“White blessing.”
By now, you have likely seen the comments made by Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta, that recently lit up Twitter. Comments for which he has apologized.
In a conversation with Lecrae and Chic-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy, Giglio used the term “white blessing,” soon after offering an explanation on Twitter that he was, “not seeking to refer to slavery as a blessing—but that [white people] are privileged because of the curse of slavery. In calling it a privilege/benefit/blessing. Word choice wasn’t great. Trying to help us see society is built on the dehumanization of others. My apology, I failed.”
Yes, it was a mistake, and he apologized again this morning.
Of course, when Giglio said these words, the responses were fierce and fast—and global. A clip of less than two minutes (from a dialogue lasting an hour and ten minutes) has gone viral, with the three participants now receiving all manner of criticism and condemnation.
There are lots of things to be concerned about, including Giglio’s unhelpful and unclear words, but also the bigger issues at stake than one pastor and one video. We don’t want to lose sight of the issues and this important moment.
As I’ve published many thousands of words (and taken multiple actions) in the last few weeks about race and justice, I will take a moment to address another (and still important) issue—that we need more, not less, such conversations.
You see, I don’t want this moment to distract or deter Anglo pastors from listening and learning.
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