Dear White People: About Botham Jean, Forgiveness, Justice, and Cheap Grace

Dear White People: About Botham Jean, Forgiveness, Justice, and Cheap Grace

Forgiveness without repentance is what theologian Dietrich Bonhoefer, quoting Adam Clayton Powell, called cheap grace. It lets us believe we are off the hook for our evil without demanding any real change on our part. In the case of the murder of Botham Jean cheap grace lets us white people maintain our sense of innocence and goodness without first facing up to the role we all play, knowingly or not, in maintaining systemic racism.

Facts

Facts Introduction Learning — Definitions Learning — Facts Learning — Maps The posts on this page include facts and statistics gathered over many years. Because of this, some will have become stale. Also, the very nature of statistics is that they are essentially...
On Views of Race and Inequality, Blacks and Whites Are Worlds Apart

On Views of Race and Inequality, Blacks and Whites Are Worlds Apart

…The survey finds that black and white adults have widely different perceptions about what life is like for blacks in the U.S. For example, by large margins, blacks are more likely than whites to say black people are treated less fairly in the workplace (a difference of 42 percentage points), when applying for a loan or mortgage (41 points), in dealing with the police (34 points), in the courts (32 points), in stores or restaurants (28 points), and when voting in elections (23 points).

Assessment Tools

More Tools Study Guides Get Involved Assessment Tools Self-Assessment Tools Understanding — History Understanding — Appropriation & Aggression Understanding — Whiteness The following posts provide opportunities for self assessment.  Here a person can evaluate for...