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Chris Lahr

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Worship and the Poor: Embracing Jesus on the Streets and on my Knees / Feb 2, 09:59 AM

Fifteen years ago my wife and I went to India for the first time. A great deal of our trip was spent at the Home for the Dying and Destitute in Calcutta, a home started by Mother Teresa. The home was made up of about fifty beds for men and the same for women. Each day people were brought in off the streets to spend their final days dying in peace. Lara and I joined other volunteers to help feed, bathe, and give basic medications as we spent time with those bound to their deathbeds. On one particular day, there was a boy brought in who was probably only 16 years old. After several hours, the boy began to breathe rather heavily and a nurse was summoned to see if anything could be done. With little medical options to offer, basic CPR was administered to no avail, as the boy breathed his last and died. We cleaned his body, wrapped him and took him to the morgue to be insinuated later that day.

I asked the nun running the place what the boy’s name was. I will never forget the look she gave as she told me that I knew as much about the boy as she did! The boy had died without a name! I knew the reality of our world and that 20,000-30,000 kids would die a day because of starvation and other preventable diseases, but it never dawned on me that some of those kids were dying without a name. No one would be notified, seemingly no one cared. He died without a name.

While Lara and I were recuperating from the overwhelming events of the day I came across the story of the Rich Man in Lazarus in Luke 16: 19ff. In the story we read that the rich man lived in luxury and had seemingly everything he needed for a comfortable life. We also discovered in the story that just outside the rich man’s gate laid a beggar named Lazarus. As fate would have it, they both died…Lazarus got an angelic escort to heaven while the rich man woke up in hell. One of the first things I noticed in the story that seemed in stark contrast to the reality that I had experienced in the Home for the Dying… was that it was the rich man who died without the name, not the beggar! The following is an excerpt from my journal…

Today I saw a boy about the age of sixteen die. He was a poor boy brought in from the street. No one knew his name or why he was in the condition that he was in. I cannot help thinking of the boy and the life that he must have lived. It breaks my heart that the boy died without a name, or did he? In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, it is the poor beggar who is named, not the rich man. For the rich man, his riches and luxurious lifestyle made up his identity on earth. In the end the rich man woke up in hell, known only as the “rich man.” The poor beggar, on the other hand, was probably not known by very many people on earth, especially by the rich man, whose gate he sat at every day. In the end the rich man received a proper burial, but the poor man received a proper escort! The beggar was no longer known for his poverty, but was known personally as Lazarus. The well-known rich man was simply referred to by his riches (with which he had none left).

I wonder whose gate the boy used to sit in front of? Could it have been mine? How can I enjoy my riches, my daily showers, my more than sufficient food, my bed and clean clothes, when there are many Lazarus’ out there desiring to get the crumbs of my wealth? Matthew 7: 21-23 says, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord,’ did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you, away from me, you evil doers” (NIV).

Am I known? Am I known personally, by a name; or am I known generically by a title? To simply “do good deeds” to the poor is not enough! We must love them, and know them, because in our doing so we begin to know and be known by God. Matthew 25:40 says, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did for me” (NIV). In Acts it was not only Cornelius’ prayer life, but his gifts to the poor that made him known by God (Acts 10:4). In this life we may cast out demons and do many miracles, but the only way we will enter the kingdom of heaven is by being known by God.

Mother Teresa taught that the poor are Jesus in his distressing disguise. As I thought about the story of the rich man and Lazarus I came to the conclusion that the rich man did not go to hell because he was rich… but because he did not care! 1 John 3:17 tells us that if someone has enough money and sees someone in need and is not moved by compassion, how can the love of God be in that person? The mere fact that the rich man lived life not moved by the poor at his front gate was a reflection of a deeper issue in his heart. From that moment on, my wife and I stated that we would forever live a life that asks, “Who is at our front gate?” If the poor are Jesus in his distressing disguise, then following Jesus is sort of like playing hide-and-go-seek, because there are many faces of poverty. We learned our first time in India that when we connect with those on the streets, we are in fact connecting with Jesus.

