Can "White" People Be Saved?: Triangulating Race, Theology, and Mission (Missiological Engagements Book 12)

by Willie James Jennings

Mark Hearn speaks of colorblind racism and theology and how these relate to the practices of the church. He describes colorblindness as a method of racism today, involving “the false assumption that all people begin from the same starting point, when in reality they do not.” He posits that “refusing to acknowledge the effects of color in society contributes to the meritocracy argument and thus an attitude of superiority over those who have not achieved the same,” adding to the negative perceptions of persons of Color and placing them in subordinate and marginalized places.13 It is racism that “otherizes softly (‘these people are human too’).”