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We hear a lot about the concept of racial reconciliation in Christian circles today. Yet how often do we think about what we mean by racial reconciliation? In one sense, no one is completely sure what it means because this concept easily represents contrasting ideas to different Christians. Nevertheless, it is still important for us to have a well-developed idea of what we mean when we talk about racial reconciliation. It is also important to explore how this idea may differ from non-Christian ideas as to how to solve the social problems of racism and racial alienation in our society. I will use this paper to explore a possible construction of racial reconciliation as a Christian concept and to see how our Christianity may shape a different answer to racial problems in our society than the answers given to us by secular thinkers in America.

To understand what racial reconciliation is, we have to first understand what it is not. There are two basic approaches that dominate how non-Christians attempt to handle racial problems. The first approach is what I call the “color-blind” model. Whenever I teach race/ethnicity, I generally have students (who are usually white) that question why we even have to study about race and ethnicity. Their thinking is that if we can ignore race then racism will disappear. The focus of the color-blind model is that despite the past historical abuses that minorities have suffered, neither whites nor racial minorities today should enjoy any economic or social advantages because of their skin color. Thus we should treat skin color as if it were hair color. The goals of this model are admirable since if we could become “color-blind” then many of the problems connected to racism would disappear. A real question is whether we can have a color-blind society now or whether we still must take “color-conscious” steps to alleviate the racial inequities and tensions in our society today.

It is naïve to believe that race does not continue to affect the life chances of racial minorities. Most racial minorities are aware that white Americans have historically benefited from racial privilege and that this privilege continues to be passed down from one generation to the next. For example, the land where most white Americans live was once the home of Native Americans. Whites today are able to purchase land at relatively devalued prices because that land was stolen from the American Indians. Thus whites, as well as other non-Indian races, currently benefit from these historical sins and it is a mistake to ignore those past misdeeds. Corporate sins, as well as personal sins, must be addressed if we are going to rebuild fallen Native American relationships. Advocates of a color-blind society too easily dismiss the seriousness of historical and structural sins, and are unaware of the ways these sins affect our current racial relationships.

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