Now fast forward to December 2011, Lara and I have been married for 15 years and have three daughters (Alexa age 12, Moriah age 10, and India age 4). We now have the opportunity to spend a month in India at a children’s home that a friend of ours started. Since our first time in India, we have been working tirelessly serving folks in Philadelphia through Iglesia del Barrio, the simple way, Mission Year, Timoteo, and just trying to be good neighbors. We have loved our life in Philly and have had the joy of seeing Jesus in his many disguises throughout the years. But to be honest, we were tired and needed a little refreshing.

One of the things that impressed me about the children’s home we stayed at was that the children and staff loved Jesus… they were crazy about Him. There are 48 children and youth who each have their own amazing story of their journey from poverty to this home of love. The thing that I loved most about the home was that they weaved worship into the fabric of their lives.

After a couple of nights of being there, we found ourselves around a campfire. Initially, to the delight of my pre-teen, they played some Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez and there was a lot of dancing and acting crazy as all kids around the world are prone to do. Then some worship music was put on. Some of the kids sat down, others walked around, but they all took the time to be at the feet of Jesus… they worshiped him. Just prior to our time of worship, the kids were challenged to pray for my family and not to be shy if God gave them a word for us. As the music played on my mind began to flashback to the times I had in college where several buddies of mine would spend hours praying and singing in the little chapel there, worshiping God. As the music went on, I realized that since we moved to Philly I had spent so much time loving Jesus on the streets that I have neglected loving Him on my knees through worship. Eventually one of the young men living in the home came up to me and said he had an impression in his mind that he wanted to share with me that he felt was from the Lord. He said he saw an old tape player (stereo) that was dusty…and it was time to dust it off and put it to use. Immediately the cassette player that I had used to play worship music back in college came to my mind!

The motto we are adopting this year is “prayer is not preparation for the work… it is the work.” I look forward to continuing the life-long game of hide-and-seek on the streets…but I feel better equipped having spent some time on my knees seeking instructions first.

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On the Receiving End / Jan 9, 09:53 AM

I have had many people ask me whether or not they should give money to beggars. My reply is always, “First beg, then you’ll know how to NOT give to beggars.”

There are many responses to this question that a beggar sees as he sits with the hand extended hoping for your spare change… some casually walk to the other side of the street and act as if the beggar does not exist. Others come up on the beggar suddenly and do not have the time to cross to the other side of the street so they simply inform him that they do not have any “spare” change. Others approach the panhandler with a mission and begin preaching “the Good News” and letting him know what is needed to get his life straight now and in the life to come. Rare is the person who takes the time to get to know the person on the street, to listen to their story, to hear their struggle, to hear their wisdom.

When I was in college I traveled into Center City Philadelphia every Saturday to hang out with homeless folks. On our limited college budgets we would take down peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and milk. We took so many pb&j sandwiches down that the folks on the streets started referring to us as the peanut butter and jelly Christians (a denomination that I was very proud to be a part of). It was all fine until one of the guys we had met on the streets informed us that he did not like peanut butter and jelly, but would rather have ham-n-cheese. Hmmm, this sounded more like a job for a prosperity denomination to me, but I told him we would do our best to accommodate him the next week.

During those days we made some meaningful relationships. One of my dearest friends was Ricky. Though it was Ricky’s mental health issue that kept him on the streets, he was very bright and we would talk for hours about different topics ranging from life on the streets, the Bible, the Church, rich people, our bangin’ pb&j sandwiches, etc. One weekend we decided to bring Ricky to our campus. Not really sure how we pulled this off, but one thing is for sure, if you want to invite the homeless to stay over in your dorm for a weekend, don’t ask for permission. Ricky had a great visit, met some new friends, ate lots of food, but eventually had to go back to the streets. Taking Ricky back was really hard. It was in the middle of winter! No longer was he just some homeless dude on the streets, but he was my friend, Ricky.

A couple weeks later I talked a couple friends into going to Philadelphia to spend the night on the streets. We went with no pb&j’s to hand out, no food for ourselves, and no money. At first I thought we would be hitting the streets with nothing to give, but I quickly learned that we did have something to give… ourselves! I also learned that we had so much to receive from our brothers and sisters with no place to call home.

