Pastor Matt Chandler from The Village Church in Texas, and the head of the church planting network Acts 29 talked about some of his thoughts on the recent events that have been taking place in Ferguson, Missouri through Twitter and from the pew. He addressed the issue that everyone is curious about; the presence of "white privilege" in contemporary America.
"When I look at Ferguson and think of the nonsense that's going on in Ferguson, even how it's being handled on all different sides"¦my heart just grieves." Chandler said on his blog. " As a white man who does not struggle with white guilt, here's what I know. My 8 year old son is blonde and has blue eyes"¦my son never in his life will be followed around a store and wonder what he's doing."
The pastor continued to talk about the incidents in Ferguson on his church blog. He expressed that the idea of white privilege is somewhat different from blatant racism, and that people who experience it may not be racist at all themselves. "What is so deceptive about white privilege is that it is different from blatant racism or bias." Chandler said. "A privileged person's heart may be free from racist thoughts or biased attitudes, but may still fail to see how the very privilege afforded to him or her shapes how he or she interprets and understands the situations and circumstances of people without privilege."
In other words, the average white person may not even realize such a privilege exists. What was clear to the Texas pastor is that America, or at least White America has not gone past racism. He urged people all over the nation to move past it.
Tension rose up in Ferguson, Missouri after the shooting of African American teenager Michael Brown on August 9th by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. The state government declared a state of emergency and a curfew in Ferguson but around 200 protestors broke the curfew to come out and demonstrate after learning about the death of Michael Brown.
On Monday, two protestors were shot and up to now about 75 people were arrested for not dispersing after warnings from the police.
