The Salvation Army wants its white donors to give more than just money this Christmas season. The Christian based organization is demanding that they apologize for being racist.
In embracing the ideas of Black Lives Matter, the Salvation Army is seemingly embracing the extremist views of that activist organization that include, among other things, “dismantle white privilege” and “disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure.”
The Salvation Army’s Alexandria-based leadership has created an “International Social Justice Commission” which has developed and released a “resource” to educate its white donors, volunteers and employees called Let’s Talk about Racism. It asserts Christianity is institutionally racist, calling for white Christians to repent and offer “a sincere apology” to blacks for being “antagonistic.. to black people or the culture, values and interests of the black community” as reported by Central Nova News.
“Many have come to believe that we live in a post-racial society, but racism is very real for our brothers and sisters who are refused jobs and housing, denied basic rights and brutalized and oppressed simply because of the color of their skin,” one lesson explains. “There is an urgent need for Christians to evaluate racist attitudes and practices in light of our faith, and to live faithfully in today’s world.”
In an accompanying Study Guide on Racism, Salvation Army authors explain that all whites are racist, even if they don’t realize it.
“The subtle nature of racism is such that people who are not consciously racist easily function with the privileges, empowerment and benefits of the dominant ethnicity, thus unintentionally perpetuating injustice,” it says.
“Sunday school curriculum that only uses white photography and imagery” is an example given that perpetuates injustice.
“We must stop denying the existence of individual and systemic/ institutional racism. They exist, and are still at work to keep White Americans in power,” the lesson says.
The Salvation Army was founded in 1865 and is both a protestant Christian church and an international charitable organization. Its first “red kettle” was set up in Oakland, California in 1891.
National advisory board members include Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones and Chick-Fil-A Foundation President Rodney Bullard.