There is a danger inherent with those who serve. Those who serve with good motives are often still the ones in charge. They hold the power. Power is not bad in and of itself, but it can become dangerous when it is not used properly. Rather than taking the time to get to know someone and truly understanding their real felt needs, there is the temptation to give them what we think they need.

Paulo Freire in his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, talks about false generosity (p.26 ff). He states that any attempt to soften the power of the oppressor in deference to the weakness of the oppressed almost always manifests itself in the form of false generosity. False generosity gives you a warm feeling inside as you hand out food to the homeless, but the deeper questions of why they are homeless is never explored. False generosity makes it ok to come into a poor community unannounced to pass out tracks, hand out candy, and preach the Word… never building meaningful relationships and opening yourself up to truly making a change for the sake of justice. Think about it… do prisons want crime to cease? Do homeless shelters really want homelessness to be a thing of the past? Prisons and homeless shelters are booming businesses that can only survive if these issues continue. Freire says that, “injustice is perpetuated so generosity can continue to be expressed.” He goes on to say that “True generosity consists precisely in fighting to destroy the causes which nurture false generosity” (p.27).

If we really want to be able to destroy the causes which nurture false generosity, we must be able to live in solidarity with those in need. Justice cannot be handed top down, but is created in the context of beloved community. In solidarity we are able to see the image of God in others, as well as see our own humanity. Those days on the streets of Philly as a college kid opened my eyes to what it means to be in solidarity by “being on the receiving end.” It was in these times that we discovered a deep faith in Jesus as we learned what it means to not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Over the past several years we have been running a weekend poverty simulation through Mission Year called PRoP (Pauper’s Rite of Passage). In many areas of the world, people practice Rites of Passage where a child goes through a series of events lead by the elders of the community and when the Rites is over they are viewed as a man or woman in that society. The Church is in a state of adolescence at best until she embraces God’s heart for the poor. PRoP was created to be a starting point in that direction.

PRoP takes place over a weekend. What makes PRoP unique is that there is no service involved! Instead, participants come to the city to learn from those living on the streets. A lot of PRoP is spent on the streets either panhandling for your next meal or sitting at the feet of homeless folks hearing their stories. Participants do not “pretend to be homeless,” rather they tell folks they have been challenged to spend the day on the streets with no money and to learn from people. I am amazed every time we debrief their experience and they talk about their time panhandling. They are amazed at the stares they receive and the rejection they feel, and even the feeling of inhumanity. Often they also become overwhelmed at the kindness they experience when someone gives them something. Should you give money to beggars? Beg first then you will know how NOT to give to beggars. PRoP allows people to see other people’s humanity (as well as their own) at a deeper level. PRoP is not solidarity with the poor, but perhaps it is a stepping stone in the direction for some.

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Researching My Sundown Town: What White People Can Do About Racism / Oct 27, 11:20 AM

The next step on the path towards reconciliation is an important one. It is at this point that we reach a critical juncture of either rejection or repentance. Racial justice is not something easily obtained and for some white folks the temptation to return to silence or inactivity is a reality. For others it is at this stage that one commits to living differently.

A motto I live by states, “for the way I am shame on my parents, but if I’m this way in the future shame on me.” We have all been shaped by our past both positively and negatively. When talking about racism it’s easy for many white folks to say things like, “let’s move on already,” “we cannot live in the past,” but it is up to us to act responsibly to make changes to those areas that have had negative consequences on ourselves and in society.

The following are some steps I made at understanding some of my own history and the history of the white enclave of my birth. It has been this journey that I have been inspired not to look down on my hometown, but to have my eyes opened to her great potential in our society to model real racial justice.

Over a decade ago I was taking a course, “Black History and Theology,” at a seminary in Kentucky. At one point the professor told us a story about a house “in the North” used during the slave days to hold runaway slaves and free blacks until they could be sold to Southern slave owners. He located the house in Huntington, Indiana.

