There is a Facebook meme that says, “Race matters to racists.  The rest of us are concerned about character.”  I typically see this meme in response to conversations on building multiethnic unity in the Church or being deliberate about solving racial disparities.  The non-racist solution, according to these individuals, involves discussing love for one another and addressing generic issues like poverty, health, or education without explicitly mentioning or addressing the racial or ethnic components of these challenges.

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Myth 7: It is racist to talk about issues of race or take race into account when we act.

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It was not racist for Jesus to insert a man of another ethnicity into his Parable of the Good Samaritan to convict his followers of their animosity towards Samaritans.  Jesus knew that he could not solve their ethnic animosity with general platitudes like “everyone is your neighbor.”

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It was not racist for the Apostle Paul to preach on multiethnic unity and to dismantle ethnic hierarchies within the Church, using language that was so direct and making ethnic reconciliation such a central focus of his ministry that Paul labeled himself a Minister of the Mystery of the Gospel of Christ.

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It was not racist for Dr. King to talk specifically about how Black and White America experienced life differently every time he spoke publicly.  Dr. King knew that racial disparities couldn’t be solved by viewing them as merely a problem of socio-economic class.

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If was not racist for President Trump to restore funding to our historically black colleges.  As Ibram Kendi says, any thought, word, action or policy that increases racial disparities is racist and any thought, word, action or policy that reduces racial disparities is anti-racist.  Restoring funding to HBCUs was antiracist.

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Myth 8: Those individuals who are uncomfortable talking about issues of race are only concerned about character.

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The truth is that we are all concerned about race, even if that concern is subconscious.  And denying that we are concerned about race prevents us from being deliberate about renewing our minds and uprooting our bias.  Those who post memes like this are undoubtedly concerned about race since discussions of race triggered them to post the meme.  Why is this?  One Facebook friend confided that whenever he hears about efforts to reduce racial disparities, he reacts with resentment.  As a White male, he fears that efforts to reduce racial disparities will result in White males losing their advantages in society.  I expect this subconscious fear impacts many other Americans.