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Discussion Panel: Jose Ballester,
Manish Mishra,
Leslie, Bill Sinkford and Frank Wu |
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Kim Varney and Rev. José
Ballester
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3055 Race in America
Beyond Black and White Part II
Planning Committee – Frank H. Wu, J.D.
Panelists: Professor Frank
Wu  ,
author of Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White
Rev. Bill Sinkford, UUA President
Rev. José Ballester, Cofounder of LUUNA (Latino/a UU Networking
Association)
Leslie Takahashi Morris, UU Seminary Student, Meadville/Lombard,
Chicago, IL
Manish Mishra, Seminary Student, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard,
MA.
Moderator: Vivien Hao, Steering Committee member, Asian/Pacific
Islander Caucus of DRUUMM
This is a panel discussion following event #3025, a speech by Prof.
Frank Wu. The program is sponsored by the newly-formed Asian/Pacific
Islander Caucus
of DRUUMM
with partial funding from the Identity-based Ministries of the UUA.
Kim Varney, President of A/PIC, introduced the seven members of
the A/PIC Steering Committee, all of whom are able to attend GA
this year. In addition, he gave special recognition and thanks to
Young Kim whose work in the past two years built the foundation
for A/PIC, and to Joseph Lyons of the UUA's Young Adult/Campus Ministry.
Moderator Vivien Hao, a member of the 1st Unitarian Church of Rochester,
NY, and a member of the Steering Committee of A/PIC, introduced
each of the panelists in alphabetical order.
Rev. José Ballester, an ordained UU minister, is a Puerto
Rican born and raised in New York City. Currently, Ballester is
completing an Interim Ministry in Malden, MA and will begin an Interim
assignment in Palm Beach, FL. He has served congregations in Rhode
Island and Massachusetts. For six yeas, Ballester directed the Just
Works Program for the UUSC, which has conducted work camps rebuilding
firebombed Black Churches; conducted infrastructure repair and at-risk-teen
intervention programs on Native American reservations; documented
human rights violations among migrant farm workers; investigated
environmental justice concerns in urban settings; and facilitated
the reduction of teen-on-teen/gang violence.
Manish Mishra is a UU seminarian at Harvard Divinity School. He
comes to ministry by way of an earlier career as a U.S. diplomat
during the Clinton Administration. His UU experience includes serving
as a Trustee at All Souls Church Unitarian in Washington, DC, and
leadership positions in DRUUMM's Youth and Young Adult Committee
as well as the Asian/Pacific Islander Caucus. As an educator, Manish
has taught Religious Studies at Milton Academy and at Northfield
Mount Hermon School. He received his B. Sc. from Georgetown University,
graduating Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude, and is a recipient of
the Hudson Medal in Arab/Islamic Studies.
Leslie Takahashi Morris is a candidate for the UU ministry studying
at Meadville/Lombard Theological School, is a member of the Thomas
Jefferson District's Anti-Racism Transformation Team, and is finishing
a term as the Modified Residency Student representative to the Meadville/Lombard
Board. She earns a living as a consultant to individuals and organizations
on leadership, organizational development and ethics and as a writer.
She is the former executive director of Wildacres
Leadership Initiative .
Rev. Bill Sinkford, our UUA President, requires no formal introduction.
His biography
can be found on the UUA website.
Hao found out about Prof. Wu through surfing the web. Her copy
of his book "Yellow" was both as yellow on the inside
as it is on the outside since she has been using a highlighter as
she devoured the book in two days. She was impressed by Wu's proud
assertion of his UU affiliation and the seed was planted that blossomed
into this reality of having him present a program at GA. Wu's biography
is found on his personal website
.
The panelists were sent two questions a few days ahead of the program
in order to prepare their answers. Additional questions were taken
from the floor as time allowed.
Question 1: In the 21st Century, when America
is becoming ever more diverse and Latinos and Asian Americans are
already the fastest growing racial/ethnic groups, how can we broaden
the racial dialogue in the UUA to better minister to the changing
face of UUism and society-at-large?