I was floored for two reasons. First, the mere fact he mentioned Huntington, Indiana in class—the place of my childhood—was a bit shocking considering how small it is (population: 17,000). Second, I was taken aback that he was using my home town as an example of how racism still exists in the North.

He informed us that the “slave house” had been dedicated in the town (in a not so distant past) not to condemn the act of racism but rather to honor the owner of the house! I knew exactly which house the professor was alluding to. Three or four years later, I found a brochure for the “Dedication of the Lambdin P. Milligan Slave House,” published in 1985. The brochure shed more light than I initially wanted… the professor was right.

In 1985, my hometown dedicated the slave house in memory of Mr. Milligan, a Southern sympathizer during the Civil War who had been arrested for organizing an armed rebellion against the North. He was tried by a military court, rather than a local court (which was later ruled illegal). That’s where good ol’ Habeas Corpus comes in.

Milligan filed in Federal Court of Indiana a Writ of Habeas Corpus claiming illegal imprisonment. Ex Parte Milligan was a famous decision that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court after two Federal Judges in Indiana could not agree on the case. The decision invalidated Milligan’s arrest and conviction, saying that military courts have no power over civilians as long as civil courts are functioning. He was eventually set free because of the legality of the matter and the town of Huntington praised his return. Over a hundred years later the town was still praising him, rather than challenging his racial stance.

A couple years ago I came across the book, Sundown Towns, by James Loewen. Once again, Huntington was mentioned – indeed, seven or eight times. Around this same time I learned that Huntington University was seeking to become more diverse in its student body. As one step along this path, the University deemed it important that the town declare itself an “inclusive community.”

The “Inclusive Communities Partnership” is a program of the National League of Cities whose purpose is, “to motivate cities and towns to make a public commitment to building inclusive communities,” among other things. It was interesting to see a dialogue emerge in the letters to the editor of the local newspaper, both for and against taking this step.

Reading Sundown Towns, in conjunction with hearing the tones of racism from several residents of Huntington in the modern day led me on the hunt to discover the deeper truths to the history of my town, a sundown town. The initial step we took was gathering some students, faculty, and staff of Huntington University and talking about the need to find hard evidence that Huntington was in fact a sundown town.

Our desire was not to simply bring up the “bad ol’ days” but to admit to our racism and to seek ways to overcome it. We decided that we would start the project as an independent study for three HU students as well as a faculty member, a couple of staff, and myself.

First we checked the census data from the start of Huntington to the present day, looking for the number of people of color in each decade. We looked for any increase or decrease and made note of it as a decade to focus on when looking at the local newspapers.

The Huntington library holds every local newspaper on microfilm. The newspaper card catalog contained the following useful categories: negro, colored, black, African-American, KKK, and Miami Indians.

As we looked through these articles we collected pieces of our story and began to identify several topics that seemed to summarize the racial story of Huntington. Some of the themes included:
• stories of the Miami Indians, forced to leave the area as a result of a treaty;
• more about Lambdin Milligan and the group he was associated with;
• evidence of the underground railroad;
• a “Colored Campmeeting,” where 700-800 African Americans gathered in Huntington at the fairgrounds in 1892. We discovered that this was part of a social movement, a sort of early day civil rights movement where African Americans would call for equal rights.

We also found evidence in several articles that pointed to a culture of exclusion in Huntington that seemed to lay a foundation of it being a sundown town. We’ve cataloged stories of 3 Arab women being denied overnight housing and after being refused an overnight stay in “the barns” and “wood sheds” they “grew quite boisterous, but finally departed.” (Huntington Herald 1 July, 1892).

In the Huntington Herald August 1, 1902 we found an article about an African American gentleman that was jailed after getting into a fight with a local white man. Later that day the following note was fastening to the African American man’s house for his wife to read, “We as citizens give you just twelve hours to leave this town, and if this order is not obeyed a mob shall await you, and you will have to put up with what comes. We mean business. (signed) Committee.”

