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SMU Dallas Hall
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A United Methodist Insight Column
Racism has long infected United Methodist institutions in the South. One of the latest to come under scrutiny is Southern Methodist University in Dallas, which these days much prefers to be known by its initials, SMU, to play down its historic faith relationship.
Texas Monthly has an excellent article this week on what it’s like for Black students at SMU: #BlackAtSMU Tries to Pierce the “Bubble” of Southern Methodist University. Texas Monthly writer Kennedy Williams notes: “The university has made strides in diversifying its student body; in 2019, minority students made up 29 percent of total enrollment, up from 26 percent in 2015, but that was almost entirely a result of growth in the number of Hispanic and Asian students. During that same time period, the Black share of undergraduates decreased slightly from 4.6 percent in 2015 to 4.4 percent in 2020. That share is roughly comparable with UT-Austin (5.1 percent), TCU (5.5 percent), and Texas A&M (3.3 percent).”
Nonetheless, Black students told Texas Monthly about being pulled over for DWB (“driving while Black”) while traversing SMU’s surrounding community, the wealthy, 90-percent-white municipality of University Park; being insulted with racial slurs by fellow students who frequently come from white families in the 1 percent economic bracket; and graduating after four years’ study without being taught by even one Black professor. The article says that Black students and SMU alumni became emboldened to speak out earlier this year after SMU President Gerald R. Turner issued a statement about Black Lives Matter protests of George Floyd’s death “without once mentioning the word Black.” He later issued a clarification.
Dr. Turner has since named the Rev. Maria Dixon Hall as SMU’s chief diversity officer. Rev. Dixon Hall is an ordained deacon in the North Texas Annual Conference and associate professor of communication at SMU.
The article also says Black students understand that SMU’s situation is not unique. “There were “I, Too, Am Harvard” in 2014, Concerned Student 1950 at the University of Missouri in 2015, and #NotAgainSU last year at Syracuse University [also a United Methodist-related university],” wrote Kennedy Williams. Nonetheless, the Texas Monthly article provides a glimpse into real life for Black students at a university officially related to The United Methodist Church, actually bearing the word “Methodist” in its name. It’s definitely worth reading and recommending as a resource in the “Dismantling Racism” initiative.
[Full disclosure: I am an alumna of two SMU programs: spiritual direction at Perkins School of Theology and mid-level management at Cox School of Business].
Town Hall to examine theology of racism
Tune in at 1 p.m. Sept. 16 on Facebook Live for the next Dismantling Racism town hall. A panel of experts will discuss the theological roots of racism and colonialism. See details.
Hurricane clean-up in Louisiana
The latest issue of Louisiana NOW says the Louisiana Annual Conference will hold a work day Sept. 19 in DeRidder, a community north of Lake Charles that was hard-hit by Hurricane Laura. Groups will meet at 8:30 am in the parking lot of Wesley United Methodist Church on Texas Street. No experience is needed and registration isn't required, but volunteers must be 18 or older. See the article for more details.
Immigrants’ forced sterilizations
One of the ecumenical blogs I read frequently is “Steel Magnificat” by Mary Pezzulo, a Catholic writer who lives an ecologically compatible lifestyle in southeastern Ohio. Her Sept. 14 post drew my attention to something I’d heard about but passed by: A Whistleblower Alleges: Mass Hysterectomies at Ice Detention Center. She cites an article on the Law & Crime website detailing a complaint from a nurse named Dawn Wooten that female detainees at an ICE facility in Irwin, Ga., have been subjected to hysterectomies without informed consent. The facility is run by a private prison company, LaSalle Corrections.
Ms. Pezzulo points out three facts that ought to concern us United Methodists: 1) forced hysterectomies are considered genocide, a crime against humanity; 2) the ICE center is operated by a private prison company; and 3) the plight of immigrants has been overwhelmed by other crises in this year of horrors.
Regarding the first point, several immigrants’ advocates have filed Nurse Wooten’s complaint with the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which says it won’t comment on a current investigation but is skeptical of anonymous claims without evidence. Nonetheless, Ms Pezzulo’s contentions are right in line with official United Methodist policies adopted by the 2016 General Conference.
In particular, the 2016 Book of Resolutions includes a statement Repentance for Support of Eugenics, in which the UMC formally repents of its 20th century support for the American Eugenics Society. The organization devoted to "building better humans" was one of the models for Adolf Hitler’s eugenics campaign against “inferiors.” The Nazi campaign resulted in the genocide of some 21 million people as estimated by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, including gay men, people with physical and mental disabilities, Roma (“Gypsy”) and Slavic peoples, political "undesirables," and some 6 million Jews. U.S. Methodism’s historic support for eugenics horrifies us when we realize that some prominent church leaders of the early-to-mid 20th century publicly supported the idea that only white people should be allowed to have children.
Today, according to the topic page “Immigration” on UMC.org, “The United Methodist Church recognizes, embraces, and affirms all persons, regardless of country of origin, as members of the family of God. We urge society to "recognize the gifts, contributions, and struggles of those who are immigrants and to advocate for justice for all." – Social Principles. The church also sponsors a special fund, Global Migration Advance #3022144, to address the global refugee and migration crisis.
Ms. Pezzulo concludes her blog post with a heartfelt appeal with which I agree: “There’s so much to take in this year, I’m afraid our horrific treatment of immigrants who come to us for help is getting pushed out of the public eye. But I have to remind you: immigrants are still being kept in inhumane conditions – indeed, worse than the ones that outraged us so much a year or two ago, because now they’re being kept there during wildfires, hurricanes and a pandemic. Things have gotten worse for them, not better. And today, we have evidence of what we might have suspected: they are being subjected to genocide by sterilization.
“…I am begging my readers: talk about this story. Share it. Let everyone know. Speak out against it every way you can. Vote, and let your representatives know that immigration and eugenics are issues you won’t forget about.”
Wildfire smoke
GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo.: Smoke from the Grizzly Creek Fire blankets Glenwood Canyon and Interstate 70 on Aug. 26, 2020. The fire, which is at over 50% containment, has burned over 30,300 acres and forced a two-week closure of Interstate 70. The closure of the interstate, which serves as a main highway between the Western Colorado Rockies and Denver, harmed businesses and the tourism industry as no traffic was able to pass into Glenwood Canyon. Wildfires burning across the state have contributed to air quality warnings. (Photo by Alex Edelman/Getty Images)
Speaking of migration …
… Here’s a link to a sobering article from ProPublica, the non-profit investigative journalism website:
Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration
“Wildfires rage in the West. Hurricanes batter the East. Droughts and floods wreak damage throughout the nation. Life has become increasingly untenable in the hardest-hit areas, but if the people there move, where will everyone go?” The article is by Abrahm Lustgarten with photography by Meridith Kohut. Be sure to read its companion, New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States, which shows that “according to new data analyzed by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, warming temperatures, rising seas and changing rainfall will profoundly reshape the way people have lived in North America for centuries.”
Media Mentions as of Sept. 15, 2020
The pandemic at six months: Welcome to the disillusionment phase – Religion News Service
Being a good guy with a gun is what God wants, say ‘sheepdog’ evangelicals– Religion News Service
No race problem here: Despite summer of protests, many practicing Christians remain ambivalent – Religion News Service
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.