NEITHER (COL.) NOR (WHI.)
PHILLIP ROSEBERRY

Much has been made of the Christian’s responsibility in the civil rights movement, and certainly it must be regarded as a vital question to those who are sincerely interested in making Christ relevant to their lives. There is no doubt as to whether Christians should join in this struggle against prejudice and injustice. The question only pertains to attitude and degree.

I must disavow my responsibility to join the picket lines, carry signs, join the NAACP, grow a beard, etc., primarily because I doubt that these efforts produce equality. They may allow someone to share a heretofore restricted water fountain or give an unequal opportunity employer fits, but they seldom produce true equality. True equality can only exist when an individual’s mind opens to the fact that all people are precious and equal before God. When one can sit down with another individual, however different he may be, and realize that he too has a soul which is worth no less than the whole world, that is equality. Every Christian has a responsibility to promote this type of equality, first by opening his own mind to this realization, then allowing it to permeate every aspect of his life, and then spreading it, as a contagious disease, by “breathing it” on all with whom he comes in contact.

In the Church of Christ, there is a lack of this attitude of equality. In a prominent publication which designates the meeting places of various congregations, I was startled to notice the abbreviation col. in the list. Once I saw that these letters did not stand for “college,” I realized that this was a way of informing Caucasian travelers not to stop at these congregations because (gasp!) Negroes worshipped there! And you Negroes! You have no excuse for coming to a Caucasian church! We marked yours. See? (col.). Is this not bigotry? Who cares whether one congregation has (col.) people or not? What difference does it make in regard to worshipping God? Do we not all have one God? Are we not one family? Are we not all brothers? It seems ridiculous to designate this or any other physical difference. Why not indicate “b.n.” (big nose brethren), or “f.f.” (flat feet brethren), or any other physical characteristic that we care to mention? And why don’t we segregate brethren with these other distinctive physical characteristics into their own congregations? Ridiculous? Then why use such a device as (col.). I wonder if a similar (col.) publication marks (whi.) after certain congregations.

Perhaps this action is tolerated because it is consistent with the thinking of most church members. We are inclined to tolerate the walls which divide us, however wrong it may be. This is not because we are inherently nasty and evil, but because we simply do not put forth the effort to destroy the walls. It is much easier to let them go on standing. And so we would be just as happy if the (col.) stayed in their church and we stayed in ours.

Christianity was never meant to be an easy way. It is the “good fight,” not the “nice rest.” We must be willing to bear the armor of love and the sword of truth in the assault upon the citadels of prejudice, intolerance, and ignorance. Whenever the armor becomes too heavy or the sword too dull, we must conclude that we are seriously deformed.

As Christlike individuals we have a responsibility to strive for the Christlike mind that transcends all prejudice and recognizes all who are in Christ as brothers, whether he have a big nose, flat feet, or darker skin. In Christ “ . . . there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female . . . .. and there is neither (col.) nor (whi.).

Editor’s Note: Phillip Roseberry is a student at David Lipscomb College.