Letters Across The Divide Analysis

DO UNTO OTHERS: RACISM EXAMINED IN ‘LETTERS ACROSS THE DIVIDE’
First M.Last
Liberty University
DO UNTO OTHERS: RACISM EXAMINED IN ‘LETTERS ACROSS THE DIVIDE’
Anderson and Zuercher (2001) observe that “There are three kinds of racism: individual, institutional, and indirect” (p. 10). The authors examine each type of racism and share their viewpoints with each other through a series of letters written to each other. This earnest and affectionate correspondence illustrates the differences in perception between cultural groups about race relations and discrimination. The two authors, who befriended each other at a church sponsored singles group, present their individual perspectives on racial discrimination. David Anderson, senior pastor at a multi-cultural church is African-American, and Brent Zuercher, a certified
We can only know this through self-examination” (p. 39). One must first determine what must be changed before being able to change it. We all have a duty to examine our belief structure and the behaviors of those around us. If we frequent a business that discriminates against African-Americans, we are indirectly racist. If we hold beliefs or attitudes that are racist, we have a duty to acknowledge and alter them. Reconciliation begins with personal responsibility, and we share this burden collectively.
The minds of those who perpetrate and perpetuate racist beliefs and actions are not the only minds that must change. The victims of unjust treatment must also resist becoming disenfranchised and hostile to the society that harbors their tormentors. Wimmer explains, “…disadvantaged immigrants and their children may actively oppose the host society’s values and norms and develop a new, oppositional culture that selectively inverts the values held dear by the natives”