Hacking the Brain & Race
Reverend John T. Crestwell, Jr., Minister
February 20, 2022
It will take a revolution of the mind to change this world. It will take a heart transformation to get us beyond race, systemic racism, and cultural prejudices and biases. I remain hopeful, but I know this will be a hard, long journey. We all must stop being naïve about the reality we live in. It is a constructed mediated reality where white is right. As you know from the video I shared and life in general, our police forces have been trained to see the world this way and that is why their reeducation is needed and necessary. Law enforcement officers react very differently when stopping someone who is not white. But you did not need the video to know this. We’ve seen far to regularly with black bodies gunned down recently and historically. This isn’t new. But I do wish to applaud what some police in Oakland are doing and I give special thanks to the sister Jennifer Eberhardt, Ph.D. author of the book Biased, who is doing what she can in California. This sermon is truly about reeducation; building white stamina around race, and embracing antiracism training as “the way, truth, and light”—as your pathway toward your freedom.
UUCA, I want to ask you a question. You don’t have to answer it aloud, but I want you to think about it. It may seem out of context to what I just said but it’s not… (close your eyes)… Here’s the question: When you think of the person Jesus Christ what is the color of his skin? What was his race? Did you see a black face? Of course, he was not European. But that is the image we have of Jesus today. I bet most Americans see Jesus as white. That follows the logic then that God is white too. And this means that humanity’s salvation rests with whiteness. I’m not making a joke. The implications are clear. Good—God equals white, male power. That is the construct we live under.
We live in a constructed mediated reality. It’s made-up and the Western Judeo Christianity ethic of right/wrong we follow was created using this power-dynamic of Jesus and God being white. Therefore, if you are black—get back—if you’re brown—turn around, but if you’re white “you’re out of sight”. That saying is something I learned growing up in my black neighborhood. I was programmed by visible and invisible powers from birth to believe I was second-class. Internalized inferiority due to the color of my skin. Or for you—internalized superiority due to the color of your skin. If we cannot name this disadvantage or privilege (depending on which race you claim)—if you cannot name that the religious construct (the water, we swim in) has corrupted all of us—and has for a very long time—then we cannot move forward because right now our society rests on immoral foundations. In America black is associated with bad and white with good. Europe is up near Heaven and Africa is down near HELL. It’s white versus black. Is it more than that? Of course, it is. There are many isms. But black/white racism is the primary issue we must face today. Our friend Robin DeAngelo names this black/white moral dilemma as the ultimate othering that keeps us separate and unequal. Listen to her words from her book Nice Racism:
“When I envision the racial construct upholding white supremacy, I see two anchors fixing it firmly in place. One anchor is white and the other is Black. I believe that anti-Blackness is the root of white supremacy. White is not possible without Black; superior is not possible without inferior.
Racial trauma therapist Resmaa Menakem powerfully writes, ‘The white body is the supreme standard by which all bodies’ humanity shall be measured. If the white body is the standard of humanity, then it stands that the black body is inhuman and the antithesis of humanity. Every hue further away from that standard is deemed less human.’” DeAngelo continues: “In the white mind, Black people are the ultimate racial “Other”—or antithesis of white. Again, this does not mean that other racialized people don’t experience racism, or that the dynamics I describe here don’t apply. But the dynamics I am describing are made most visible when we view them through the relations between Black and white people.” DeAngelo, Robin (2021-06-28T23:58:59). Nice Racism. Beacon Press. Kindle Edition.
What are the implications of this for race relations when we have been under this false social construct for hundreds of years? How has this governance (this empire) traumatically impacted BIPOC and POC people in how they see and experience Whiteness? And how has this constructed reality of racial superiority impacted white people in how they see and experience Blackness? DeAngelo is right, we must start right here with the fact that we have all been lied to and programmed to see black and brown bodies as the ultimate other—in America— in the Middle East, in Southeast Asia, and all over the world “black get back—brown turn around—white is out of sight” (or the best). And so, we need a true spiritual revolution of the mind. Our psyches have been hijacked by tribalism, by the media’s depiction of black and brown bodies; by biased parenting, schooling, neighborhood segregation, and the biggest one of all (religious moralism) which helped set the standard a long time ago when Rome made Christianity the religion of the empire and Europeanism as the standard of what is right.
