Forgiveness In African American Culture

As found in the 1963 “Love that Forgives” Sunday school lesson from the 16th Street Baptist Church, “Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.” The idiosyncratic history of African Americans in the U.S. is marked by experiences of racism, oppression, inequality, and adversity. These problematic experiences are critical in understanding how intergroup forgiveness for a racial offense is inspired and cultivated within the African American culture. Exemplary and virtuous cases of African Americans professing intergroup forgiveness toward White Americans that have committed injustices against them are found in the stories …show more content…
As well as in the mistreatment of Rosa Parks on the public bus system in Montgomery, Al. Despite these positive images of blacks forgiving in the midst of hardship, “the American people [have been] force-fed a media diet of stereotypes and misperceptions [mainly by white Americas], over-criminalizing and marginalizing African Americans through language, images and omissions” (Throw Away the Script 1). An examination of forgiveness as a cultural response to that “media diet” will inform popular representations of black people as social change agents in American history by providing extensive evidence that explores and embraces truths about blacks and negates false propaganda. Considering the current relationship between blacks and whites in America, and black people’s resilience in spite of adversity – it would be useful to study black people to understand forgiveness. In addition, U.S. race relations can definitely benefit from a careful study of black forgiveness in the event that the study brings to fruition understanding, acknowledgement, and apology from White …show more content…
However, cultural dispositions of forgiveness are cultivated differently for blacks and whites in America. The message of forgiveness within the context of catastrophic violence and loss is emphatically expressed in Black churches all across America. An example of this message includes the Sunday school lesson called, “A Love That Forgives”, prepared for students at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Al on September 15, 1963. Ironically, that same day there was a racial bombing, killing four little girls. Reverend Martin Luther King, who conducted a speech before the burial of the four little girls said, "We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive…” (Power of Forgiveness in African American Church