Racism and the Call to Love
A powerful spotlight has been turned upon injustice and violence. Into that spotlight steps racism, abuse of power, inequality, and the arrogance and ego-centrism of any who would dare claim that they are somehow immune to the very human tendency to categorize the “other” as inferior than oneself and therefore the object of hatred and violence of any kind. Thanks be to yet another younger generation of energized voices who say “no” to violence, inequality, oppression, murder, and racism. We must all stand united against oppression, even when the oppressor is ourselves. And as ones who claim to follow Christ, we must speak for those who are held down, impoverished, or suffering in any way. And as a Christian, we must walk and speak toward the problem. There can be no hiding in presence, word, or action. Let us all join, speak, and act in whatever way is possible for us. The Spirit is urging that voice of love and justice once again. It is the eternal spirit that has never wavered in the call to love.
The ancient Celts held two perspectives that are desperately needed right now.
The first is the dignity of all people and things because each one is a purveyor of the Spirit of God. Each person, and the whole of Creation, embodies the dignity, beauty, and presence of the Creator and is to be respected and regarded with humility and reverence as if we are interacting with God in each encounter with each person. How we treat one another is how we relate with God.
The second is the practice of being available to offer hospitality to others. Celtic community was, and still is to a large degree, an exceptionally hospitable culture. Welcoming the stranger, the one who suffers, or the neighbor in need was considered a spiritual practice, and community was set up to receive the stranger and to treat them as friend and family. As long as any are suffering, disenfranchised, or oppressed then there is more work to be done. The world will never be completely free of these struggles and therefore there is always more love to offer. It is not only good for the one receiving care, but it grows the one giving care into the humble but power-filled image of Divine dignity.
The talented and insightful modern Irish singer Imelda May reminds us of this calling of humility of heart and loving service toward the oppressed in her poem “You Don’t Get to be Irish and Racist”. She wrote the poem in response to the murder of George Floyd. In it, she speaks to the memory of the times that the Irish were oppressed, some of which were not very long ago, and because they know of that humiliation and struggle, they have no right to harm or be unjust toward others. She is calling her Irish brothers and sisters to remember who they are, address any racism in their hearts, and to be free to love others fully and fight for those who suffer and are wrongly treated. More broadly, she invites us all to remember who we are, regardless of our heritage, nationality, or race and to be humble of spirit, extravagant in our hospitality, and courageous in our efforts of justice, hospitality, and love.
Below is her poem, and after you’ve read it a few times then please watch Imelda May recite it by watching the video below. Let it sink deep into your heart and call you to a more true sense of real self and an energized and compassionate care toward one another.
-Dr. Kirk Web, Founder & Director of The Celtic Center
You don’t get to be racist and Irish
You don’t get to be proud of your heritage,
plights and fights for freedom
while kneeling on the neck of another!
You’re not entitled to sing songs
of heroes and martyrs
mothers and fathers who cried
as they starved in a famine
Or of brave hearted
soft spoken
poets and artists
lined up in a yard
blindfolded and bound
Waiting for Godot
and point blank to sound
We emigrated
We immigrated
We took refuge
So cannot refuse
When it’s our time
To return the favour
Land stolen
Spirits broken
Bodies crushed and swollen
unholy tokens of Christ, Nailed to a tree
(That) You hang around your neck
Like a noose of the free
Our colour pasty
Our accents thick
Hands like shovels
from mortar and bricklaying
foundation of cities
you now stand upon
Our suffering seeps from every stone
your opportunities arise from
Outstanding on the shoulders
of our forefathers and foremother’s
who bore your mother’s mother
Our music is for the righteous
Our joys have been earned
Well deserved and serve
to remind us to remember
More Blacks
More Dogs
More Irish.
Still labelled leprechauns, Micks, Paddy’s, louts
we’re shouting to tell you
our land, our laws
are progressively out there
We’re in a chrysalis
state of emerging into a new
and more beautiful Eire/era
40 Shades Better
Unanimous in our rainbow vote
we’ve found our stereotypical pot of gold
and my God it’s good.
So join us.. ’cause
You Don’t Get To Be Racist And Irish.
—by Imelda May