Share media samples (facilitator should be prepared with extra examples) and identify assumptions about race that each contain. As you look at the media samples consider:

• who is included? who is excluded?

• what assumptions are made about the audience?

• what role does race play in shaping values portrayed in the sample?

• who controls the media outlet?

• are any stereotypes present in the media sample?

1. Stan Maclin's description of "victims of victimization" is, in some ways, similar to the idea of "internalized racism." The latter idea suggests that if a person of color is told by society that they are less than worthy, not beautiful, incapable of achieving, they may eventually start internalizing those messages regardless of how untruthful they are. Do contemporary debates about "welfare" take racism or internalized racism into account? What are the most common myths about who is on welfare? How can they be countered?

2. After reading the section on racism and history, a brother-in-law of the author said, "Why are you always picking on us historians?" How might you respond to this question? What makes the telling of history so important? Would the three questions suggested in this chapter prove helpful in a reading of church history as well?

3. Miller Shearer seems to suggest that language shapes our response to the world around us. If this is true, does the section on linguistic racism (80-82) add any clarity to debates on political correctness? What images did Jesus use to describe the world around him? Do we know if they carried cultural or political significance?

4. At times, the military boasts of its "affirmative action" record, frequently pointing to high profile officers like General Colin Powell as proof of its success. This chapter suggests that even the appointment of someone like Powell is not necessarily an indication of having overcome racism. This phenomenon, known as "tokenism," exists outside the military. Where else have you seen it? Does it ever happen in the church? What might make this form of racism particularly reprehensible (pretending to have done something when, in fact, authentic change was not ever considered)?

The point of this chapter is to detail how people of color are afflicted by racism. In preparation for the next session, take time in class to write one journal entry reflecting on the following conjecture: What if the purpose of racism was not to damage people of color but to keep White people in positions of power and privilege? Would this impact our faith? our action? our study of this book?

Read Chapter 6: How Does Racism Afflict White People?