During a weekend evangelical seminary webinar, a veteran African American community leader blasted critical race theory, adding that the United States has a "grace problem" rather than a "race problem."
On Saturday, the Southern Evangelical Seminary's virtual program "Awaken: Thinking Well About Wokism, Social Justice, and Racial Reconciliation" featured Bob Woodson, director of the Woodson Center and founder of the "National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise," the Christian Post reports.
When asked whether America is systematically racist, Woodson, 83, said that critical race theory "should be replaced by critical grace theory."
"America does not have a race problem, but it has a grace problem," he was quoted as saying.
Instead of structural racism, Woodson - who had seen racism firsthand in his youth- blamed the issues afflicting African Americans in modern American society on the "expansion of the social safety net."
According to the data collected by the T.D. Jakes Foundation, between 1983 and 2013, the median wealth of a black family decreased by 75% (from $6,800 to $1,700), while the median wealth of a Latino household decreased by 50% (from $4,800 to $2,000).
Simultaneously, the median white household's net worth rose by 14%, from $102,000 to $116,000.
It further said that irrespective of the education, marital status, age or income of the families, the wealth disparity remains. It also pointed out that for every $100 in wealth held by white households, black families own only $5.04.
Returning to Woodson, he addressed the importance of the black church in improving the lives of African Americans in the century after the abolition of slavery. When it was found that the black population had a 75% illiteracy rate, several black churches established Sabbath Schools, said Woodson. He remembered that "within 40 years, that level of illiteracy went down from 75% to 30%."
According to Woodson, "Christian values" and "Christian principles" allowed the African-American community to enjoy considerable "peace and prosperity" amid the hardship they experienced as a result of the Great Depression and prejudice.
"We had the highest marriage rate of any other group in society during [the] depression because of our faith and because of ... our attitude of self-determination." he said as quoted by CP.
Concerning critical race theory, Woodson encouraged people to heed the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a late civil rights leader who maintained that "we should not enter into this bitter conflict with the purpose of humiliating or destroying our enemy. But we should do so with God's love and God's grace, and we should do so with the goal of transforming the oppressor."
The objective, according to Woodson, was not to beat or shame the opponent, but rather "to humanize him or her" in order to sow "the seeds of friendship or an eventual alliance."
Woodson characterized the CRT paradigm as "ridiculous" and "really harmful," emphasizing that "that's what we fought against."
"It's really stereotyping that we should define not by God's judgment on us or God's grace, but that we should be defined as a group ... as a category," he pointed out.
Earlier in his speech, Woodson said that such philosophy has tainted the civil rights movement of which he is a proud member. He went on to say that it has now "degenerated into a race grievance and has allowed itself to be used."
Although much of his talk concentrated on the problems faced by the African American community, Woodson provided the broader perspective. He underscored that U.S., as a nation, is currently "in a moral and spiritual freefall" that is "consuming people of all classes and all areas."
