Race and Grace
His name was Bob*. He wanted to talk to me.
And I did not want to be bothered.
Instead, I desired to be tucked away in my mind, left to my own thoughts.
If Jesus had decided to return at that moment, it would have gotten awkward.
After experiencing a tug on my heart to engage, I went with it.
Darn, that tug.
Apparently, “the flesh is weak, but the spirit is willing” applies to more than the gluten-free lemon bars at the local bakery. Last week, I was thankful for going with the spirit… at least regarding the conversation.
Bob, the Uneducated White Man
Bob grew up in the mountains of Appalachia. Although he resides far away in a faster paced life, he longed for home.
Home was where life was more simple, filled with the love of his mom and good times with friends.
Home was where his tough grandfather made moonshine.
Shotguns were a tool of survival for Bob’s family. His father would hunt to supply food for the family.
No grocery stores.
No farmers’ markets.
Just his dad’s knowledge of the environment and hunting skills.
The water they used came from a nearby spring.
Yearly, his mother would trace their feet on cardboard, so his grandmother could make new shoes.
As Bob and I shared about life, I thought about the recent popular narrative about racist “uneducated White men.”
Every time I hear the term I cringe inside.
Besides, it seems like there are droves of rich racist White men, too.
I have an issue with the way the term “uneducated” has been used.
Often under the guise of disseminating demographic data, “uneducated” has been hurled as an insult.
Last time I checked, insulting someone’s personhood is not an effective way of winning someone over. Being kind might not win them, yet, we walk away standing in the fullness of your own power.
I believe “educated” encompasses more than completing a course of study at a private or public school.
Because of my belief in the benefits of formal academic training, I have preached the merits of formal education.
But that’s not the point.
The issue lies in the self-righteous ways we relegate people who have not completed post-secondary education or high school to the margins.
I know a thing or two or more about self-righteousness.
I have fallen enough on my behind to get a healthy dose of reality checks.
I have regular occurences where I am invited to confront ego and pride.
In other words, this is not a meta moment where I self-righteously critique people for their self-righteousness as a response to another group’s self-righteousness.
In reality, the world-the universe- is our classroom.
Our experiences are the classrooms.
Bob and his father might be considered “uneducated” according to the advanced post-secondary educated people who look down on those without one or White people from Appalachia. I invite us to reconsider how we let politics blind us to the point of losing sight of our values and principles.
Why Sink to Their Level?
If people act racist, why sink to their level? We can challenge racism without putting people down about their education.
If education makes one a better person then why don’t we demonstrate this high character in how we approach said “uneducated White people?”
I am aware of how the “uneducated” argument was used against Black people post-slavery to the point of disenfranchising us and questioning our ability to lead, from political offices to the world of commerce.
Now that Black people are receiving postsecondary education, many of us feel justified in putting down White people who have not.
I feel uncomfortable with this dynamic.
There is a line between identifying demographic information to understand a phenomenon and using it to demean a group of people. I have noticed the crossing of this line repeatedly.
I understand why people, (not just People of Color) who are tired of the racism, use this tactic to inspire change.
I have experienced “uneducated White people” hurl insults about my intelligence because I write and speak about racial issues or just because they feel entitled to do so.
I have observed numbers of “uneducated White people” who rely heavily on their sense of racial superiority.
Although I have stories for days, I do not feel compelled to stoop to this level.
I have not reached a point, where I am ready to shred every fiber of their dignity verbally.
Either way, putting people down about their education is a hands-off issue for me.
Putting down uneducated White men is no better than the White people, who, generations ago, put down poor, uneducated Black people. It is no better than the ones who still do it.
If I let a racist person draw me away from my principles, then what good has all of my education achieved?
The Substance of a Person
I think there is more substance to a person than formal education.
Bob expressed deep frustration with racism and a host of social problems. “Uneducated” Bob had much more nuanced thinking about social issues than a lot of church going highly educated White men who refuse to confront their problematic beliefs.
He seemed more educated than the White college students who have Black-face and other racist-based parties.
Bob pointed to a way of having a healthy White identity without a White supremacist or a White savior complex.
As we discussed his Appalachian roots and his love for them, I felt thankful that I stepped out of my introvert shell to connect with a fellow human.
The way of Christ challenges people and calls us to a more authentic version of themselves without dismissing them because of favorite status markers.
It seeks to connect to people in ways that we walk away from the encounter changed.
As Bob spoke, I thought about how Jesus would marvel at the faith of those who were not the Jewish or the religious elite.
At that time, the most religious people in formal leadership were too educated and self-righteous to believe Jesus.
Many churches emphasize how Jesus changed lives. Yet, I think there is something to be said about how Jesus was changed and moved as he interacted with people of different backgrounds.
According to the dominant U.S. perspectives, you might expect the most educated people to have nuance in thinking about the world, but I have found that some of the wealthiest insights come from people with the least amount of formal education.
Some words stick with me longer than ones from a classroom in a brick building.
You cannot buy critical thinking at a school.
You cannot buy a revelation of Christ at a Christian school, either.
Our systems of knowledge benefits the world. When we privilege them over all forms of knowledge and ways of acquiring wisdom, we become the truly uneducated ones.
Three Points of Wisdom from Days 92-98
1. Two wrongs don’t make a right even if the person seems racist and get on your nerves.
2. When we expand our definition of education, we extend our access to knowledge and wisdom.
3. If you have formal education, be thankful, not prideful, so you keep a clear vision people’s dignity.
*pseudonym
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