Article August 2, 2004 Issue

HOW I PRAY ABOUT RACISM

Kiatezua Lubanzadio Luyaluka

Every morning, at my office, I listen to the news on my small transistor radio. I recall a recent day when the focus was on Darfur in western Sudan. I was glad that the world community was becoming more aware of the necessity to act more decisively in order to bring peace to the black African population of Sudan, plagued by the threat of ethnic cleansing and the barbarity of racism.

I was thinking how strong the human tendency is to separate people based on different skin color, tribal affiliation, and geographical boundaries. And this in spite of the fact that God created all of us as equals. The Bible asks this question: "Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?" (Mal. 2:10).

Astronauts say that when they soar into space, all the different colors of the earth disappear from their view, and the planet looks just like a tiny, beautiful, blue ball. Similarly, as our thought rises to the divine and leaves human standpoints behind, we begin to see the oneness of the universe. We open our view to the higher qualities that each of us stands for. Racism basically shows an inability to see the good in other races or tribes. Yet we naturally love good and dislike evil. Therefore, seeing every race, every tribe, and every geographical entity as embodying God's goodness, is a way to heal discord and strife, and foster the unity of mankind.

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