April 19--The United Methodist Church needs to trace the truth about hate, tie the injustices together, and teach the Biblical core of equality.
That was the message of Dr. Alice Knotts, author of Fellowship of Love: Methodist Women Changing American Racial Attitudes, at the Women's Division semi-annual meeting Sunday moming, April 18.
There are incidences of violence spurred by hate that are evidence of the urgency of the situation, according to Dr. Knotts. James Byrd in Jaspar, Texas, and Matthew Shephard in Wyoming; six gay men brutally murdered in the month of March, with only one making the news; and Amadou Diallo, the unarmed black man in New York City who was shot at 41 times by police officers last month are examples.
The Justice Department reports that out of every 1000 hate crimes in the United States, 49 are against whites, 61 are against African Americans, 29 are against Asian Americans, and 104 are against Native Americans, according to Dr. Knotts.
"By tracing truth, we do not know where or when the next hate crime will happen, but we know it will happen," said Dr. Knotts. The cultural or conservative need for orderliness takes the form of racism, sexism and homophobia.
"As long as society endures in silence, hate becomes systemic," she said. "The Old
Testament takes offense not at differences, but at injustice. Take the difference out of life and theologically, we lose redemption and creation."
"Tie injustices together and overcome them with equality," she instructed. Domination and superiority are at the root of hate. The right to dominate does not preserve the "American family" or way of life. It delays our entry into the Promised Land, because the Christian faith teaches that God's love makes people equal, according to Dr. Knotts.
To ensure justice prevails, United Methodists need to teach the Biblical core of equality and justice to the next generation. "These days we may not hear rumors of hate crimes, but we hear the precursing of hate," said Dr. Knotts.
In the early century, Methodist Women had a communication chain that they would activate when there were rumors of lynchings. The women in a town would then rush to the police station to inform officers of the lynching plans and their duty to stop them. Today, the precursing of the crimes comes from commonly used hate language, which creates an atmosphere of intolerance in our communities, according to Dr. Knotts. United Methodist Women are continuing their communication chain today by monitoring and reporting hate crime activity in their communities or regions.
Dr. Knotts' book was the common reading for Women's Division covenant groups working on institutional racism and is now part of the United Methodist Women's reading program.
The Women's Division represents United Methodist Women, a one-million member organization whose purpose is to foster spiritual growth, develop leaders and advocate for justice. Members raise more than $20 million a year for programs and projects related to women, children and youth in the United States and in more than 100 countries around the world.