Article January 19, 1998 Issue

Fighting racism: from fists to prayer

A better response to racial hatred

By Julio C. Rivas T.

I HAD just finished greeting a classmate and his friend, who were seated at a table in the university lounge. His friend, whom I did not know, said in a loud voice, "Oh, don't tell me you are friends with a 'wetback'! These people should not be in this university or even in this country." Although I felt upset by his statement, I ignored it, completed saying what I originally intended to say to the classmate, and then left.

When I was a teenager, my response to such treatment was often to fight back with words and even physical violence. But I grew in my understanding of God and of His love and His laws. As a result, I learned a way to respond to racism more effectively—the way of prayer and spiritual understanding.

God is imparting divine intelligence, love, and wisdom to each of us. He freely gives these to us because we are all, in fact, His children, made in His image. As the image, or spiritual idea, of God, divine Mind, I came to understand that physical appearance and human environment have nothing to do with our selfhood as God's children. Beginning to see this truth allowed me to stop judging according to the flesh, and to start looking for others' spiritual worth.

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Fighting racism: from fists to prayer

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