Salvation Army asks donors to apologize for white supremacy, white-dominated culture

The Salvation Army is asking donors to offer a “sincere apology” for white supremacy and white-dominated culture, as detailed in a resource guide “developed to guide The Salvation Army family in gracious discussions about overcoming the damage racism has inflicted upon our world.”

The Salvation Army’s International Social Justice Commission designed the guidance, which urges donors to “understand and acknowledge the definitions of race and racism and how the social construct of race has affected society” and ultimately “lament, repent and apologize for biases or racist ideologies held and actions committed.”

“Many have come to believe that we live in a post-racial society, but racism is very real for our brothers and sisters who are refused jobs and housing, denied basic rights and brutalized and oppressed simply because of the color of their skin,” the resource guide states, adding that there is an “urgent need for Christians to evaluate racist attitudes and practices in light of our faith, and to live faithfully in today’s world.”

The resource guide itself contains “five sessions” to “help delve into the topic of racism and the Church.” Those include entire sections titled. “Self-Care for People of Color,” “What is Whiteness?,” “Lamenting and Repenting — a Conversation Guide,” among others.

The guide states that people can perpetuate racism in both “conscious and unconscious ways.” Notably, while lamenting such purported, widespread divisions, the guide specifically instructs donors to “stop trying to be ‘colorblind”

“Perhaps God spoke to you during your time of lament, and you have an idea of what you need to repent and apologize for. Please take time to write out or think about how you can repent and apologize,” the guide adds.