Meet the Racists!

Today, I’m writing my monthly article over at a Deeper Story on racism.  Are we all racists?  Is there a little Paula Deen in all of us?  Is the social construct of race a helpful one?  If the social construct of race isn’t helpful is the term racism necessary?  Even so, aren’t we all deeply flawed when it comes to racial and ethnic differences?  Oh, you know, just trying to ask and answer the simple questions of life.  Like anything else I write about race, I do not believe I’m the expert, I’m open to disagreement and I do not speak for any other African-American but myself.  That said, here goes…

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When I heard about the Paula Deen story, I shook my head, said “man oh man,” and that was about it.  I wasn’t angry even though I am fiercely protective of African-Americans and have felt since I was 16 yrs. old that African-Americans are my people.  Not because my Daddy is African-American, that does little more than make me racially & ethnically black.  I chose to culturally identify as African-American when I was little, maybe 5.  When I was 16, that’s when I felt God himself  “called me” to African-Americans like other little evangelically-minded Christian kids grow up knowing they’re “called to” China, Jordan & Uganda.  So.  In lieu of all that, I think about African-Americans and our sordid history, our daily battles and our unique community pretty much daily.  Our issues weigh on me heavily.  Our battles are my battles.  The O.J. verdict, the Rodney King verdict, the George Zimmerman verdict all held their own weighty significance to me.

Enter Paula Deen drama.

You can read the rest of this post over at A Deeper Story. Join me?