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Santa Clara Lecturer, 10 February 2002

Santa Clara Lecturer, 10 February 2002

Wear It Like A Banner for the Proud: The Challenge of Achieving Genuine Diversity in America

Gregory Chisholm S.J.

Gregory Chisholm, 10 February 2002

If I had a dollar for every time that someone white has told me that she, usually she, doesn't notice the color of a person's skin, then I would have a hand- some nest egg indeed. How many times has someone tried to convince me that race doesn't matter? I've lost count of the times that someone has suggested that focusing my ministry primarily on African-Americans was too particular and too confining, if not racist. Within the last month it was intimated to me that black issues and concerns do not encourage the intellectual engagement with ideas of which I am capable.

Wear It Like A Banner for the Proud

If I had a dollar for every time that someone white has told me that she, usually she, doesn't notice the color of a person's skin, then I would have a hand- some nest egg indeed. How many times has someone tried to convince me that race doesn't matter? I've lost count of the times that someone has suggested that focusing my ministry primarily on African-Americans was too particular and too confining, if not racist. Within the last month it was intimated to me that black issues and concerns do not encourage the intellectual engagement with ideas of which I am capable.

Feb 10, 2002
Winter 2002, Santa Clara Lecture