Finally we found several articles about a petition signed by over 300 citizens of Huntington to have all African Americans driven out of town. The Chicago Defender, an African American newspaper wrote the following about the petition,

Huntington, IND —- Mayor Charles McGraw received a petition signed by 328 white persons asking that “Huntington Negro population deportment.” The population of this city is largely composed of foreigners. The clamour for the dismissal of our people was said to have been started by the Germans and Austrians, who first objected to the men being employed by a local foundry to do war work. The citizens have been so bitter in their denunciation of our people that trouble is feared. August 25, 1919 Chicago Defender

We also ethnographically interviewed about a half dozen people, both whites and people of color, listening to their perspective of race and why Huntington is still so white. From these conversations emerged stories from the living memories of those we interviewed – complete with details that made them credible. From the 1920s all the way till the 1970s some family members were respectable citizens by day but dawned the Ku Klux Klan hoods by night.

We were told by several eye witnesses that Huntington posted a sign on the edge of town warning black people to be out of town before sundown and that the sign was not taken down until about 1961. Also, in the mid-1960s a house in the county was secretly burned to the ground during the night, after whites learned that a black family from Fort Wayne was attempting to purchase it.

In many ways I feel like we are just getting started on this journey. One way we are looking to present our findings to townspeople is by creating a “Reality Tour.” The tour will consist of ten spots throughout Huntington that would act as springboards for our findings and the different issues that have emerged as a result of our study. The purpose of the tour would be to look at our history, the good and the ugly, and come to a place where we can admit the reality of our racism as well as point to hope for the better future.

We also hope that at some point we can also apologize for our actions and then seek out some concrete ways for living out reconciliation. The possibilities for Huntington to model to other small predominantly white towns a new way of racial justice is great. A Harmony Initiative has been formed to work with the churches and other local institutions to make sure they have racially just practices in place. Now would be the time to create a training program in the local high school to train youth in cross-cultural relations. Also looking into the history of the African Americans and the Miami Indians who were driven from this land and not only offer apologies but explore other means of reparations if that is a possibility.

I feel that too often white folks want an easy answer, a concrete way to fix something. Reconciliation does not call us to simply “fix something,” but rather to join a journey, a long journey of grace, active listening, self-discovery, openness, mistakes, pain, and hope. I believe Huntington stands at a crossroads of racial justice. There are many people beginning to understand its past and are making active steps to write a new legacy of racial justice.

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“What White People Can Do about Racism” is a collection of thoughts by Chris Lahr. Through this blog series he hopes to touch on lessons learned from his journey of living in a small predominantly white town in Indiana to living in a city (Philadelphia) where white people are currently the minority. Check out the first post in this series here.

Chris Lahr is a Recruiter and the Academic Director for Mission Year. He is also a part of the Simple Way in Philadelphia. He is a writer and a speaker. For information about having Chris speak, email Jen Casselberry.

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End the Silence of the Good People: What White People Can Do About Racism / Sep 30, 08:36 AM

“History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.” – MLK Jr

Over the last few years as I have researched the history of my hometown’s racial past, several white people have asked me why I want to delve into things “that happened long ago” and that are “best forgotten.” For some they think I am simply trying to stir up trouble. I beg to differ. A few years ago, I visited the Holocaust Museum in Germany, the Genocide Memorial in Rwanda and the Apartheid Museum in South Africa, all in one trip. It was a heavy trip indeed, but as I reflected on my time at these places, I never got the feeling that these landmarks were somehow glorifying the past, rather they were elevating horrible events and showing humanity the evil we are capable of; and the displays all shouted “No More!” Those who forget the past are bound to repeat it.

In the last article we looked at white amnesia, the disease rampant in our society that causes people to forget the past. Not only have many white folks forgotten our nation’s racialized history…they have little desire to bring it up. Saying things like, “I never owned any slaves,” seems to get them off the hook. It is much easier being silent about things, especially when it comes to talking about race issues in our country. People have strong opinions and it is easy to get defensive. Remaining silent and being nice is simply not enough. MLK Jr. often talked about the interconnectedness of humanity. He taught, “I cannot be all that I need to be unless you are all that you need to be; and you cannot be all that you need to be unless I am all that I need to be.” All of humanity is made for community and silence does not build a healthy community.

