphere (mostly poor nations).  It is the Heaven/Hell metaphor come to life.  That which is good is up or north, and that which is bad is below or south.  The globe and the street names signify that racism is breathed in our culture.  It’s quite simple, those in power make the rules, structure the world (most of them are White), therefore, you have overt and covert oppression and a one-race superiority syndrome is projected into our midst.  Of course, there are some exceptions to what I am saying when you look at a globe or at the world, but for the most part, much of America and the world-over is forced into living a Euro-centric cultural mythos and it is very much White/Black or White/Other oriented.

It became obvious to me when I was sixteen and now that I’m thirty-five, that socially, politically and theologically we have “miles to go before we sleep”—a long way to go to solve the race problem in the world!

How do we live the first UU principle then, that challenges us to respect the inherent worth and dignity of all human beings?  How do we create Dr. King’s beloved community where we sit at a round table of mutuality not a board room table of exclusivity?

My suggestion is that we must first listen more, read more and think more, as Maya Angelou suggests.  That is, we must hear the sound of those voices that have been historically muted; and we must hear from these nations of the world sincerely; their thoughts must be respected fully.   There are too many monologue mentalities.  We need more dialog in the world.  There’s much more I could say here but I will move on…

Second, we all need more exposure to other cultures!  I have friends who’ve spent considerable time in the military.  Many of them have told me how this changed their worldview.  As my friends traveled throughout different parts of the world, they saw thousands of non-Americans living by a different code.  They saw different diets; experienced different religions and different customs, different mores and folklores.   “What sort of God or nation could condemn all of these people?” is what they shared with me.  The lesson for them was that life was much bigger than one religion’s exclusive claim.  What’s the point?  The point is WE ALL NEED A HEAVY DOSE OF MULTI-CULTURLISM.  This is my first solution.  We have to shed our Euro-centric/American arrogance and learn more about other people and nationalities. 

Third, we have to let go of superiority syndromes and understand that systems may be superior to other systems (Democracy is brilliant in theory but flawed in praxis) but there are no superior and inferior races.  This sounds like an abused point over the years, but I really don’t think we get it still…

The last two points go together with the others…   Solution 4 is that we must develop a new story that embraces all people.  We cannot accept a story that is built upon one-race dominance.  This is where the ideology of Joseph Campbell comes into play.  Mother Culture is what he called “the song of the universe.”  Her (Mother Culture’s) tune is similar all across the world but based on where you live and what you learn and are exposed to, you sing a variation of her song.  Therefore, we must find a song that embraces diversity instead of erases!     This song is like listening to jazz or to a symphony where many instruments play their part; each one important; each one contributing in its own way.  And when it all comes together, it is beautiful music— a polyphony of sight, sound, color, motion and emotion.  This is the beloved community.  Perhaps in this generation and perhaps the religion we call Unitarian Universalism can begin to say with boldness, “I ‘aint gonna study hate no more!”    “I’m creating a new reality that nurtures, embraces, and loves all people.”   You know, we have the power to change or world!   We must deconstruct any mythology that divides instead of unites.  Dr. King said it well, as I close:   “We must learn to live together as brothers and sisters or we will perish as fools.” 

I leave these words in the memory of David Eaton, A. Powell Davies, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Might their example live on and live in me!  Let it be so!

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