What Are You Aiming For?
A few practical things.
The first week of the release of Our Trespasses: White Churches and the Taking of American Neighborhoods into the world has been exhilarating. We’ve had two launch events, both packed to the rafters. My phone has been abuzz with text messages and phone calls. My appearance on Charlotte Talks created a little stir. I’ve permitted myself the rare opportunity to sit back and enjoy it all for a couple of days.
And, I’ve started to get questions. People are pushing back or talking about the friction that my work is raising. Sometimes they are seeking clarification. Among their questions is something like this: “What are you aiming for?”
Here’s a short list:
The demolition of I-277, Charlotte’s downtown freeway loop.
The return of land and resources to the descendants of Charlotte’s Brooklyn neighborhood.
Actual renewal, so that an area with little life thrives in a way that lives into its history, rather than using symbolism to launder the consciences of the authors of destruction.
A full reckoning of the theological and material resources of white-dominant congregations, evangelical and progressive, that brought about, justified, and then tried to hide Urban Renewal.
So, you know, just a couple of things.
It’s all unreasonable, I know. I can hear you telling me that it is impracticable and hard to imagine, but I believe in unreasonable things. It is part of my job. Plus, there’s no record that anyone said that the city was thinking too big back when they were planning to raze five entire neighborhoods. If it was good to think big for destruction, I fail to see why we can’t think big for construction.
“It’s hard, though,” you might say.
Yes, well.
People do hard things all the time when they decide that’s what matters.
I will allow, though, that we may need a few small steps along the way. Here’s one small step that will be especially appropriate for good white people: A friend called me after a talk I gave a few days ago. He had been re-thinking about legacy and responsibility, and had made a decision. He’s now in the process of changing his will so that a significant portion of his real estate holdings get directed toward a housing justice organization. He plans to spend the next months working on at least two dozen friends and companions to do the same.
There are details to work out, but the idea struck me as quite moving and appropriate. “I have wealth built on this cruel system,” he said, “and I’m responsible for re-directing it toward some of the people who were denied that wealth, or had it taken from them.” For those reading Our Trespasses, you’ll note that this is exactly the kind of step that is a possible antidote to the constant “moves to innocence” that are consistent with the habits of whiteness.1
My friend’s plan is not a magic eraser to decades or centuries of history. But it is a clear moral commitment to doing something that you can do, and using your influence to expand your commitment beyond yourself.
It’s a good place to start, until we can get the old bulldozers tuned up and ready to tear down the highway.
Leave a Review: I’ve started to get some comments. I love it. Bring me all your feedback. It is also super helpful to authors to leave reviews online. Amazon’s algorithm boosts books with lots of reviews, especially when you reach 50 or so. You do not have to have bought the book from Amazon to leave a review. Goodreads is another spot where people review books.
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Upcoming Speaking: I’ll be at Park Road Baptist for two Sundays March 3 and 10. 9:30-10:45AM. The following week I’ll be at Myers Park Baptist, 11:15AM. I’d be glad to come to your congregation or group as well.
One Last Note: It’s always a good day for Cannonball Adderly and Nancy Wilson.
That’s chapter 11 in the book. You’ll note there that I frequently refer back to Eve Tuck, an incredible scholar and theorist, and to Ched Myers and Elaine Enns, theologians whose recent writing is a “discipleship of decolonization.” Interested? Eve Tuck’s article “Decolonization is Not a Metaphor” is a great place to start.