In the last blog, we talked about the need to move from (white) guilt to action. Some practical suggestions for folks desiring to move forward in their walk towards racial justice includes: actively participating in the struggles of people of color (protests, living among), building mutual relationships, taking interest in different cultures: languages, food, music. At this stage on the journey of reconciliation a person may commit to being anti-racist in personal and public life, begin sharing feelings around race with other white people, identifying structures that perpetuate inequality and take action, and instead of hating self… directing their anger against injustice and attitudes that lead to oppression and inequality.

This move from guilt to action really began for me during a class I took at the Alternative Seminary in Philly called Christianity, Colonialism, and Deconstructing White Supremacy. The class was made up of about 50% white folks and 50% African American folks. The first few weeks we looked deeply at some of the history of racism in America. To be honest, some of the classes were really hard to take as we discussed the material…One of the things that really stuck out to me was when the professor asked if we had had enough of the history. All of the white students said “yes” and almost all of the African-American students said “no.” One lady then spoke out and said she actually enjoyed seeing the discomfort the white students were feeling and that she thought they were finally beginning to understand some of her reality. It was in this class that I realized the importance of understanding my own racial history.

It was also around this time that another experience occurred. Shortly after our new team members for Mission Year arrived in Philadelphia, we had to make a trip to the main UPS building to pick up some packages for one of the new arrivals. As is typical, we waited in a long slow-moving line. The sign on the front desk said that the proper I.D. was required. I showed the attendee my driver’s license and they proceeded to the warehouse in hunt for our packages. While we waited to the side, the next person in line (a young white man) handed his I.D. to the employee and stated that he was in the process of getting a new I.D. with his new address on it. The worker shrugged her shoulders and went on the hunt for his package.

Soon after our packages arrived, the third person in line (an African America man) showed his I.D. to a worker. The worker stated to the African-American gentleman that she could not get his package because the address on his I.D. did not match the address on the package! Initially I did not know what was going because I was glued to the coverage of the Katrina tragedy on the TV behind the desk. But as soon as the customer started showing a little anger, everyone took notice. In the midst of taking our packages to the van, things got heated between the customer and the worker; security was called. It should be noted that the African-American man was able to describe exactly what was in the package (by the way, I had no idea what was in my packages), yet they still said that he would have to go home and get other proof of identification (which meant he would have to take public transportation to the other side of Philadelphia to get it).

It wasn’t until I began to reflect on the situation that I realized what had happened… The white man behind me and I had no problem getting our packages even though our addresses did not match the address on the box!! Yet the African-American gentleman was forced to take public transportation back across town to find another form of I.D. There I was walking along in la la land, oblivious to the struggles of another human being. Did I stop and say something? Did I offer the man a ride across town? No, but I did get my packages. So what can brown do for you, as the UPS slogan states? Well if you have white skin and the wrong I.D. they will be very accommodating, but if your skin is brown you better have the proper I.D. or you will need to take an extra trip across town. Looking back at this situation I see that I failed through my silence. I have played the scenario in my mind many times over since then and I can only hope that next time, I will move beyond silence to action. So what, if I’m a nice person or “I’m not the one who denied the man his package,” I was silent and I benefitted from a system of advantage based on race. If we want to see real change in our society, the silence of the good people must stop!

“What White People Can Do about Racism” is a collection of thoughts by Chris Lahr. Through this blog series he hopes to touch on lessons learned from his journey of living in a small predominantly white town in Indiana to living in a city (Philadelphia) where white people are currently the minority. Check out the first post in this series here. Chris will be teaching the workshop, “What white people can do about racism” at the CCDA Conference in Indianapolis on October 13 and 15.
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Chris Lahr is a Recruiter and the Academic Director for Mission Year. He is also a part of the Simple Way in Philadelphia. He is a writer and a speaker. For information about having Chris speak, email Jen Casselberry.

The views expressed in this post are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mission Year or the institutions with which the writer is affiliated.

