I am reading a book by Carl F. Ellis Jr. titled “Free at Last?”. It is about the gospel in the African-American Experience. Carl Ellis is president of Project Joseph, a ministry dedicated to the reformation and renewal of the church. He also serves as director of development for Oxford Graduate School in Crystal Springs, Tennessee. I found this quote from the book very helpful and insightful. Very few people I am around are actively and intentionally racist. The vast majority of the discrimination I see in our ministry is the kind Harold Baron speaks of – it is just a part of a “prestructured choice”. To avoid the natural flow of hatred that is the calling card of those born of the seed of the devil we must actively engage in a non-conforming kind of love that will put us largely out of step with society – BUT that should be no surprise when we consider that we are in a different family – the family of God – whose calling card or defining mark is love (John 13:35).

“Maintenance of the basic racial controls is now less dependent upon specific discriminatory decisions and acts. Such behavior has become so well institutionalized that the individual generally does not have to exercise a choice to operate in a racist manner. The rules and procedures of the large organizations have already prestructured the choice. The individual only has to conform to the operating norms of the organization, and the institution will do the discrimination for him.” Harold M. Baron “The Web of Urban Racism”