A few bad apples with implicit bias or a social institution that oppresses.
The typical white experience in society is much different than the typical black experience; result: we often interpret the same bad event differently. This even effects interpretations of Scripture; there is no NT theology of justice in white evangelical theology.
Two examples:
1. A white person who was loving and giving, who wouldn't hurt a flea, was puzzled by BlackLives Matter. What was going on, who started it and why? To her, BLM seemed like an over reaction.
2. A loving black man from Mississippi, a gentle giant, told us the following true story. As a third grader in a school system that was slowly but grudgingly integrating, his teacher herself discriminated against Phillip. The very institution designed for a good purpose---education---had itself become a system of oppression. Phillip was deeply traumatized. As he retold the story years later as an adult, he was reliving the trauma.
Most whites experience the criminal justice system as a good thing, necessary to preserve law and order, catch and punish criminals. Most blacks are deeply conflicted about the police who are the frontline of the criminal justice system. Blacks too want and need law and order. But what if these same police also engage in widespread racial profiling, harassment and even brutality.
Black Lives Matter is protesting the bad side of police practice. This is much more than few bad apples; it involves a whole system that oppresses.
Implicit bias training is good, but alone it is not good enough. We must identify and destroy systems of oppression. The church must do Jubilee justice.
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