wfn.org | Commentary: The church and reparations

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Feb. 27, 2002       News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.    10-31-71BP{077} 

NOTE:  A head-and-shoulders photo of the Rev. Anthony C. Hunt will be
available.

A UMNS Commentary
By the Rev. Anthony C. Hunt*

What does the United States owe African Americans? What does the United
Methodist Church owe black Methodists? 

It has been more than 30 years since black activist James Foreman walked
down the aisle during the Sunday morning worship service of the largely
white Riverside Church in New York City and read a "Black Manifesto," which
called upon American churches and synagogues to pay $500 million as a
"beginning of the reparations due us as people who have been exploited and
degraded, brutalized, killed and persecuted."  

Today, the debate about reparations continues to rage in academic and
political circles. Richard America, a Georgetown University professor,
estimates the U.S. government owes African-Americans $5 trillion to $10
trillion for the slavery that people were forced to endure. 

In the aftermath of the United Methodist Church's acts of repentance and
reconciliation at the 2000 General Conference, the matter of reparations as
a possible constructive extension of these ritual acts is before the church.
The 2000 Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference commissioned a task force to
study the effects of the 1968 merger on churches and related institutions
that were a part of the former (all black) Central Jurisdiction. The task
force is to report its findings to the 2004 Jurisdictional Conference in
Syracuse, N.Y.

Any discussion of reparations must begin by defining the term, and then
determining within the context of that definition whether or not reparations
are warranted. Reparation can simply be defined as making amends for a
wrong, injury or injustice. The philosopher Plato asserted that justice
exists when people get what they deserve. Injustice, therefore, exists when
and where people do not get what they deserve.

In the case of blacks in America, a preponderance of evidence leads to the
conclusion that slavery, and subsequent forms of Jim and Jane Crow laws,
have resulted in injury and injustice to African Americans. This injustice
is evidenced in the death of millions of Africans during the Middle Passage;
the systematic disintegration of black families through separation of family
members from one another; and the economic oppression incumbent in slavery
where blacks were treated not as humans but as property and never
compensated for labor which, in large measure, served as the foundation of
America's system of capitalism.

Furthermore, many would argue that the legacy of slavery has continued to
plague African Americans. Philosopher Cornel West places this legacy within
the context of what he terms the "nihilism of black America." He states that
this nihilism exists as a certain nothingness - a meaninglessness and
lovelessness - that continues to plague much of black life in America.
Nihilism is evident in disproportionate rates of poverty, addictive
behaviors, family dysfunction, poor health and violence in black
communities, as well as the relatively low level of academic achievement
among many black youth, especially in urban areas.

Given the legacy of racism in America, the question remains one of what, if
anything, does the United States owe African Americans? 

Thinkers like Randall Robinson of TransAfrica, Charles J. Ogletree, a law
professor at Harvard University, and nationally noted attorney Johnnie
Cochran assert that America owes African Americans for the rich history that
slavery and segregation severed. They argue that white Americans can begin
making reparations for slavery, and the century of discrimination that
followed, with monetary restitution, educational programs and the kinds of
equal opportunities that will ensure the social and economic success of all
citizens. Their argument for reparations is based on the notion that there
has been damage that has occurred and that this damage can somehow be
remedied.

The effects of slavery and segregation continue to persist in the church as
well as in society in many ways. In fact, the vast majority of United
Methodist congregations remain essentially segregated. The effects of
America's racist legacy are evident in the decline of many mainline black
churches - including numerous United Methodist congregations. During the
past 30 years, this decline is apparent in consistently decreasing
membership, attendance and stewardship, and diminished vitality in worship
and witness in many churches.

At the dawn of the formation of the United Methodist Church in 1968 and the
elimination of the former Central Jurisdiction, the Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr. eloquently and prophetically cautioned that the possibility existed of
black Methodists "being integrated out of power." Some 34 years later, we
are left to ponder the profundity and accuracy of Dr. King's observation. 

In the Christian church, a biblical-theological concern with regard to
reparations is rooted in a question raised by the prophet Ezekiel in the 6th
century. "Who will stand in the breach? I looked for anyone among them who
would repair the wall and stand in the breach ... but I found no one." 

Is there a way for the church to equitably share power and resources? Given
the cultural and theological differences that are among us, what will
ecumenism and evangelism across racial lines look like? Is it possible for
Christians to engage in ritual acts of repentance and reconciliation without
simultaneously developing means of reparation and renewal?

A constructive approach to standing in the breach and restoring hope might
begin with a systematic restructuring of the socio-political landscape in
America. A more just distribution of the essential political goods of
society - education, employment, health care, housing, safety and technology
- would offer clear evidence of this systematic restructuring.  

As we stand in the breach within the church, we might develop strategic
approaches to refurbish older decaying church buildings inherited by black
congregations, as many whites that formerly worshipped in urban churches now
reside and worship in the relative comfort of the suburbs. We might develop
approaches and commit adequate resources aimed at the holistic education of
the young, as well as the spiritual, emotional and physical care and
empowerment of the dispossessed and distressed. 

In standing in the breach, the Christian church might create effective
models of economic and community development, leading to the creation of
jobs that pay living wages, the construction of affordable homes and the
building of state-of-the-art schools.

As we stand in the breach, we who are United Methodists might seek to
realistically unite with our sisters and brothers who are now African
Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion and Christian
Methodist Episcopal. Each of us might seek to authentically relate - through
worship, fellowship and service - with Christians who are culturally and
ethnically different from us.

It appears that a part of our theological task is to stand in the breach.
May God grant us wisdom, compassion and courage to do what is just and right
in God's sight!
# # #
*Hunt is the executive director of the Northeastern Jurisdictional
Multi-Ethnic Center in Columbia, Md. This commentary originally appeared in
the UM Connection, the weekly newspaper of the Baltimore-Washington Annual
Conference.

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
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