Christian contemporary singer Jamie Grace recently opened up about racism she experienced in church. A white pastor who invited her to sing at his church didn’t know she was Black, and when he found out, he seemed to regret it.
“If I had known Jamie Grace was black, I definitely would not have brought her here…” she wrote on Twitter, telling fans how a white pastor said this to her merchandise manager who was setting up her banner in the lobby of the pastor’s church.
“The quote above represents one of many personal experiences. Sadly, racism is very much thriving in many Christian communities. My question to you is, what will you do about it? How will you search your heart to make sure it is clear of discrimination and bias?” she asked on social media. “And if you have checked, and it’s clear, how will hold your community accountable? How will you actively raise anti-racist children? How will you uplift the voices of black men and women beyond a retweet or post on social media?”
Grace, whose audience is predominantly white, encouraged her followers to respond by putting their action into words.
“Unsure of where to start? If you have the day off of work today, watch ‘When They See Us’ on Netflix. If you have a few hours or even minutes, check the ‘Live About It’ or ‘Anti-Racism’ highlights on my Instagram,” she said. “If you had the time to read all of this, but are unable to take at least 3 minutes to see or save the resources listed, please consider unfollowing me. I do not share this story to cause shock and awe followed by lack of action. Thank you so much for understanding.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBZHF1CnQb5