My friend Thomas* is a well-educated professional. He is a
recognized leader in his field. He is a published author. He has a lovely wife,
who is also a well-educated professional, and two lovely children. He is a
picture of the perfect American family and would be considered successful by
any reasonable standard. He also happens to be African American.
When Thomas felt a call to ministry, God gave him a heart to
help people from urban areas find ways to create a better life for themselves in
self-sustainable ways. He has some very innovative ideas for how to fuse
business and ministry models so that ministry in an urban setting can have all
the resources needed to support a holistic approach. With his education
and experience, Thomas could easily serve an affluent suburban congregation. But
he has chosen to minister in an urban context, which means that many of those
he serves have fewer financial resources, and many are from various minority
groups common to urban areas.
He and I were talking a couple of months ago about how to
find capital investors who could help him get his unique business/ministry
model off the ground. In the midst of the conversation he said something that
has reverberated in my mind over and over again. He said, “Sometimes affluent
people see minorities as their charity cases” and went on to explain that many
affluent people only want to fund things that make them “feel good about
themselves instead of actually solving the problem.” For example, affluent
people are happy to spend money buying several bags of groceries for the local
food bank, but few would buy their weekly groceries from a small minority owned
local market. One makes the donor feel good about themselves but only addresses
the symptom. The other would help create a successful business man who would then
be able to provide jobs in the community so fewer people needed the services of
a food bank but it is not as emotionally exciting. Many affluent people are willing to volunteer at a soup
kitchen every month, but far fewer are willing to be a mentor to a disadvantaged
young person, helping he/she get through high school and into a good
college so he/she secure a job and never have to depend a soap kitchen for a
meal. Both volunteer efforts are worthwhile, but one perpetuates dependence and
the other solves a problem.
When those of us with greater resources view minorities as
our charity cases, we are unintentionally displaying generous racism. Though we
may be proud of ourselves for our generosity, it is still a form of racism if
the only thing we support are “feel good” projects. When we only want to donate
or volunteer in ways that set us up as superior to those of other races or of
other economic levels, it might make us feel good but it also keeps people from
reaching their full potential. This generous racism is still racism, and should
not be encouraged.
Does this mean we should stop buying groceries for food banks
or volunteering at soup kitchens? No. But we should view those efforts as one
part of a bigger picture of how we address the challenges of urban dwellers, a significant
number of which happen to be from various minority groups. We must look for
ways that actually solve problems and that must include viewing minorities as fully
capable of succeeding in life, and not as just our charity cases.
And if you happen to be a venture capitalist that wants to get in on the something cool in the greater Hartford, CT, area, contact me and I will put you in touch with Thomas. You will be impressed!
*Name changed for privacy reasons
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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He has written a book about the spirit of offense that prevails in our current society. You can find all of his books at:
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