Unitarian Universalism is very important here as a religion that seeks to reset the moral foundations of this nation and its notions of what is GOOD and HOLY. But we are guilty too. Emerson and Thoreau (even with all the good they did) held racist beliefs about African Americans. But Unitarian Universalism as a religion, that believes in freedom, becomes very important today. We must walk our talk in how we welcome strangers; in how we create more racial diversity in our congregation; in how we engage in the marginalized in our community; and in how we are honest about our own bigotry as a faith tradition.
So where do we begin? With your brain; with understanding the wiring and how it has been programmed; how it continues to be programmed—and how you can break the hypnotic shadowy spell you’re under so that you can truly experience “moksha” (release) or true freedom which is that abundant agape love and the understanding of oneness where you know that ALL humanity is holy and worthy. The more we teach others to hack their minds the faster we will see systemic change. We can change our world overnight if we reprioritized our resources in the name of love.
What can you do? I recommend you watch the 4-part series “Hacking Your Mind” on PBS. What I’m going to say next comes from that documentary… In studies done with children at Yale University, they have discovered that bias is a part of the fiber of our human existence. It has been wired evolutionarily as a survival mechanism. In other words, we evolved with biases. When doing a study with children, the evidence is clear. A 4-year-old was asked to pick a T-shirt (let’s say a Green or Blue one) then asked a series of questions about the opposite color while looking at identical pictures of animated characters dressed in both colors (race was taken out as a factor). They asked them: which one in the picture wearing Green or Blue is more likely to be mean? Which one is more likely to be the happy one? Which one do you trust? Which one is good? And most of the time the child said that the picture of the kid with the opposite color from the one they’d chosen was distrustful or sad, mean or bad. Whatever was the opposite of the T-shirt they’d chosen. The researchers said it was clear that humans at a young age know that to survive means aligning with things that are like themselves and that it is natural to assume that the opposing side is not as good or even threatens one’s survival. And here’s the thing, the researchers said the children were not even aware of their bias—they did not know why they preferred or chose blue or green. The decision was made deep in the subconscious. Even without racial bias added to the mix—humans are naturally biased creatures. There is no denying this now.
Author Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is known for his research on the brain. He developed a simple explanation. Kahneman says that we basically have 2 operating systems in our brain. A fast-thinking (autopilot system); and a slow thinking (reasoning system for more difficult analysis). Both systems have an aversion to loss (preventing pain). But one is on autopilot (it is fast-thinking)—like when we drive our car or respond to someone about something very familiar to us. We respond accordingly with little effort. Then there is the slow-thinking system. This one that takes its time to collect data—it also uses a lot of physical energy. When we tap it—that energy can get used up quickly, and that’s why when we are tired or hungry we have difficulties with high-level mental tasks. When exhausted, the autopilot system takes over and this is when we say mean things or snap at someone; or shut down in a conversation. Studies show that humans prefer using their fast-thinking brain because it is more efficient. When we are in difficult conversations (conflict)—especially conversations about racism, often-times people shut down because their capacity has been exhausted. Their automatic system is out of shape. It needs to be exercised. White racial stamina needs more calisthenics. Many do not have the vocabulary or history or understanding of the subject matter, so their slow-thinking brain gets overloaded and the autopilot brain kicks in with misinformation or with arguing or shutting down. When threatened the auto system turns on in an instant but if uninformed we can become very dangerous. This is where harm is done; and where ignorance prevails and where violence happens. This was January 6… People so afraid of the growing racial diversity in America and in Europe and what that might mean to them (that they must adapt, learn more and share more) that they would rather burn the country down. This is the white rage you are witnessing. White-lash. It is fear-based, not love-based.
