“However painful it may be for me to accept this conclusion, I am obliged to state it: For the black man, there is only one destiny.  And it is white.”

~ Franz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks

“This contradictory longing to possess the reality of the Other, even though that reality is one that wounds and negates, is expressive of the desire to understand the mystery, to know intimately through imitation, as though such knowing worn like an amulet, a mask, will ward away the evil, the terror.”

bell hooks, “Representations of whiteness in the black imagination,” Black on white: Black Writers on What It Means to Be White

The Apostle James writes, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (1.12).  When the Bible speaks of God’s plans for believers, God does not speak in terms of race as Fanon and hooks have written.  Thus, it is necessary to explain why we need not confuse the two.

While American society provides our perspective, it is important that we are reminded of the big picture or perhaps, the Biggest Picture.  We cannot forget that God’s eyes frame our lives very differently.  It is our senses and our temporal nature that confines us to such limited views of our humanity.  We cannot see more because our eyes are so small, so dim.

This, along with the fact, that we see as we are told.  We focus on what the group, what the majority, what a society, what the powerful tells us is worth looking at.  And even if we have to look away from ourselves, we will lean into the image that is being held up and prized for fear of being left out and consequently, being out of sight.

But, this is not a test or a trial.  This is not about acceptance, endurance or even survival.  This is assimilation.

Primarily, the testing that the oppressed endure due to the social construct of race is social.  It is a proving ground not ordained or created by God.  It is not a test that God is grading us on because we are not being judged according to the social coloring of skin.

Thus, whiteness is not the answer.  Whiteness will not get a pass.  Whiteness is not to be learned but unlearned.

This testing is also not rewarded by God.  Those who aspire to whiteness will be rewarded socially not divinely.  There is no crown for the whitest.  This is not the crowning achievement of our humanity.  There is no life for whiteness in eternity.

Secondly, the plans of whiteness and the plans of God are not synonymous.  The plans of whiteness and the plans of God are not in partnership.  There is no connection there.  They do not support each other.  Two kinds of righteousness, two saviors, to different sets of commandments, whiteness is an idol.  Only one can be right.  God.

The destiny of whiteness and the destiny that God has for us are not the same.  We will end up in two different places.  Thus, our relationships with race and God are about faith.  Which one do we believe in?  Which one is truly rewarding?  Which of these really matters?

Because you can possess whiteness and its privileges yet not know God.  Putting on whiteness and putting on Christ are not synonymous.  Only one can save you.

Thus, whiteness and all social colors are not tests but rather evidences of our lust.  And they are not new lusts: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life (First John 2.16).  Race is about visibility, choosing who will be seen, valued and rewarded while God sees us all.

So, don’t put it on; instead, take it off.  It will make the value go down.

And let us stop being reproducers of these masks.  Let us stop providing, making concessions and excuses for them.  “I’m sorry.  You cannot wear that mask here.  We will need to see your real face.”

Let us no longer order or carry masks in our institutions and the marketplace, in our families and social circles.  Let’s not keep spare ones in the drawer, inherited ones in a safe deposit box or emergency ones under our mattress.  Let us no longer offer these masks, wrapped up and presented as gifts.  Let us not treat them as essential to our survival, tied to our destiny and who we must become no matter what of ourselves we lose.

No, let us prove that whiteness means nothing at all without us.  Reveal our true selves and demonstrate that we can understand ourselves without it, that we can see ourselves without it.  Move whiteness out of the way so that you can get a glimpse of the Biggest Picture.