Becoming Brave: Finding the Courage to Pursue Racial Justice Now

by Brenda Salter McNeil

Up until this point, my reconciliation work has been deeply concerned with how my message will be received by white people. I have tried to ensure that offense did not interfere with my message of diversity and harmony. I made my message easy for them to hear. But no more. I have come to realize that over the years, I was used by white-dominant culture, probably not maliciously or intentionally, but unconsciously, to make the conversation about racial reconciliation more palatable, understandable, and acceptable to them.

Promise keepers-styled individual-oriented, visual diversity that it was hoped would bring about both revival based on the holy spirit’s work as a result of that reconciliation, and a deeper reconciliation based on the close relationship between friends of different racial groups.

To study Obama’s presidency is to see a wonderful example of what John Maxwell calls “the law of timing” in his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

This law of timing offers a very different perspective from the commonly held belief that leaders are born. All of us have undoubtedly heard it said that someone is a “natural-born leader.” This expression suggests that there are certain inalienable characteristics a leader manifests that indicate his or her qualification to lead, and either you have those qualities or you don’t. The problem with this theory of leadership is that it discounts so many individuals who have tremendous leadership potential and have value to add to society but who, because they may not have been endued with certain gifts from birth, are disqualified before they even get a chance.

She finally said, “If I perish, I perish” (4:16 NIV). She decided to join in God’s reparative work in the world, knowing full well that there were no promises that everything would turn out okay. And that’s exactly what we’re being asked to do too.

That’s why I will no longer focus on simply coming together as diverse ethnic groups. Instead, my goal is to activate reconcilers to repair broken systems that are rooted in the evil of racism and resist the kingdom of God. I will not hide behind the mask of niceness or pretend not to be angry in an effort to make White people feel more comfortable with my ministry of reconciliation. I will speak my truth. I will stand in truth, and I will no longer dumb down the truth to help White people feel less guilty. To do so is to be complicit in sanitizing the truth, and I refuse to be complicit in that any longer. Reconciliation happens by repairing broken systems and engaging power, not just by focusing on relationships and feelings.