To adapt and grow your souls (your hard-wiring) you have to keep educating yourselves, reading and attending classes, and talking about race until it EMPOWERS RATHER THAN FRUSTRATES OR SHAMES. I’m asking you today to embrace the work. That is what it means to be an antiracist, a 21st century Unitarian Universalist and a HUMANE being. Friends, a revolution of consciousness is at hand. We must not remain asleep!
This month is Black History Month. (BTW it’s the shortest month of the year—that says a lot). We should not need a BHM. If American history was being properly taught, we wouldn’t need BHM. Black history is American history! Which reminds me about what is happening in Anne Arundel County and America with books being banned and history curriculums being monitored for fear of what teaching critical race theory to white kids will do to their fragile psyches is just another clear sign of how badly our minds have been hacked. I am more convinced today that Robin DeAngelo has nailed this one. The white identity is in an identity crisis—so accustomed to being the standard of goodness and righteousness that it cannot envision even the smallest changes to make a better world. That’s what we are facing. And like Heather McGhee puts it in “The Sum of Us”, some would rather blow the whole world up than adapt and let go of this inequitable ideology. It’s sad. But I believe we will save this world. The good people will save this world. There are more of us. And we are in fact saving this world by changing the story bit by bit. Make a commitment to do your part to create “a world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.”
My message to you today: Hack your mind. Think of racism as knots in your mind. As Julie said during Wonder Box:
- Admit that there’s a knot in your mind. (You can’t begin to untie it until you believe that it’s there).
- Ignoring the knot only makes the knot tighter and harder to untangle.
- It takes effort to untie a knot.
- Sometimes we have to ask others for help and advice about how to untie complicated knots.
- Be ready for more knots to develop as you’re trying to untangle the first one.
- Tying and untying knots require practice and skill.
Friends, racism is insidious. It is so embedded in our culture and preferences that it will take the rest of our lives to get better at dismantling it. This is the work. The inner and outer conflicts and as you wrestle with who you are as a sentient being; as you struggle to understand your privilege, and biases, remember that this IS the work. Also, if you are afraid of making a mistake when engaging in this work by offending a person of color with a microaggression, you can hack your brain by pumping your breaks (stopping) slowing down your auto-response process. Stop and allow the more thoughtful slow-thinking brain to kick in which may mean listening to a POC or speaking up as a white all. This is the work. And be prepared because your friends might ask you, “Why are you doing this?” Just say “This is the work of saving humanity. This is the work of my church. Becoming master of my own mind—of my biases and how I function in systems set up to other everything that is not white—THIS IS THE GREATEST WORK I CAN DO. That’s what you say to them.
Lastly, here’s the good news. As mentioned, with practice you get better at this antiracism thing. The documentary mentioned that humans can influence everyone in their circle—up to 6 degrees of impact! That’s right, studies show that your habits can become your friends and co-workers’ habits and their friends and their friends to the 6th power. That’s huge! You, in fact, can make a difference in your choices, words, and beliefs. As the UU minister, A. Powell Davies said, “It matters what you believe, do, and say.” Your automatic response system gets better as you practice, and your slow-thinking gets stronger to withstand the internalized racism. Do something 66 times (they say) and it becomes a habit. Decide today that for 66 days you will learn more about your racism. Or that you will attend an 8th Principle practice series class. Or today, you can come to the After Hour as we center a BIPOC person in the congregation who is working on an amazing environmental project for POC and all people. And next week we will center an African American from our community. 66 Days of anti-racism. Commit to that.
Finally, we are living in a glorious and scary time of change. Two paradigms—two visions of what the world can be are clashing and colliding. One says we are equal and the other says we are not. One system is dying and fighting back with all the hell it can muster. This system is tied to the old religion which said that “some souls” are better. While another better way (our way) is tied to the earth and environment and humanity. It teaches what real freedom means by professing that “All souls” are worthy. Commit or recommit to hacking your mind for good. This is my hope today for this congregation—that we will choose to be a part of faith and practice that is bold and compassionate and devoted to truth-learning and truth-telling in the name of love. May it be so. Amen.