Race Is a Man-Made Concept

In my last post, The Pope is Black, I made the point that race is a made-up construct.
It was invented centuries ago for nefarious reasons.

Race, as we know it, did not exist thousands of years ago—not even in the Bible.
Slavery? Yes. Class distinctions? Yes. War and oppression? Certainly.
But none of it was based on skin color.

Race was created in the 1600s to justify slavery, colonialism, and white supremacy.
A terrible invention that still shapes our world.

The Pope and the Boundaries of Race

I used the new Pope’s lineage to illustrate how arbitrary and ridiculous racial boundaries are.
They constantly shift depending on power, geography, and politics.

My linear brain wondered: how long would it take for race to disappear entirely?
Would the idea eventually dissolve under its own contradictions?

“Why Would I Want to Blot Out Race?”

Then a friend from church challenged me.
“Why would I want to blot out race?” she asked. “I love being Black.”

That question gave me pause.
It stayed with me and started to reshape my thinking.

What Do You Like About Being Your Race?

I thought back to the many People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond Undoing Racism workshops I’ve attended.
One question from those workshops stands out:

“What do you like about being white—or Black, or however you racially identify?”

The trainers always make the white folks go first.
Why? Because we rarely think about race. We don’t have to.

My Own Complicated Answer

When I finally came up with an answer, I said,
“When I start a new job or project, people assume I know what I’m doing.”

Ron Chisom looked at me, puzzled, and asked,
“They do? And you like that?”

I answered honestly—yes, I do.

Then it’s the Black folks’ turn. The room changes.
The energy rises. Joy and truth come out.

Celebrating Blackness in Community

“I love my music, my family, the food, the way my body moves, my hair,” they say.

It’s not just about pain or resistance—it’s about beauty, culture, pride, and connection.
There’s power in that celebration.

(By the way, the next People’s Institute Workshop is July 21–23. Register at www.pisab.org.)

Joseph’s Story and the Possibility of Redemption

At Mass today, the reading was about Joseph in Genesis.
Though I’m not Catholic, I worship often with the Poor Clare nuns.

Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers.
Later, he rose to power in Pharaoh’s court.

When famine hit, his brothers came seeking food.
They didn’t recognize him. He tested them, wept in secret, and finally forgave.

The family was reconciled.
That story reminds me: what was meant for evil, God can use for good.

A Radical Possibility

What if we erased racism and white supremacy?
What if race, though born of oppression, became a tool for good?

Could it help us see the gift in our differences?
Could it teach us to celebrate the marvelous, sacred diversity God has placed among us?