Inner Healing meets Social Justice - Forgiving my racist ancestors

My faith community has been exploring forgiveness and repentance on a deep personal level and I have been wondering what it might look like to apply these truths to social problems and systemic injustices. Although I acknowledge systemic injustices exist, I can only engage with these as an individual. I can’t take on responsibility for the whole unjust system. However, I want to explore what it looks like if an individual takes responsibility within an unjust system, and in particular focusing on the brokenness of racism. 

I will be using my experience of Jesus’s life and teachings as a framework for this spiritual exercise, as these have been vital in my own personal journey of healing and freedom. However, before I begin, let me briefly explore the key concepts of forgiveness, repentance and prayer.

Forgiveness before repentance - what comes first?

"For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, 

your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 

But if you do not forgive others their sin, 

your Father will not forgive your sins."  

Matthew 6: 14-15

Our being wronged and our own wrongs are so intertwined that usually we need to pursue both forgiveness and repentance. My pastor has, from experience, seen that often people struggle to find freedom from thoughts/actions that they don’t want to do (but end up doing) despite many prayers of repentance. He proposes that this stuckness could be because they haven’t forgiven the original injustice that took place against them, which in turn, has set in motion lies, feelings and emotions that drive their wrong behaviour from which they now seek freedom.  Being guided by this wisdom, I shall start with a prayer of forgiveness. I admit, it does feel counter-intuitive, but it has been fruitful for me in other areas of my life and so I trust the process. 

So, based on this above premise, before I deepen my repenting from believing the lie that "white is better and black is less" (Please read more about this here before you continue), let me start by forgiving my ancestors for their role in setting up or participating in racist systems that still plague our nation today.  

But what do I mean by prayer?

One more clarification - by prayer, I don’t mean "just saying words", or following some kind of formula that is disconnected and meaningless. Rather it is a mutual interaction with God based on all the beautiful truths that Jesus taught, lived and did (this is rather a simple explanation, please ask me more if you have questions/thoughts/comments)

Forgiveness Stepping Stones

In my faith community we have this guideline (not formula or rule), as seen in the photos below, that can be helpful to get us moving through the various layers of forgiveness. Most of the time it is used organically, directed by Holy Spirit, and as inspired by the person who is choosing to pray. I have used it here to help me process my prayer of forgiveness. I offer my prayer as a signpost, a set of stepping stones and an invitation of what might be possible for others who feel led to respond spiritually and prayerfully to their role in the racial injustices of our country.

So, with that said, let me pray: 

Loving God, thank you for forgiving me for all my sins. Because of your forgiveness, I also forgive my forefathers and foremothers who were either part of the architecture of the colonial and apartheid society; and/or benefited from those unjust systems that were based on the oppression of Black, Coloured and Indian people in South Africa.  

My forefathers and foremothers, I forgive you for …

…the ways you contributed to the design of colonialism and apartheid

…the ways you benefited from the injustices of colonialism and apartheid

…the ways you knowingly and unknowingly oppressed Black, Coloured and Indian people

…for voting and supporting political systems that oppressed Black, Coloured and Indian people

…believing the lie that White is better and Black is less

…and for teaching this lie to the next generation and to me

…for keeping silent about injustices.

My forefathers and foremothers, I forgive you for bringing fear into my life.

Fear of those with darker skin colour than me

Fear of losing my standard of living

Fear of standards dropping if Black, Coloured and Indian people are in charge

Fear of being attacked by Black, Coloured and Indian people

Fear of retribution by Black, Coloured and Indian people

Fear of not having enough to share

Fear of protests and "uncivil" ways of disagreeing

Fear of offending white people if I speak out

Fear of disturbing the peace
Fear of questioning authority

My forefathers and foremothers I forgive you for opening the door:

to superiority

to having stunted compassion towards the suffering of Black, Coloured or Indian people

to prejudice, discrimination and racism 

to self-protection or family protection at the expense of justice

to having apathy towards inequality

to blindspots that hurt and oppress Black, Coloured and Indian people 
to being comfortable in the benefiting from unjust systems

My forefathers and foremothers I forgive you for the lies the enemy brought to me as a result of your actions or words.

Lies that tell me that the way I, as a white person, see the world is the “normal” and the “standard”

Lies that say white is better/more beautiful/more intelligent/more trustworthy

Lies that say black is less than, and possibly even that Black, Coloured and Indian are somehow less human

Lies that say "God doesn’t see skin colour" and so "God doesn’t really get involved in politics" and so I shouldn't either. 

Lies that tell me not to challenge white people in public, that I shouldn’t make a fuss or speak out.

Lies that say white people can somehow be a saviour to black people and fix their problems
Lies that tell me not to be divisive or cause disunity at all cost
Lies that tell me there is nothing that can be done to change the system, or that tell me that there are no "systems" but only individual choices. 

My forefathers and foremothers, I forgive you for the lack of:

Lack of understanding and insight

Lack of compassion

Lack of humanity

Lack of listening to God and obeying the truths in scripture
Lack of discernment 
Lack of courage

My forefathers and foremothers, I forgive you for all the wrong perspectives/attitudes/beliefs that you have passed onto me, that I have had to face and undo.

I forgive you for allowing my humanity to be diminished as I grew up and participated in systems that you created, that resulted in me benefiting from the oppression of others even though I didn’t choose to do so.

I nail all these lies, emotions, spirits and mind-sets to the cross of Jesus.

I break all agreements I have made with these and I repent of joining with them.

I ask you Loving God to send them away now, in the name of Jesus.

Loving God what good gift do you want me to have in place of these things?

I thank you Loving God that you long to restore my humanity, you can set me free from superiority (thinking I am more than a human) and from any guilt and inferiority (thinking I am less than a human for the way I have benefited from injustice), but allow me to be fully human; and in so doing, free me to treat all others as that, as humans.

I thank you Loving God that you can restore my sense of compassion for each and every person, that my compassion will reflection your compassionate heart and not be dulled, quietened by apathy or overwhelmed by the magnitude of those who are suffering injustice.

I thank you Loving God that you will heal my blindness and blindspots to see clearly which injustices I am participating in, and benefiting from; and you will free me to actively participate in challenging these injustices.

I thank you Loving God that you will free me to be generous and open-hearted in making right and bringing restitution. Knowing that You are my provider and You are trustworthy to provide for my needs, I don’t need to horde for myself or my family, but can be open handed in giving to those to which you guide me.

I thank you Loving God that you are mightier than all the human-made systems, and though they seem permanent and invulnerable, I trust that you are already raising up men and women of faith, who you will empower to bring down the walls of injustice in every aspect of life.

I thank you Loving God that you will increase my insight into your ways that bring shalom to all, and increase my ability to hear your voice in order to be lead by you, and not by humans, and so be part of your purposes to restore all people and all creation. 

I thank you Loving God, that you forgive my sins as I forgive the sins of others.

I pray this all in the name and power of Jesus,

Amen.

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Reference: 
Forgiveness Tool from Nothing Hidden Ministries Booklet by Barry and Lori Byrne. 2014. www.nothinghidden.com