On May 25, 2020, a 46-year-old black man named George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A video lasting 8:46 showed the final minutes of his life and his death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer. Anyone who has seen the video, in context, is convinced of the obvious nature of the homicide, the police brutality, and the lack of accountability. This incident follows one in rural Georgia where Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black man, was run down by a former police officer and his son, and shot dead during the ensuing confrontation. The video of that incident was not made public until some two months after the shooting following a series of recusals and obfuscations by the police and county attorneys that had failed to even arrest the two men for possible homicide.
Between 15 million and 26 million people had participated at some point in the demonstrations in the United States following the death of George Floyd, making the protests the largest in United States history. At least 200 cities in the U.S. had imposed curfews by June 3, while at least more than 30 states and Washington, D.C. activated over 62,000 National Guard personnel due to the mass unrest.
In both cases there were many details, including prior arrests and criminal records, that perhaps justified questioning and arresting Floyd or Arbery. But people of all races have agreed that neither case justified the death of an unarmed man at the hands of law enforcement. As a result, there have been protests and demonstrations in more than 2,000 U.S. cities, arrests and prosecutions, numerous legislative proposals, riots and looting, rejection of authority, and calls to do everything from tearing down Mt. Rushmore to changing the name of Rhode Island.
As the United States enters its 245th year, it is anything but united. It may be divided more so than any other point in its history outside of the Civil War. And this gap runs deep, crossing racial, political, social, economic and cultural lines. Throw in a healthy dose of anonymous comments daily by way of social media, and news cameras and personalities stoking the unrest, and society itself is a powder keg, with only so much as a Tweet of the wrong persuasion needed to set it off. Not being shy about touchy topics, then, let’s dive into the third-rail of socio-religious debate, and talk about race and leadership.
As a leader, what can you accomplish in this climate of racial division, and in what direction should you lead others? Nobody really wants yet another lecture on how to have better race relations. You’ve heard it from every news outlet, every pastor in every pulpit, every author and blogger, at the water cooler, likely even in your own home. Certainly you and/or your organization should make a statement. Take a stand. Endorse a cause. Partner with an agency. Something like that. Every major organization, corporation, personality and politician during these intervening weeks has stumbled through a response they felt they had to make, to a vague audience, in the effort to make a difference, or demonstrate “we care”.
Never view a cultural challenge first through a political, emotional or economic lens. As a leader, the issue of racial division in our society is an opportunity to lead. Focus on it then, through your eyes as a leader. No matter the specific issue, a cultural leader discovers the root problem, seeks real solutions, and leads his team toward that goal. And his leadership is also impactful on a personal and spiritual level. Beyond words, real leadership moves the ball down the field, and avoids platitudes and platforms to build something lasting.
Lead by acknowledging the root problem. The racial division in our culture is a problem that has been addressed in various forms since the founding of our country. A civil war, Jim Crow laws, the civil rights movement, segregation, affirmative action, riots, police brutality—these are negative and positive aspects of the problem we still face as a nation, which is the lack of deep, meaningful relationships among various ethnic groups. Because we don’t fundamentally know each other, we don’t love each other. And the result of multiple groups of differing people without love toward each other is that we fight. And we have been doing so for some time.
(Please note that a white person is writing this.) According to a 2013 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, about 75% of all white people in the United States have no black friends. The study shows that the vast majority of white Americans exist in “entirely white social networks without any minority presence.” The implication of these findings is that when we talk about race in our personal lives, we are by and large discussing it with people who look like us. We don’t consider ourselves racist because when we come across people of another race we treat them with the same kindness and fairness that we treat everyone else. But we also don’t go out of our way to connect with them either.
What makes Floyd’s death especially tragic is that he was unmoving and unconscious for the last three minutes of his life. Yet the officer pictured continued to press Floyd’s neck to the ground under his knee.
People of various races will disagree whether police forces, or politicians, or educational institutions, contain elements of systemic racism, or whether they suffer from “a few bad apples”. But the data clearly shows that races clump together with their own. Living largely “separate but equal” is a systemic issue in our culture. This is unfortunately and especially true of Christ-followers. American churches have often been called the most segregated places in the nation to meet each Sunday.
Genesis 1:26 reminds us that we are all created in the image of God. To presuppose that one’s own race or ethnicity is superior to someone else’s is a denial of the fact that all people are created in the image of God. But while we would not take the stance that one race is superior to another, clearly we live in such a way as to communicate one race is preferred. To lead out in this area, we must acknowledge that the widest gulf we face is in the area of personal friendship among our various races.
Lead in building relationships. One of the most difficult things to do as a person, much less a leader, is to lean in toward people who are different than you. Different not in skin color, but in background and experience, worldview, social circles and cultural preferences. Often those differences are reflected or identified in skin color, but that is a surface judgment that misses the vastly divergent lives that people lead. To stay in groups of like-minded individuals is not just a tendency, it’s often the default. Intentional relationship building with people who think differently takes time. Racial division will not be solved at the negotiating table. It will be solved at the dinner table. It is not a task for the board room, but for the living room.
