Faithfully Magazine
  • News
    • All
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • World
    Crystal Mason provisional ballot

    Texas Court Must Reconsider Illegal Voting Conviction of Black Woman Sentenced to 5 Years

    Kelly Neidert UNT

    ‘The Most Hated Conservative College Student in the State’: How a Texas Student Embroiled Her Campus in a Culture War

    Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson

    Ketanji Brown Jackson Will Be the First Black Woman Supreme Court Justice

    Texas death row inmate John Henry Ramirez

    ‘Pastor Touch’ Case Ruled in Favor of Death Row Inmate John Henry Ramirez

  • Clippings
    The May 13, 2022, funeral procession of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh in Jerusalem

    Israeli Police Attack Christian Journalist’s Funeral Procession, Beat Mourners

    cellphone

    Nigerian Student Beaten to Death, Set on Fire for Critical WhatsApp Post of Prophet Muhammad

    Indian Boarding School Students

    Christians Likely Helped Run Half of U.S. Indian Boarding Schools

    Liberty University.

    Liberty University Settles Suit With 12 Women Over Alleged Mishandled Assault Cases

  • Features
    children in a classroom getting education

    On Race and Schools, Here’s What Americans Agree and Disagree On

    Kelly Neidert UNT

    ‘The Most Hated Conservative College Student in the State’: How a Texas Student Embroiled Her Campus in a Culture War

    Stop Asian Hate sign

    ‘We Are Being Hunted’ — Asian Americans Say They Are More Scared Now Than Ever

    Ida B. Wells Doll Barbie

    Ida B. Wells Barbie Doll Faces an Uphill Battle Against Anti-Blackness

  • Inspiration
    • All
    • Bible
    • First-Person Essay
    • Poetry
    Everything Everywhere All At Once. (A24 Films)

    ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ & the Absurdity of Love as Resistance

    God Speaks Through Wombs: Poems on God's Unexpected Coming

    The Gospels Give Birth to Poetry (‘God Speaks Through Wombs’ Excerpt)

    two women talk

    100 Proverbs That Teach Us How to Speak, Listen, and Respectfully Disagree

    Rapper J Cole and a hanging tree

    J. Cole’s ‘Javari,’ the Cross, and the Lynching Tree

  • Members
  • About Us
    • Staff and Advisors
    • Write for Us
    • Advertise With Us
SUBSCRIBE
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • All
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • World
    Crystal Mason provisional ballot

    Texas Court Must Reconsider Illegal Voting Conviction of Black Woman Sentenced to 5 Years

    Kelly Neidert UNT

    ‘The Most Hated Conservative College Student in the State’: How a Texas Student Embroiled Her Campus in a Culture War

    Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson

    Ketanji Brown Jackson Will Be the First Black Woman Supreme Court Justice

    Texas death row inmate John Henry Ramirez

    ‘Pastor Touch’ Case Ruled in Favor of Death Row Inmate John Henry Ramirez

  • Clippings
    The May 13, 2022, funeral procession of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh in Jerusalem

    Israeli Police Attack Christian Journalist’s Funeral Procession, Beat Mourners

    cellphone

    Nigerian Student Beaten to Death, Set on Fire for Critical WhatsApp Post of Prophet Muhammad

    Indian Boarding School Students

    Christians Likely Helped Run Half of U.S. Indian Boarding Schools

    Liberty University.

