A White Woman and a Black Man Walk into a Church in Kentucky...

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

So did you hear about the church in Kentucky that recently decided to ban interracial couples from joining their congregation? If you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a brief article from the Huffington Post to catch you up on the  shenanigans.

My favorite part of that story is that the church board decided that interracial couples could attend church services but could not officially join the congregation, nor participate in church activities, "except for funerals." Why funerals I wonder? Does death trump racism? Or maybe a funeral, just ain't a funeral without a negro in attendance? I'm just wondering.

But before anyone gets really angry, there's good news up ahead. Once the church members discovered that it was against state and federal law to ban interracial couples from the church, they decided their previous vote didn't count. Now, everyone is welcome to worship at the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church. Don't you feel better now? I'm sure there's going to be a long line of colored folks banging on those church doors asking to praise the Lord with the fine folks at Gulnare who have recently seen the light.

Okay, I'm going to get serious here for a second. One, I'm not surprised that this happened. I'm not surprised because I know that racism is still very much alive in this country and the world. I know that many people -- of all colors and stripes -- believe that folks should just stick with their own kind when it comes to marriage.

But I'm going to try to sympathize with this congregation, give them the benefit of the doubt. Gulnare Free Will Baptist  is a tiny church in Appalachia. Now, I'm no Appalachian expert, but I do know that there aren't a ton of Black people in them thar hills. It's very easy to stay rooted in ignorance and stereotypes when there's nobody around to challenge your belief system. Perhaps now that their peculiar brand of "ignorance" has been shown to the world and they have been shamed, they will begin to change their ways. Maybe. I said, maybe.

Here's a clip from the church's pastor who suggests that maybe that will happen.



What do you think? Can anything good come from this painful moment? Like what? And is anyone else wondering if the young White woman who dragged her African fiance to the church truly believed that the congregation would welcome her with open arms? Or was she just hoping to heat things up and bring the church into the 21st century?

I'm so totally listening.

Peace!

Segregated Sundays

When I was a little girl I attended a typical Black Baptist church in Milwaukee. I remember bringing my Japanese best friend to Sunday school one morning and wishing I could die when everybody stared and whispered about her, not to mention the Sunday school teacher announcing to everyone that my friend was going to hell since she didn't officially recognize Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.

Now many years later I wonder, is church still like that? I'm a bad judge because I've lived in New York City for so long where everything, even churches, seemed racially mixed. And now I live in integrated utopia, aka Mt. Airy, Pennsylvania where the gigantic Jewish synagogue behind my house has it's fair share of African-American and Asian worshipers.

So when I read a recent statistic that states that only 7 percent of America's churches are considered racially mixed, I'm left scratching my head. Where are these churches where "others" aren't allowed? I've read one theory that it's not just White folks who don't want ethnics in their House of God, it's also ethnics who don't want to diversify their holy houses either.

So, Meltingpot readers, do you worship in a racially diverse church? Do you know of a particularly welcoming congregation? I want to hear about it. Please share.

Peace!