Slavery is a Black and White Issue

We must honestly address our country's sins but we must remember that it's people who sin, not races. If we negatively stereotype all whites, we are no different than the bigots who negatively stereotyped all blacks. We must refuse Uneducated Bigotry and we must refuse to deny or downplay our racial sins. We must remember that God's Kingdom consists of all believers from All Nations and All Races.

 

With that as a backdrop, let's honestly admit to one of our sins.

They could breathe in the dark underbelly of the church only because there were holes in the Georgian pinewood floor above them. Some would die before they reached northern safety, but these runaway slaves thought freedom was worth the risk.

Air holes in the church floor.

The First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia has a pattern of air holes in their basement floor above an historic secret tunnel of the Underground Railroad. Before slavery was abolished, slaves purchased the church property with money they'd saved to buy their children's freedom. (Some masters paid slaves small stipends for work done after their unpaid workday.) Working nights, the slaves rebuilt the church, creating a secret tunnel in the process.

A white church (still in existence today) accepted the slave's freedom money for a property they no longer needed. Like other "Christian" slave owners, they justified slavery with out-of-context Bible passages while ignoring in-context passages.(1)

From Stephen's Cornerstone Speech

Sarah Grimke, one of a tiny minority of white southern abolitionists, described the beating of a runaway slave woman: “[A] finger could not be laid between the cuts…a heavy iron collar with three prongs projecting from it, was placed around her neck, and a strong and sound front tooth was extracted, to serve as a mark to describe her, in case of escape…These outrages were committed in a family where the mistress daily read the Scriptures, and assembled her children for family worship.”(2) Accounts like these are common.

I’m not a Southerner—I'm glad I didn't grow up hearing the “state’s rights” justification for the Civil War(3), and I’m sad to see anyone fly the Confederate flag. But I realize how easily evil can exist when good men do nothing. I'm sure many whites were opposed to the ownership and abuse of black human beings, but most of them were silent or "pro-choice" just as many are today when it comes to the modern "ownership" and abuse of the unborn. But praise God for those who spoke up and fought against it. If those whites had not joined their black brothers and sisters to stand against it, it would have continued even longer.

From Texas Secession Papers

Slavery isn't a morally gray area--it's a black and white issue, and many of our ancestors have some culpability. If you think bigotry ended long ago, think again. Less than fifty years ago, southern white “Christians” insisted on segregated seating at Billy Graham Crusades until Graham refused to put up with it any longer! And the poison that caused slavery is still with us in the form of half-truth justifications for the Civil War, and ignorant or deliberate honor for the Confederate flag.(3)

I'm ashamed to say that sometimes when I hear uninformed remarks about the war, slavery, and the Confederate flag from white Christians, I want to say nothing...just like my ancestors may have said nothing during the days of slavery. But I Must speak Up!

From SC Secession Papers

I see two major hindrances to healing between black and white Americans: 

1. Claims that all whites are inherently evil and/or bigoted. This is no different than bigotry against blacks and it causes resentment, not reconciliation.  

2. Whites who refuse to admit the evils of the Confederacy and/or refuse to admit that many of their black brothers and sisters have faced bigotry that most whites have not experienced.

In 1995, 150 years after they broke from northern Baptists, the Southern Baptist Church officially repented of their denomination's pro-slavery and anti-civil rights sins.(4) 

Even though I wish this had happened earlier, I think it was important. White Americans need to be fully informed about the past so we don't repeat it, and we need to educate ourselves regarding the challenges that our black brothers and sisters still face. 

Christians of every color should lead the way in discussing our questions, concerns, and experiences in an atmosphere of love, forgiveness, and respect.  

Are we ready, like the slaves beneath the church floor, to take a risk for freedom? There is only one escape from sin's dark underbelly. It is through empathy, honesty, and Christian love--"Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” John 8:32.(5)

Resource: I encourage you to read about genuine Christians who fought against slavery and bigotry. They are mentioned in Uneducated Bigotry. I also encourage you to listen to this short video done by Allen Parr, an African-American. It gives great biblical advice about ways we can discuss racial issues with each other to bring healing and understanding. It neither supports nor rejects CRT:  What is Critical Race Theory?

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(1) During the Confederacy, most 'Christian' slave owners had convinced themselves that slavery was Biblical. To read how ridiculous this claim is read: 
Does the Bible Support Slavery?
Does the Bible Condone Slavery? 
Short video explanation: Biblical Slavery in a Nutshell.

(2)  From Sea to Shining Sea, Peter Marshall and David Manuel, (Fleming H. Revell), 1986, page 246.

(3)  Although many Southerners continue to claim that the war was about their belief in "states' rights," in truth, the Confederacy opposed "states' rights." They opposed Northern states who refused to return runaway slaves and they were offended and concerned that many Northern states allowed or supported abolitionist organizations and some Northern states had given black men the right to vote. The South made it clear in all of their secession papers that their reason for declaring war against their own country was their demand to own black people, and this is not an assumption. It is confirmed in their Confederate documents. Alexander Stephens, Confederate vice-president, explained this when he said the foundation of the Confederacy rested "upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition.” (from Stephen's Cornerstone Speech).  See also Five Myths about why the South Seceded. 
Although some Southerners call the Civil War "the War of Northern Aggression," The South started the war when they attacked soldiers at Ft. Sumter, SC. 

(4) Resolution On Racial Reconciliation On The 150th Anniversary Of The Southern Baptist Convention

(5) Even if you have done what is right and never acted in prejudice, consider Daniel's confession in Daniel 9. He confessed the sins of his people in his prayers even though he had not specifically committed those sins himself.

 

Bible Love Notes features 1-minute devotions to our thousands of subscribers, but occasionally we feature a longer article like this one. This was written in 2011 and updated in 2021.