    Liberty University Settles Suit With 12 Women Over Alleged Mishandled Assault Cases

  • Features
    children in a classroom getting education

    On Race and Schools, Here’s What Americans Agree and Disagree On

    Kelly Neidert UNT

    ‘The Most Hated Conservative College Student in the State’: How a Texas Student Embroiled Her Campus in a Culture War

    Stop Asian Hate sign

    ‘We Are Being Hunted’ — Asian Americans Say They Are More Scared Now Than Ever

    Ida B. Wells Doll Barbie

    Ida B. Wells Barbie Doll Faces an Uphill Battle Against Anti-Blackness

  • Inspiration
    • All
    • Bible
    • First-Person Essay
    • Poetry
    Everything Everywhere All At Once. (A24 Films)

    ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ & the Absurdity of Love as Resistance

    God Speaks Through Wombs: Poems on God's Unexpected Coming

    The Gospels Give Birth to Poetry (‘God Speaks Through Wombs’ Excerpt)

    two women talk

    100 Proverbs That Teach Us How to Speak, Listen, and Respectfully Disagree

    Rapper J Cole and a hanging tree

    J. Cole’s ‘Javari,’ the Cross, and the Lynching Tree

  • Members
  • About Us
    • Staff and Advisors
    • Write for Us
    • Advertise With Us
No Result
View All Result
Faithfully Magazine
No Result
View All Result

#FMFieldNotes 2: Doing Our History Homework

Lanie Anderson by Lanie Anderson
November 6, 2017
in FM Fieldnotes
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0
history reconciliation
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on RedditShare on LinkedInEmail This
ShareTweetPin It

Lanie Anderson Faithfully MagazineEditor’s note: If you’ve ever visited our Staff page, you’ll know that Lanie is pursuing a Master’s in Christian apologetics at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. She also writes and edits for Be the Bridge, a nonprofit that provides resources for Christians pursuing racial unity in their churches and communities.

This series was first published exclusively via the Faithfully Magazine newsletter. Each of the six parts, in addition to the introduction, were made available on faithfullymagazine.com and appear as they did in the newsletter, unless specifically noted. Jump to the bottom to access other parts of this series.

Mosaic Coffee

I grew up 30 minutes from Shiloh, Tennessee, the location of the Civil War’s famous Battle of Shiloh.

RELATED STORIES

Q&A: Brenda Salter McNeil on Her Journey Into Ministry, Reconciliation Risks, and Becoming Brave Like Esther

Study: One-Third of White Christians Say Church Has No Role in Addressing Racial Injustice

As a child, I remember attending a couple of the battle’s reenactments at Shiloh National Military Park.

Actors depicted scenes of gaiety, as if “a good time was had by all” during the war.

Before the annual reenactment of the Battle of Shiloh, I remember ambling around Confederate campsites and even playing poker (as best as a child knows how to play poker) with Confederate soldiers. White women in hoop skirts floated between tents with fans in hand, waving away summer’s humidity.

The reenactment seemed more like an attempt to glorify the Civil War and preserve “Southern heritage.”

However, as a Southerner from Mississippi, I feel now that this is not the “heritage” we should want to preserve but instead lament as a reminder of former sins.

This raises the question of how we learn about our history and heritage. Who are the storytellers and heroes of history?

It is likely you received a whitewashed view of history from grade school and through college. By “whitewashed,” I mean that you mainly learned about the history of White Americans as told through the perspectives of White Americans.

That’s a lot of whiteness.

For example, I always learned that the Civil War began over states’ rights and the economy. You could state its motivations in those terms, but my home state of Mississippi’s “Declaration of Succession” leaves little room for nuance:

Hulu

“Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product… by an imperious law of nature, none but the [B]lack race can bear exposure to the tropical sun.”

This is why we should expand our knowledge of history. We should read history from the perspectives and narratives of ethnicities outside of our own, and we should scrutinize the angles from which we receive history and the heroes they exalt.

Furthermore, it is equally important to learn about the history of our context.

The Christian in America does not have to look far in his or her context to notice the divide that still exists between races on Sunday mornings. A great place to start in order to understand why the church seems segregated is Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by Christian Smith and Michael O. Emerson.

Another of my personal contexts as a church member and seminary student is the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), a denomination founded in 1845 after splitting from Northern Baptists over the latter’s refusal to support missionaries who were slaveholders.

