Being White: Finding Our Place in a Multiethnic World. By Paula Harris and Doug Schaupp. Downers Grove, IL, InterVarsity Press 2004. Pp 192. $15.00
Paula Harris is senior associate editor of the Urbana Student Mission Convention for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and lives in Madison, Wisconsin. She also writes on the topics of missiology, postmodernism, and various racial issues. Doug Schaupp is the regional director for Intervarsity Fellowship’s student ministries in southern California. Similar to Harris, he likewise writes on the various topics concerning racial issues, as well as postmodern evangelism, and leadership development.
According to the authors, this book is written in order to be an aid to white people who wish to make a positive difference in multiethnic contexts. The book is written primarily for those who are classified as “white” (i.e. Caucasian in origin). The authors employ the term “white,” however in a broader context in order to include not only the skin color, but also social status. Understanding that both authors have been married to someone from a different ethnicity, they have a firsthand platform to speak about ‘being white’ in America today, and what that status may (or may not) present to an individual.
The authors unabashedly explore what it means to be ‘white’ in and through a Christian perspective. Their Christian perspective openly assumes at least the following points, which have import to mission studies: 1). That humans are spiritual beings intrinsically, and therefore spiritual solutions are needed to solve problems in life; 2). That all humans are broken people, and therefore need perpetual infusions of life from God; 3). That people find their life in Jesus of Nazareth; and 4). That the bible is the guidebook to understand all things.
In the remainder of this review, various highlights of the individual chapters will be noted. In what stood out to me most, the authors assert that the onus for racial reconciliation is upon the shoulders of white individuals and not “people of color” (their preferred term for non-whites [13]; this designation somewhat draws my ire, for I am a white man, and hence I have color…). Viewing the onus to be upon the white person, the authors depict a five step process of the journey of a white person into a multiethnic community: 1). It begins with an encounter; 2). The onset of a friendship comes next, which will teach one allot about race, but it will not reconcile the racial divide; 3). Choosing to place yourself into a minority situation, also called displacement, will deepen the knowledge of how a minority usually feels; 4). In fact, the discomfort felt during their chosen displacement will cause the white person to understand white and nonwhite identities are very different; and 5). Through friendship and displacement, the white individual can learn (earn?) to be an advocate for “people of color” (19-21).
Perhaps one of the biggest mission fields today exists in North America: the racial divide. In order for this racial divide to be truly healed and reformed, racial reconciliation must occur. And in order for racial reconciliation to occur, each race must first know itself. Harris and Schaupp have taken steps toward informing white patrons what it means to be white, and thus have helped them understand their selves. Admittedly, more works needs to be done in this area. However, this is a good first step. I thus recommend this title especially for individuals of Caucasian ethnicity who have a desire to cross the racial divide and pursue the unity of the human race. Indeed, this book is filled with real-life stories, transformative insights and practical guidance.
Bradford McCall
Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA.