Discussion Questions
The Uneasy Conscience of a White Christian: Making Racial Equity a Priority
Clifford Williams
Introduction
What character traits must White people have for Black people to feel “safe” around them? (What does it mean for Black people to feel safe when with White people?)
Chapter 1 The Uneasy Conscience of a White Christian
What was your first racial experience?
What character traits do White folks need for Black folks to feel comfortable talking about race with them?
What character traits do Black folks need for White folks to feel comfortable talking about race with them?
Chapter 2 The Power and Effects of Racial Socialization
How can White folks uncover the unconscious ways in which they have been racially socialized?
Chapter 3 The Harm of Whiteness to Oneself
What do White folks have to do to avoid feeling that being white is normal or superior to being black?
Do we white folks actually feel ourselves superior to black folks, consciously or unconsciously?
Chapter 4 Moral Imagination
How can we get White folks who are set in their ways to have empathy for, or a sense of fairness toward, those who are racially different from them?
How can we nurture our own moral imagination so as to arouse a stance of welcoming acceptance toward people who are racially different?
Chapter 5 Black and Wild, Like a Bear: Police Brutality and Moral Perception
What are the similarities and differences between sense perception and moral perception?
What role does moral perception play in the way we treat people?
How can we change our racial moral perceptions?
Chapter 6 Black Power, White Power
Why do White folks often become alarmed, or terrified, at the prospect of Black power?
Chapter 7 Inhabiting Every Nook and Cranny of American Life
Are there any predominantly white countries that are not so intensely racialized as the U.S.?
Chapter 8 Is Abortion Worse than Racism?
Why do some Christians seem to regard abortion as worse than racism? Are they justified?
Chapter 9 “But I Didn’t Mean to Hurt You”: Racial Microaggressions and Whiteness
“Christians who are well-meaning still have implicit biases that they don’t know exist and that shape the way they interact with others” (p. 104, a student). To what extent is this true? How can one discover one’s implicit biases? Does being a Christian help or hinder uncovering one’s biases?
Chapter 10 Is Racial Equity a Conservative or a Liberal Concern?
In the United States, it is often political and theological liberals who express concern for racial equity rather than political and theological conservatives. Is there any way for both liberals and conservatives to agree on the matter?
Chapter 11 The Resistance of Southern Whites to the 1961 Freedom Rides
What is the best explanation of the sheer intensity of White reactions to the Freedom Rides?
“The danger, in the minds of most white Americans, is the loss of their identity” (James Baldwin, p. 136 [from Baldwin, “My Dungeon Shook,” 9 (Vintage, 1993)]). To what extent is White identity dependent on Black people?
Chapter 12 How Slavery Affects Us Now
How important is it that we recognize the role slavery has had in shaping current racial disparities?
Chapter 13 Why Church Integration May Never Happen
What would a predominantly White church have to do to prompt Black folks to feel welcome in it in addition to saying that it is welcoming to all?
Chapter 14 What We Whites Must Do
How can we acquire new character traits or solidify ones we already have, such as empathy or a sense of fairness?
On the book
Once, when talking about race with AJ, who is dark brown, he declared that he wanted to ask white people, “Would you want to be black?” Would we, those of us who are white, want to be black?
The stories
What patterns do you see in the stories of people of color?
Note
I use “black” and “white” to designate colors and “Black” and “White” to designate ethnic identities.
Why are black people called “black” even though no black people are actually black but various shades of brown? Why are white people called “white” even though no white people are actually white but various shades of tan or pinkish-tan?
The book:
The Uneasy Conscience of a White Christian: Making Racial Equity a Priority