"Don't look away. This is history. This is Our history."
We could assume that the shop owner had no right to share this lesson. That this man was part of the solution. That he didn't need that reminder of his history. Why should this man who is not racist be confronted with a racist past not his own? Because he is an American. Because he is white. Because he is Christian. These three things make inherent claims to nobility and social responsibility. Whether that's true or not is not at issue here. If he wants to be any of these he must not lower his gaze from their shared history, which forms his identity.
I use this story to get at what I'm trying to do with all these "acceptability" posts. The dark sides of our religious story are as important as the inspiring biographies. When was the last time you read a history of an Evangelical or Pentecostal figure that wasn't just a hagiography?
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