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Oh Crap, I'm White! What White People Can Do About Racism / Sep 21, 10:33 AM

One of the privileges of being white is that you do not have to think about race. On TV if a black person does something illegal you often hear about it, whereas if the guilty party is white, the reporter bypasses mentioning the fact. White folks who end up walking the path of reconciliation often have an “Oh crap, I am white” moment. This is the time when a white person realizes what it means to be white and all of the privilege this involves… history… and even pain that comes with it. Folks at this stage of reconciliation often feel guilty and even shame for the cultural privilege that they have discovered. It is not uncommon for folks at this stage to say things like, “I feel bad about myself,” “I hate being white,” “I wish I were Black/ Latino,” “White people are to blame,” “It’s my fault.” White guilt does no one any good if it does not lead to just actions.

I had one of my first “Oh crap” moments when I was at Asbury Seminary. I had signed up for the Black History and Theology course. The professor was an African-American adjunct from Detroit. During class one day he started talking about racism in the North. In my ignorance I was puzzled thinking racism was predominantly a Southern thing. He started talking about a town (back in the Underground Railroad days) that had dedicated a building that had been used to hold slaves that had ran away from the South, only to be returned to their “owners.” This place was in the town of Huntington, Indiana… I about fell off my chair, knowing this was the town of my birth, and yet I had never heard of this! I realized that day that there is a disease in our society called “White Amnesia.” White amnesia causes folks to forget history and those suffering from the disease often say things such as, “I never owned any slaves,” “That was in the past… get over it,” “If people weren’t so lazy and worked harder they would be successful like my family,” “White people have always lived here.”

A couple years later I was visiting the Huntington County Museum and I came across a bulletin for the “Dedication of the Lambdin P. Milligan Slave House” Milligan Slave House.docx. In the short document I learned about Mr. Milligan, a respected leader in the community that also was a Southern sympathizer and desired to have slavery brought back to Indiana. He was arrested for plotting an armed rebellion and was arrested and tried by the military. Long story short, he was wrongfully tried as he should have been tried locally (Habeas Corpus) and was eventually let out of jail. He was welcomed back into Huntington with a hero’s welcome and the document tells us, “Yes a citizen of Huntington County risked his life to protect freedom for us and all Americans.”

About the same time as this discovery I also came across a book by James Loewen called, Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of Racism in America. A sundown town is a place (many located in the North and Midwest) that would historically not allow people of color in after dark. In some places there were derogatory signs demanding people out by sundown while in other places there were sundown laws! Suddenly, the white amnesia began to fade and I began to see a clearer reality of the white enclave of my birth. Loewen argues that if a town is 90+% white in our day in age, than there is a good chance that it is so on purpose. For a list of possible sundown towns and the research on them up to date follow Loewen’s webpage. The next stage of reconciliation is moving from guilt to action.

This stage of reconciliation is crucial in that white folks may try to avoid the guilt, and simply sit back in the comfort of their white enclave. Just recently I entered a Facebook group made up of predominantly white people from a small town. As the issue of racism came up and was widely commented on, someone chimed in, “Can we please move on to another topic.” This is the temptation at this stage… to move on to the next topic. Rather than staring the reality of history in the face and challenging oneself to live differently, too many people simply want to move to the next topic. Walking the path of racial justice is not an easy one in our society, but if things are going to continue to get better, we must stay on the topic at hand a while longer. In the next blog, I want to talk further on moving from guilt to action.

“What White People Can Do about Racism” is a collection of thoughts by Chris Lahr. Through this blog series he hopes to touch on lessons learned from his journey of living in a small predominantly white town in Indiana to living in a city (Philadelphia) where white people are currently the minority. Check out the first post in this series here or continue reading. Chris will be teaching the workshop, “What white people can do about racism” at the CCDA Conference in Indianapolis on October 13 and 15.

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Chris Lahr is a Recruiter and the Academic Director for Mission Year. He is also a part of the Simple Way in Philadelphia. He is a writer and a speaker. For information about having Chris speak, email Jen Casselberry.

Photo credit: Gabor Palla

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