 I am amazed at the enigma presented by American-born black Christians in relationship to white folk.
There is one persona in church and then another outside.
In church, I hear wonderful testimonies in praise and worship service that belie any underlying feelings of inferiority.
Lyrics like “no weapon formed against me will prosper” or “The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid” make them feel invincible in church.
But then, a few hours after sermons of indestructibility, I would hear people cower in fear with words like, “you know they will only let us get just so far” or “white man’s foot on my neck.” (Mind you, this is not a perspective of blacks born outside the U.S.).
What has been an attitude of gratitude quickly reduces itself to tears and fears, all in a seamless moment.
They go from being God’s children and unafraid to complaining that the playing field is not level, and the only way it can be is if the almighty government dictates it so.
I thought about this when I heard an absolutely stirring sermon titled, “I Am a Grasshopper.’’
The preacher talked about Moses sending out 12 men, each from the 12 tribes of Israel, to Canaan, the land of milk and honey, to explore, as God had commanded him.
The men returned and bragged about the land being all that God had promised. All but two of them were afraid that the land would never be theirs because there were giants living there who surely would devour them.
They said, “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and looked the same to them.”
The preacher compared the ten men who were afraid to most of us. He talked about how they were not only delusional and thought the land was not accessible to them, but also how they devalued themselves and thought they were not worthy of such a reward. Much like many of us are today.
Most see giants as keeping us from reaping the rewards of the land of milk and honey, while other cultures risk death just to get here. Giants like the FCAT, racism, too many illegal immigrants, low-paying jobs, deadbeat daddies, abusive spouses, uncaring Republicans, etc., etc., etc.
They devalue themselves.
They seem to say, “We live in the ghetto - come from single mothers - are battered women.”
They feel like grasshoppers in a system of white men, referring to most of the negative things that happen to them as a result of slavery.
Robert Jensen, professor of journalism at the University of Texas, wrote of a conversation he had with a white student who was complaining about affirmative action in college admissions, wanting a “level playing field with no unearned advantages for anyone.”
Professor Jensen, who was white, suggested that just being white in America, “in a world run mostly by white people” gave them both advantages. He further asked the student if living in a world of “unearned white privilege” affected his notion of a level playing field.
The student said, “That really doesn’t matter.”
Giants!
But I, like the preacher, suggest that the attitude of giants “doesn’t matter” either.
My poem, “Racism 2000” speaks to that issue: “You say it’s racism, I say so what? Yes, there is. Always was. Always will be. But we can call the names of those we honor who made it in spite of. Who triumphed in the face of danger. Who slew the beast in his own land. Who said, ‘Still I rise.’”
The preacher said it’s alright to be a grasshopper, because in spite of giants: racism, glass ceilings, humble beginnings, broken homes, drug-infested neighborhoods, rape, incest, or poverty and crime - grasshoppers are worthy and can still live in this land of milk and honey.
We must be like the two Israelites who said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we certainly can do it.”
Because what good is it to profess strength in church and faith in God and then come outside and give power to some white folk who live with the notion of white privilege?
Either we believe or we don’t.
Barbara Howard is president of Barbara Howard & Associates, a public relations, media and governmental relations firm in North Miami Beach. She can be reached at 305-940-6674 or
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