The Prologue Of Bishop Braxton's Experience And Diversity

As a person of color who has grown up in the United States, diversity is a topic that both captivates and confuses me. My friends and I have often joked that I am a “coconut”. Brown on the outside, “white” on the inside. It is a dangerous over simplification, but in a way, it reveals a lot about myself. In my home, my family takes our shoes off, we eat South Indian food, and we sometimes pray in Malayalam. We also wear standard western fashions, eat traditional American foods, and converse in English. Not belonging to one single culture, nor identifying as black nor white, I feel that I have had a unique experience and privilege in terms of interacting with diverse members of our human family. In the readings, I was deeply struck by the prologue of Bishop Braxton’s Letter. In it he describes a role-reversed church in which “most American Catholics are People of Color and White Catholics are members of a very small “minority group.”” (184) As he vividly painted a picture filled with Afro-centric art, I had to stop reading. I’ve never seen an Indian Jesus or Indian angels, and so what? I, like the White Catholics he describes, “have simply accepted the fact that

I did not need to explain racial profiling; It was something he had faced all his life, along with his father and brothers. At that moment, it was clear that I was not like The Faine House residents. Our struggles were not the same. These young adults out of foster care are already burdened. The label “foster child” carries with it its own prejudices and also they are faced with the labels “African American” or “Black”. My experiences with the residents have only made me understand more how complex race and race relations are. I am not a “coconut”, nor can race be viewed simply as a black and white issue. Education and conversation are much needed in our society and I now see how important is that we make tolerance a