Ballester admits that we don't have all the answers and we will
certainly make mistakes. When he talks to a group of Latinos/as,
he is reminded of the huge difference between North and South, and
between East and West. We cannot make assumptions from skin colors
and names alone. We need to be mindful of being inclusive in all
of our dialogue.
Mishra feels hopeful that it's already happening. The Journey Towards
Wholeness work IS broadening to include other minorities. When people
ask him, "What's the UUA doing?" he reminds them to look
to their own congregations and see how homogenous they are. Are
we as diverse within as outside our sanctuary walls? WE are the
UUA. He sees three stumbling blocks to increased diversity in our
congregations. The first is that most of us are resigned to our
present reality. We are comfortable the way we are. Nothing is wrong,
so don't fix it. The second is the fear most of us have of entering
into honest dialogue. It's hard to talk about race issues. It makes
us uncomfortable. So we would rather not address the issues. The
third is the fear of theological diversity, the lack of which is
essentially closing our doors to new possibilities.
Takahashi Morris is concerned that we will lose our multiracial
youth and young adults if we don't do anything to retain them. That
is why this work is urgent. There are a large number of adoptees
of Asian and mixed race in our UU families, and they are going to
leave if we don't address their concerns by opening up racial dialogue.
Sinkford recognizes that our society has become pluralistic racially
and we are out of sync with the population at large. He urges inclusiveness
of all voices at our table. Minority UUs themselves have to be willing
to share their pains and their hurts with their white allies.
Wu's own experience as the first generation of Asian American born
of immigrant parents is shared by many of our A/PIC members in the
room. Growing up, he has had to make contradictory choices between
his parents' wish for him to learn their culture and the school's
wish for him to conform. Most Asian Americans in his position seek
comfort by joining the mainstream, which our denomination is not.
By understanding this contradiction, we can better reach out to
Asian UUs.
Question 2: In 2001, a study conducted by the
Committee of
100 ,
a nonpartisan group of Chinese American leaders shows that most
people balk at the idea of an Asian American president, corporate
CEO or boss more than they do at someone African American, Jewish,
or female in any of these roles. We now have an African American
president of the UUA. Will there be a day when we elect an Asian
American to the presidency of the UUA and what do we have to do
to see that day?
Ballester finds it disturbing that the survey result reflects the
perception of most UUs as well. Takahashi Morris, who calls herself
a born again UU, is optimistic that she hasn't encountered anti-Asian
sentiments in her UU community. However, when she was president-elect
of her church at the age of 29, all of a sudden, World War II stories
began to emerge in her congregation. She questions whether an A/PI
UU would want to run for the UUA presidency given the cost of leadership
and the burden it carries. Sinkford concurs that as the UUA's president,
he is often seen as a projection screen of our denomination. Mishra
deeply believes that we will elect anyone to be our President irrespective
of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc., solely based
on that individual's skills an qualification for the job. He believes
that if an African American UU can be elected to the job, so can
an Asian UU.
Additional questions from the floor took us from issues of stereotyping
to cultural misappropriation to economic injustices to affirmation
action.
On the question of stereotyping, all the panelists agree that it
limits rather than broaden dialogue. Mishra says that because he
is Asian (East Indian), even though he was born and grew up in Pittsburgh
and knows no other country, people assume that he is an expert in
Hinduism or Buddhism. He's "mobbed" and everybody loves
it if he preaches something about India.
Our UU movement's deepest denial is class. More than race, we are
afraid to hold honest dialogue about class as divided by education
level and income. Sinkford affirms that our saving message is for
EVERYONE.
On the difficult question of cultural misappropriation, Mishra's
partner once lamented to him, "You want people to appreciate
your culture, but only in certain ill-defined ways that only you
can understand!" His response is to use other cultures’
symbolism respectfully, with mindfulness and authenticity, and if
you are not sure, be in dialogue with the people from whom you are
borrowing the symbolism. Ballester says, "You know you are
in trouble if you have a dream-catcher in your car and you can substitute
it with a fuzzy dice!"
Additional Coverage: Thinking
More Expansively About Racial Diversity
by Manish K. Mishra
Reported by Kok-Heong McNaughton, Edited by Jone Johnson Lewis,
Web Design by Julie Albanese
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