I read two excellent blog posts recently from Bryan Loritts: “What Carlton Banks, Ice Cube, and Denzel Washington Teach Us About Hiring,” and a follow-up, “Finding Denzel.” Loritts is an African-American and the lead pastor of Fellowship Memphis Church, a multicultural church ministering to the urban Memphis community. He will be joining me as one of the speakers at Advance 13.
Race, ethnicity, and culture—all of which Loritts addresses—are all issues that are very important, both for the American church at large, and for the Summit Church specifically. Below are just a few excerpts from those posts:
“Sociologist’s tell us that embedded within each ethnicity are various layers of culture. At one end of the culture spectrum are what we would label C1’s. These are individuals who while being of a specific ethnic minority have assimilated thoroughly into majority culture. Using my own ethnicity as an example (African-American), the image that should come to mind when thinking of C1 is Carlton Banks of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
“On the other end are what we would label C3’s. These individuals have refused to assimilate in majority culture. These are your rage against “the man” minorities, who look down on C1’s, labeling them at times as being “sell outs,” or “Uncle Tom’s”. Sticking with our acting motif, just think Ice Cube. If ever you see a film that has Ice Cube starring in it you know it’s a black movie (in every bit of a C3 sense).”
“There’s one other cultural layer tucked away in every ethnicity: C2’s. These are your people who can navigate different ethnicities yet retain who they are in the process. These are unique individuals who have adapted well over time, to the point where they can genuinely relate to and enjoy the company of quite an eclectic crowd. Think Denzel Washington. In the past twenty years, Denzel’s roles have transcended ethnicity. Denzel would be just as comfortable hanging with Ice Cube as he would Carlton Banks.”
“I hesitate to say this, but oh well, let me just spit it out. Minorities have a leg up on our white brothers and sisters when it comes to being C2’s. Because America is still a racialized society (see Michael Emerson and Christian Smith’s Divided by Faith), minorities have to learn to “become” C2’s if we are going to be successful in a country dominated (from a power standpoint) by whites. We have to learn to speak your language, go to your schools and relate to you in meaningful ways if we want to truly eat some of the American pie.”
“The disheartening reality is that this is not a two way street. White people do not need to learn how to “become” when it comes to minorities to be successful. You can stay on your own side of the tracks, and huddle in your own nooks and be just fine without us. Yet the redemptive beauty is that not only do minorities have a leg up in their ability to become C2’s, but our white brothers and sisters can get there. It’s not going to happen by accident, though, you’ll have to be willing to take some dangerous and intentional steps to “become,” to get into our worlds, but it’s worth it.”
Here come the qualifiers. I believe part of the difficulty with this subject is the stereotypical culture, not race, of the C3′s. Whites can, and do, assimilate into the world of the C1′s and C2′s, but choose not to enter that of the C3′s because of cultural differences. Understandably, there are negative elements of white culture as well, but they do not seem to be as prominent to me as that of the C3′s. Just think of Ice Cube’s movies. Male leadership is absent, women are objectified, and success is achieved primarily by violence. Again, it’s not that these aren’t present in white culture as well, because they are. However, it still seems to be more prominent in black, C3 culture. The incongruence between C1′s and C3′s is what makes the humor of this meme work – http://radiofreechicago.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b93369e20148c7a128ed970c-800wi.
I have heard some whites say they are not racists; rather they are “culturalists”. They are opposed to the ideologies and practices that seem to dominate some cultures . . . even white ones. So, I guess my question is what would it look like for a white C2 to enter the culture of a black C3 and have a significant impact for the kingdom? I think this is a legitimate question since it seems to me the only cultural characteristics which prohibit a black C3 from becoming a C1 or C2 are distinctly negative.
Again, I don’t think this is a race issue. I think it’s a culture issue. It goes both ways. The same could be said regarding white rednecks. They are C3′s too. How would they become C1′s or C2′s? Strip off the negative cultural layers. And I also believe that black C2′s would not want to assimilate into the culture of white redneck C3′s, and for good reason. Unless, I’m missing something, the onus seems to rest on the shoulders of C3′s of every culture, but can possibly be best reached by the C2′s of that particular race.
My “ethnicity”, nor my skin, could ever adequately be described as “white.” I suspect that this is true of most humans categorized as “Caucasian”, and the same can almost certainly be said of any category in which we, as humans, like to lump ourselves. However, despite the convoluted mixture of genetic material in my veins (European, Norwegian and Native American), my identity is in Christ. It is not in the ethnicity of my forefathers, their “culture” or even the “culture” in which I live.
I’ll proffer that as a second reading of Paul’s message in I Corinthians 9: that in Christ we are all called to “be all things to all people.” Paul did not go looking for the best “Denzel” in each situation to share the Gospel, he served all by becoming a servant to all.
Looking forward to any other thoughts on the subject…