Juneteenth celebration in 1900 at Eastwoods Park. Credit: Austin History Center
I got paid time and a half today at work for a holiday I never heard of until last week. I say this to my shame because I’ve lived in the US most my life and never heard of Juneteenth. I’m proud to work at a company that wanted to honor and commemorate this today and going forward.
I celebrated it today! Actually, it was on my mind most of the day. The Lord has laid it on my heart for days now, to pray in thanksgiving, and to expressly say Happy Juneteenth to my friends as well. I’m sorry for not honoring it earlier, I was ignorant, but now I am not. God helped me recall and write a few memories of His faithfulness in hard time of my life for His glory. May He get the praise
I remember Moving to Chicago and experiencing race issues deeply as I entered into the Urban Ministry track at Moody Theological Seminary. There I learned some seriously sobering truths about Slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow Laws, the Black Migration, the Projects, Civil right, systemic poverty, and the political corruption used to prolong injustices. Equally heavy was learning about the divisions within the Church around race rather than reconciliation. This was the “head work” for my adult years in Chicago.
The “heart work” played out on the job. I left the white, middle class suburbs of Denver and transferred to the lower class African American suburbs of Chicago as an overnight manager while attending Moody. My entire team changed skin color except for me. I thought I could just roll up my sleeves and get to work same ole-same ole. I didn’t make friends. Not only was I the only white leader, I was a bad listener focused doing things my way to meet company goals. I cared about company lingo rather than its employees. I used to lead as if my employees were the means to the end for my success.
But God used these school and work at the same time to break my racial bias, preunderstandings, and to relent of my leadership style. Satan wanted me to quit and fail. I did plenty of failing, I felt like quitting. But instead I kept on asking God “What can I learn? Teach me why this leading was once so easy and now is so hard?” The ambiance was so hostile as ethically degrading the music was on the P/A all night, the breakroom was so loud by people trying to out-do each other’s stories I couldn’t catch a break as I kept to myself. I was intimidated, unhappy, and insecure as a leader. It’s safe to say those that respected me were gracious and forbearing. Though it wasn’t true I felt that I was not being respected at all, rather I was perpetuating the perception of slavery a white man telling many black people what to do.
Biblical leadership, particularly Jesus Christ style of leadership helped me see 2 things. 1 that God care for the people I lead more than my own success. And 2 Jesus is a shepherd leader not a cattle driver. I started praying to this end.
By God’s grace inroads were made, God showed me His love and plans for the team members who would open up to me. God showed me the hearts of my team members. It was humbling to realize that nearly everyone counted this job to make ends meet. That was so different than the people I led in Colorado. I heard dreams of a 65-year-old lady who wanted to open a roller rink. I understood the persistence of a young mother working overnight and raising 2 girls during the day one of whom was heavily autistic. I let myself be schooled.
My leadership skills transformed into shepherding. There was still some cattle driving for getting results from the few that would not respond to my radical change. I tried to confront conflict and poor performers in gentleness. I became good at making eye-contact, questioning and seeking to understand rather than dismissing and gossiping about my frustrations. Gentleness is a quality in leadership that ought never to be mistaken for timidity or avoidance. I was leading from the front of my team putting up good examples of work ethic and modeling teachability. Expressing appreciation, voicing encouragement, pointing out the good, and even being the butt of a lighthearted joke became an everyday thing. Me being consistent in this approach and recognition meant that my team starting to “recognize my voice”. I was so busy trying new things that the music didn’t bother me, and I started holding my head up in the breakroom and listen. There were still people that played out racial roles with me, but I wasn’t falling into it. I changed, I can’t change them, God was working!
There is a tenderhearted mercy that I long to express to the
African Americans reading this because I have learned from the past and from personal
experience that racism has its residue in America today, and the role playing
needs to stop. I know that walls turn
into bridges with humility and gentleness. I think celebrating Juneteenth as a
national holiday is worthwhile. So, what's the justice in poverty? Why was I not born into cyclical
poverty? Why was I not raised with the majority telling me "you will never
go.” I challenge this racial bias that is prevalent and racist at its origin, I
challenge the marginalization, the poverty mindset to urge progress and unity
in the name of Jesus.
"So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:26-28
