Day 72

I don’t have many fond memories of my life in Stockton, California, but its melting pot of culture gave me an invaluable appreciation for racial differences.

Cambodian, Vietnamese, black, Hispanic, Laos, white, Thai, Taiwanese, Filipino—I was among so many other ethnicities I wouldn’t be able to name them all.

I never knew anything different until I moved to Memphis.

It was only a year after living here that I personally experienced racism.  A white girl dating a black guy in the south is not received well.  A black guy dating a white girl is not received well either—racism from both ends.  It was a sad, but meaningful experience.  It taught me so much, and ignited a passion for racial integration that I had never before felt.

I love Memphis, and it’s a great city, and God has called me here for many reasons.  We’ve come a long way, but we’ve got so much further to go.  I’ve got so much further to go.

This weekend, I was reminded that racism isn’t confined to black and white.  Bryan said, “Racism is universal, because pride is universal.”

What do you really think or express in your safest moments?  What is your reaction when someone of another race cuts you off in traffic?  Do you assume the worst of the other ethnicity?  What is your reaction while you’re standing at the ATM and someone of another race waits behind you?  Is there service without brotherhood? You may serve your community, but who do you invite to sit personally at your dinner table?

We all possess some sort of racism in our hearts.  And I think as we move forward, and as I move forward in my OYC, it is important to intentionally love others.  I want to fight the battles within my heart, and I never want to say, through words or actions, that “my whiteness is more important than my Christness.”  Racism is the failure to understand and live out the Gospel.  We are called to love all—not just those who look like us, dress like us, or live like us.

I want to be intentional, because my God is intentional.  I used to say I don’t see color, which may be a very well-intentioned statement, but God didn’t create us blindly.  “He didn’t pull a Stevie Wonder,” Bryan laughed in this weekend’s sermon.  Instead He was very intentional in creating us, purposely making us to be different.

I am so thankful for all those who have fought and strained and pursued equality.  If not for them, I wouldn’t have my cousins.  If not for them, I wouldn’t have my friends.  If not for them, I wouldn’t have my church.  If not for them, I wouldn’t be here.  Happy birthday, Dr. King!  You've taught the world not to stand idle, but to be passionate and intentional.

Find a cause worth fighting for and don't sit on the sidelines.

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality...I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”—Martin Luther King, Jr.