White Flight

[lazarus]

If blacks can have "black fight" to form their own conferences for their desires and reasons...if the Spanish can have "brown flight" for reasons of their culture and language being "so very different" from Anglos and blacks...if Koreans, Vietnamese, and every other nationality can group together with "their own" and it is regarded as OK, even encouraged - but if a group of white people should be found to do this - even if for totally innocent reasons - there's something immediately wrong? Suspicion must necessarily abound about...racism?

Ted....,

Racial discrimination was rife at SDA institutions and the Four Freedoms document did not hesitate to point out specific cases:

· “The Washington Sanitarium refuses to admit colored people.”

· “Colored girls are denied admittance to the Washington sanitarium School of Nurses and some other schools open to the whites.”

· It was the policy of Emmanuel Missionary College to seat Black students at the rear during chapel services.

· “There are no Negroes so far as we know on staffs of Adventist institutions.”

· “There is not even one General Conference office filled by a colored person.”

· “There is no colored editor, circulation manager, and business manager of the only Adventist periodical devoted exclusively to the interest of the 13,000,000 colored people in the United States.”

The document draws frequent contrast between SDA practice in these areas and the practices of secular or other religious organizations. These include:

“Since white and colored eat without friction daily in the cafeterias of the Library of Congress, Union Station, National Art Gallery, Interior Department, and other government buildings, it is illegal to segregate the Secretary of the Colored department for his meals.” (All quotes from Shall the Four Freedoms Function Among SDAs?

[Amelia]

Are there still problems today?

[Gerr]

I think we are doing a much better job integrating the administrative positions. The sticker, I believe, will be in the hiring of pastors.

[lazarus]

I think there are still problems but It's no way near what it was. Perhaps the biggest problem is misunderstand and therefore distrust. I think the back and forth on this thread has been a bit of an illustration of that

In my area I know of at least two churches who have deliberately hired across racial lines in order to reach out to other communities.

If we can begin to understand the roots of the current problem then it would put us in a better place to find solutions.

[Key Guy]

In my area I know of at least two churches who have deliberately hired across racial lines in order to reach out to other communities.

If we have to hire across racial lines to reach the community, that means the community is distrustful of certain other races. It also shows that the problem we have in our churches is a reflection of the problem in our communities.

It would be such a witness for our church to show how much we accept and embrace other cultures/races! Now, if we can just get past that hurdle.... how cool would that be!?!?

[knockkneedchicke]

If all who believed in unity would get right with God and pray for unity of the faith, then it would happen. It's starts with our own sanctification first.

[Kountzer]

Trudat.