Bouie's essay is titled, "How a Still-Segregated Country Holds Us All Back," and here is a key portion:
"As W.E.B. Du Bois described in 'Black Reconstruction in America,' 'It must be remembered that the white group of laborers, while they received a low wage, were compensated in part by a sort of public and psychological wage,' Du Bois wrote. 'They were given public deference and titles of courtesy because they were white. They were admitted freely with all classes of white people to public functions, public parks and the best schools.'
"The effect of this," writes Bouie, "was to cultivate a kind of chauvinism, as well as the sense of a cross-class solidarity among whites, which worked to undermine any feelings of solidarity or understanding between workers of different racial backgrounds.... As many, many Americans have recognized over the course of our history, you can have race hierarchy and exclusion or you can have meaningful equality for all, but you simply cannot have both."
Reading the wisdom of Bouie and Du Bois early on this Sunday morning, I am thankful, yet again, for how God's very present help and creativity make liberating connections in our everyday lives.
I keep recognizing the reverberations of Luke 17:11-19, this morning's lectionary gospel text, everywhere I turn, and I have to smile, for I notice that God is trying to get my attention, seeking to say something very important to me. I am listening.
(For an interpretation of Luke 17:11-19, please see the previous reflection, "Jesus in the spaces between us," October 6, 2022, here on seriousjoy.org)