A Sin by Any Other Name | 
pickI found this book at a new local library and the title quickly caught my attention. The author says he‘s the descendant of the famous confederate Robert E. Lee (now disputed). He talks about how he grew up not understanding the meaning of the flag, seeing racism all around him, and then finally speaking out about it, with the cost of being cut off by his own church (shocker😔). He is still speaking out today. Recommended.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.
—Martin Luther King, Jr
Older white America, my generation, can‘t see our racism. We could pass a polygraph saying ‘I‘m not racist,‘ but what we need is a polygraph of the heart.
—David Crabtree
This nation is sick. Our cultural anxiety, toxic masculinity, and racial, religious, and ethnic bigotries are eating away at the soul of this nation.
—Jonathan L. Walton
That‘s the beauty of the South, resiliency is at our core. I would argue that progressive people in the South desperately want to see our region lifted up for its progress and its willingness to change. We all see the potential, but the realities seem daunting.
Remember what Jaime Harrison said: ‘a new South!‘
In the 1850s, white worshippers attending the church decided African American slaves needed their own place of worship; that‘s how St. Paul‘s, came to be. In the 1860s, this church‘s pastor took leave to join the Confederates, with the support of his flock. Amazon doc: White Savior: Racism In The American Church https://watch.amazon.com/detail?gti=amzn1.dv.gti.acb70f69-cf3a-4969-48c5-6c84d4c...
I don‘t know if Statesville will ever fully evolve, or if the South will become a place where the best of this region can be enjoyed by all, fully reaching its potential. But I know the possibilities are endless. The task of the Southerner, the task of white people, the task of humankind is to realize that change and work for it.
I wish I knew how it would feel to be free.
—Nina Simone
Lee maintained his belief in white supremacy long after the Confederacy fell. He didn‘t think black people should vote. He thought the freed slaves should be returned to Africa, an arrangement he believed would be better for them and for the white people staying behind in the United States. It‘s time we look deeper into what we‘re honoring when we honor this man.
Hate is too great a burden to bear. Men hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they don‘t know each other. They don‘t know each other because they don‘t communicate with each other. They don‘t communicate with each other because they are separated from each other. To tear down the walls of hatred and fear, we must communicate and understand each other so we can eliminate systemic and institutional racism.
Even now, when I hand over my credit card to a cashier, it‘s not unusual for them to ask in awed tones if I‘m related to “him.” Sometimes they‘ll even say, “The South will rise again,” assuming they‘ve found a fellow patriot. They haven‘t.
pickReally impressed by this memoir by a descendant of Robert E. Lee. He is a minister and lost a job in North Carolina for being so outspoken about the need to acknowledge, make amends and change the past and ongoing racism in the US. He speaks in many ways to Southern, conservative Christians and it‘s a message I hope will be widely disseminated. #netgalley