An awareness of this history makes me more empathetic toward my Black brother’s or sister’s hesitancy to attend anything related to the SBC.

Think about your own context. Have you ever questioned why people, when asked about racial disparities in your community, respond with “that’s just the way things are?”

Do “White flight” schools exist? Does the company you work for only have White leadership, yet many people of color are employees? Do children of color sit separately from White children in the cafeteria? Is your city a major city for refugee resettlement? What are the stories of indigenous people where you live? Does your university have a history of discrimination based on race?

We do not often think of grasping a fuller picture of history as a practical way of loving our neighbors.

Becoming aware of the history of our country contexts helps us better understand our Christian brothers’ and sisters’ experiences and perspectives, and advocate for change where needed.

Some questions to consider…

  • Reflect on how you learned about history as a child. Did you read books or attend events about history that only told one side of history’s story?
  • Do you know about your community’s racial past? How can you learn more about the history of your context?
  • In what ways is your community divided? Have you ever questioned why?
  • Make a list of historical topics about your country or community of which you know very little. Begin to look for books and other resources that can help you gain a fuller understanding of history and its effects today.  

Share your responses with us using the hashtag #FMfieldnotes!

Field Notes on Racial Reconciliation:

  • #FMFieldNotes: Introducing ‘Field Notes on Racial Reconciliation’ Series
  • #FMFieldNotes 1: Confronting Our Sins of Racism, Prejudice and Bias
  • #FMFieldNotes 2: Doing Our History Homework
  • #FMFieldNotes 3: Listening and Learning from People of Other Ethnicities
  • #FMFieldNotes 4: Embracing Racial Reconciliation as a Gospel Issue
  • #FMFieldNotes 5: Resisting a False Dilemma Between Systemic Problems and Poor Choices
  • #FMFieldNotes Part 6: Starting or Joining the Conversation of Race

For early access to future exclusive newsletter series and content, be sure to enter your email address in the form below.

Photo by

Leave your vote

0 Points
Upvote Downvote

Browse and manage your votes from your Member Profile Page

What's Your Reaction?

  • AngryAngry
    0
    Angry
  • CuteCute
    0
    Cute
  • CryCry
    0
    Cry
  • LOLLOL
    0
    LOL
  • LoveLove
    0
    Love
  • OMGOMG
    0
    OMG

REPRINT REQUESTS | MEMBERSHIPS | GIVE



Share This Post

Share via

Share This Post

  • Digg
  • Tumblr
  • Flipboard
  • SMS
More
  • Report
ShareTweetPin It

Related Posts

colors

#FMFieldNotes Part 6: Starting or Joining the Conversation of Race

reconciliation

#FMFieldNotes 5: Resisting a False Dilemma Between Systemic Problems and Poor Choices

Upcoming Live Events

There are no upcoming Events at this time.

Recently Published

  • Israeli Police Attack Christian Journalist’s Funeral Procession, Beat Mourners
  • Nigerian Student Beaten to Death, Set on Fire for Critical WhatsApp Post of Prophet Muhammad
  • Christians Likely Helped Run Half of U.S. Indian Boarding Schools
  • Liberty University Settles Suit With 12 Women Over Alleged Mishandled Assault Cases
  • Texas Court Must Reconsider Illegal Voting Conviction of Black Woman Sentenced to 5 Years
Mosaic Coffee
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Shop
  • Newsletter

© 2022 Faithfully Media LLC, owner and operator. All rights reserved. This site participates in the Amazon Associates program, and other affiliate programs, and may earn a commission from your purchases.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Clippings
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Inspiration
  • Log In
    • Your Profile
Share via

Share This Post

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • Copy Link
  • Tumblr
  • Digg
  • Flipboard
  • SMS
close

Log In

Sign In

Login with Facebook
Login with Twitter
Forgot password?

Don't have an account? Register

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Back to Login

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Accept

Add to Collection

  • Public collection title

  • Private collection title

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Send this to a friend