Colossians 3:13-14 says to “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” The mandate is clear that a Christ-follower should be willing to make the first move. “Bearing with each other” means sacrificing for the people you know, even when you are giving up something major. It means knowing, understanding, and accepting that your loved ones, friends and acquaintances are going to fail you. They aren’t always going to get it right, but neither are you. A leader values friendships for more than what they can get out of them, but also for what they can contribute to them.
A common thread among thoughtful civic and faith leaders during the most recent racial issues is that in order to make real progress on racial reconciliation, white people must step up and intentionally befriend people of other races. Organizations like the OneRace Movement (oneracemovement.com) are helping white and black Christ-followers build these meaningful relationships through prayer groups and gatherings, special events and crucial conversations among faith leaders of various races. As a leader, consider having a family of another race over for dinner as a start. Value conversations with people of other races.
Lead through selective input. Perhaps the most helpful and difficult aspects of today’s climate of racial unrest is the presence of social media. On the one hand, viral videos have revealed shocking and damaging revelations with regard to racial justice in our country. On the other, it has stoked the anger of millions so loudly that cooler heads can’t be heard, much less prevail. A leader, seeing an issue and division, naturally moves toward discourse and dialog. We want to listen, to talk it out, to come to an understanding and agreement. But if everybody wants to scream instead of talk, or trump your reasoned statement with a quote by so-and-so that proves unequivocally they’re right, what are you to do?
Focusing on direct communication is the best option. As you build cross-cultural relationships connected to home and work, avoid the temptation to express opinions or share viewpoints. Listen to and seek actual experiences. Do not add your two cents to the giant pile of social media animosity on both sides. Limit your use of social media. A 2018 study by the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology found that constant social media use not only increased negative emotional response, but also led to an increase in depression and loneliness. Researcher Melissa G. Hunt comments, “When you’re not busy getting sucked into clickbait social media, you’re actually spending more time on things that are more likely to make you feel better about your life.”
Staying away from social media also allows you to select input from other sources, especially in personal conversation and social activities. Instead of ingesting the daily news narrative, grab a bite to eat with someone of another race; go to a sporting event, start a chat in the break room at the office, have the neighbors over on Saturday, double-date to a movie. All of these simple activities give you the opportunity to gain input from others that is in context. You will learn so much more about people of all ethnicities when engaging their hearts and minds, versus finding a snappy hashtag to marry to your own thoughts.
Lead by turning to God. Christians are sometimes quick to point out the viewpoint in Genesis we mentioned earlier and tout “one race, the human race”. But the issue of racial division is actually addressed in the Bible. In the first century, it was common to assign different values to different races and ethnicities. Foreigners, women, and children were generally regarded as property owned by the male heads of households and local rulers. Foreigners would often be employed in bonded labor (enslavement to pay off debts, like Jesus mentioned in Matthew 18:21-35), making it difficult or impossible to live freely. Paul, one of the early church’s leaders, wrote about divisions caused by racism.
Rather than telling Christians to ignore the discrimination against Gentiles, Paul addressed it head-on: “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him” (Romans 10:12). We see this echoed later when Philip, also a leader of the church, helps an Ethiopian eunuch understand part of the Bible and begin following Jesus (Acts 8:26-40). Other people don’t determine our value; God does. God isn’t about separation, but inclusion and unity. Jesus made it possible for anyone to be included in the people and promises of God (Galatians 3:28).
Because of what God has said about how Christ-followers should treat one another, the issue of racial reconciliation is consistent with Christ-like character. Just as God restores our relationship with Him, He wants us to be restored to people and groups we are segregated from, either through our own actions or those who came before us. That’s called reconciliation: the removal of prejudice and the restoration of a relationship to healthy understanding and appreciation for each other. God is a reconciling God. The Gospel is, at its core, a message of reconciliation. God brings peace where there was once strife, and kindness where there was once animosity. He’s done it with us and He can do it between us and our neighbors—whether black, white, Latino, or otherwise.
If we belong to Jesus, we are part of His movement to bring more reconciliation between people and God (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). As His representatives, we have the opportunity to share how the life-changing message of the Gospel creates a healthy relationship with God and healthy relationships between people, no matter who they are.
Racial issues will not be solved quickly. For this reason, a final note for the leader: Talk to your children about race. Even if they are already grown and on their own, do not take their views for granted. Instead of trying to ignore or avoid the topics of racial diversity, differences, and harmony, teach them to embrace them. Show them from scripture why we all should. Take the long view, that the seasoned adult generation can be reconciled to God and to one another. And that if a percentage of those have difficulty with lingering prejudice, then their children will be more capable to build a bridge between races as they grow up.
And stay at it. A real leader ,when faced with a tremendous problem, doesn’t throw his hands in the air and cry “surrender”. Rather, he puts his hands to work, one step and one relationship at a time, to turn the course toward racial harmony. When we see circumstances like the death of George Floyd, and its ensuing trail of tears, we should lament where we are. But as leaders, we should realize we do not have to stay that way.