When God Became White: Dismantling Whiteness for a More Just Christianity

by Grace Ji-Sun Kim

During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the AAPI community’s awareness of racial identity was even more heightened, and we all carried a keen awareness that we could fall victim to a hate crime even as we walked to work, returned home, and rode buses and subways. We were aware that we could not escape racialization, and we must remain on alert for any potential vocal or physical attacks. This is what it means to have to be conscious of racial identity daily. We live in fear that we, or a close relative, might be the next victim of racialized hate crimes. This is not something white people need to be conscious of, while people of color carry this fear constantly. When we say white people exist in privilege, power, and substance, it isn’t just related to material things. It includes their very existence—the degree of safety and security they enjoy on a daily basis. They have created a society where they are powerful, and the structure of that society ensures they retain their power.