Dismantling Racism: The Continuing Challenge to White America
by Joseph Barndt (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1991). ISBN 0-8066-2576-7.
Available from Cokesbury, www.cokesbury.com, 800-672-1789.

My Covenant Discipleship group has a clause in its covenant that reads, "We will act in solidarity with the poor and marginalized and for the welfare of creation." I often report about giving time, money, or other resources to organizations that promote fair and equitable treatment of the poor and marginalized and about my work as part of the committee that advocates for creating and sustaining a diverse workforce in my workplace. Often, my efforts do not seem to be enough or they seem to fall short of being "in solidarity with the poor and marginalized." In my desire to go more deeply into what it means to be in solidarity with the poor and marginalized, I have been drawn into discussions and readings about institutional racism and white privilege. Recently I read two books, Enter the River and Dismantling Racism, that have helped me think about these things.

Enter the River is a good book for beginning to think about white privilege. The author is a Mennonite who has spent many years working to dismantle racism. He is a white person writing to white people who have begun to question their white privilege, privilege that society gives white people with and without their consent. Shearer uses the biblical imagery from the story of Naaman and invites white people to enter the river for healing of racism. In the introduction, he states that he hopes "you will have found resources for evaluating the effects of racism in government, the media, churches, schools, and individual relationships. Most of all I hope this book will move you toward healing."

Shearer accomplishes his stated purpose as he distinguishes between prejudice and racism and uses many stories — often personal ones — to illustrate his points. He discusses how racism afflicts people of color and white people and what it means to be white. The appendices are useful, particularly the one describing ten ways to make third-world people lose effectiveness in an organization. The resource list is quite helpful, with recommendations of books and videos for further study. Shearer offers a word of encouragement as he repeats his conviction that, by God's grace, we can dismantle racism by building interpersonal relationships with people of color, by making allies in the fight, and by taking corporate action.

I came away from this book with a better understanding of the difference and interplay between personal prejudice and systemic racism.

The goal of the second book, Dismantling Racism, as stated in the introduction is to "help white people understand how racism functions and is perpetuated in our homes, schools, churches, and other institutions. An equally important goal is to help equip white people to combat and dismantle racism effectively and to help build a multiracial, multicultural society." The author, Joseph Brandt, is a white pastor who was active in the civil rights movement and is director of Crossroads, a ministry to dismantle racism and build a multicultural society and church.

Brandt works with the same definition of racism as Shearer (prejudice + power) and discusses three forms of racism: individual, institutional, and cultural. This way of framing the expressions of racism is quite practical and gives handles to those of us who are trying to interpret the interpersonal and organizational dynamics of our workplaces. Brandt raises some profound questions about societal institutions, including the church and the ways we perpetuate racism through our structures and foundations. He offers strategies for unmasking direct and indirect institutional racism.

Barndt states that just as important as dismantling racism is the need to build a multicultural society. He strongly emphasizes two lessons for European Americans: the ability to follow the leadership of people of color and the ability to avoid the temptation to simply stand on the sidelines and cheer on that leadership. European Americans must help other European Americans think about white racism and white privilege.

The three-fold framework and the two lessons are not new in the overall dialogue about racism, yet the discussion in the book helps to put feet on the concepts. Toward the end of the book, Brandt offers some ideas about racism in the global context and the effects of globalization. In this chapter in particular, and throughout the book, he links racism to economics. This discussion is made more poignant since September 11, 2001.

This book left me hungry for more details about the connection between economics and racism. It has spurred me to continue my study.

Enter the River and Dismantling Racism provide a word of hope in a world afflicted with the disease of racism. Both authors come from a Christian faith perspective that gives them the strength to continue the long struggle for equity and dignity for all people in a world and in a U.S. society that makes distinctions based on skin color.

Marigene Chamberlain (mchamberlain@gbod.org), a teacher and writer, works for The United Methodist Church developing leaders for Hispanic/Latino ministries.