Across the country, many people are seeking ways to engage those around them in meaningful and difficult conversations around the topic of racial justice and unity. At the same time, the current polarization in American society makes constructive dialogue and action on issues of racial justice elusive. Even fair-minded individuals who long to free themselves and their society from racism are paralyzed and divided by divergent views, unable to create the unity necessary to advance along the path of constructive change. Humanity’s crying need will not be met by a struggle among competing ambitions or by protest against one or another of the countless wrongs afflicting a desperate age. It calls, rather, for a fundamental change of consciousness that the time has come when each human being must accept responsibility for the welfare of the entire human family. This consciousness results from a growing realization of the oneness of humanity — what impacts some of humanity impacts all of humanity.

The oneness of humanity — rooted in the underlying spiritual nature which all human beings share — is far more than a slogan or an abstract and unattainable ideal. It has profound implications for both personal behavior and for the way society is organized — challenging many current assumptions and revolutionizing our conceptions of the relationships that should exist between the individual, society, and its institutions. Awareness of the spiritual reality of human beings carries with it the moral requirement that all be given every opportunity to fulfill their potential and to contribute to the advancement of civilization. The evils of racism and prejudice will be eradicated only by a love that is translated into action, such actions as deliberately going out of our way to befriend all, appreciating the abilities of all, and recreating social structures in a way that allows for the contributions of all. This leads to some challenging questions: What motivates us to befriend all when we have seen our actions met with indifference, apathy, fear, or even hostility? What enables us to maintain a posture of engagement that constructively addresses racism in the midst of a culture characterized by dominance and oppression? How do we recreate social structures when it feels impossible that the current governmental and economic powers would ever allow such change?

Maintaining a posture of constructive engagement in freeing society from racism requires having consistency between belief and practice. Achieving this consistency is no small task. For example: A deep-seated recognition of the oneness of humanity enables us to transcend tendencies toward disunity, isolation, separateness, or competition; an unshakeable conviction in the nobility of human beings, capable of subduing their lower passions and evincing heavenly qualities, should serve to protect against prejudice and paternalism, both of which violate the dignity of people; an immutable belief in justice should guide an endeavor to allocate resources according to the real needs and aspirations of inclusive communities rather than the whims and wishes of a privileged few. In our commitment to uprooting racism and laying the basis for a society that reflects racial justice and unity, we can draw insight and inspiration from the unwavering resolve of people who have been systematically disadvantaged and oppressed throughout the history of the United States.

Historically, many racially oppressed people have drawn on the highest reservoirs of solidarity and collaboration and responded to oppression with constructive resilience, eschewing despair, surrender, resentment, and hate and transcending mere survival, to transform conditions of ignorance, prejudice, and injustice. The strength required for sustained constructive engagement has been manifested not only by those experiencing oppression, but also by many racialized white people in striving to overcome the discomfort that arises from their privilege and constructively channeling the various manifestations of anger and sadness at the injustices that have been perpetrated in their name. Thus, all people have a responsibility to act and do their best to establish racial justice and unity, though we may have differing kinds and degrees of responsibility depending on who we are and how we are situated in society. In this context, one’s actions should not be simply a reaction to the actions of others. Rather, action should flow from one’s own character and ultimately, as people of faith, from of our relationship with God.

Although people might have different responsibilities to act in establishing racial justice, trust needs to be built in the capacity of others to do the work. Trust is a reciprocal relationship — one must offer it and accept it. Trust requires the telling of truth. Without truth, the full nature of injustice — its effects and the actions needed to end it — become obscured. A commitment to seeking and upholding truth can be aided by two tools: consultation and moderation.

Consultation can serve as a means by which we search for truth in a discourse that is increasingly fractured. Whether concerned with analyzing a specific situation, trying to gain a fuller understanding of a given issue, exploring a possible course of action, or arriving at a decision, consultation may be seen as a collective search for truth. The participants in a consultative process are not interested in exercising power over one another or convincing one another of the validity of their perspectives. Rather, they participate with an understanding that different people see reality from different points of view and as these views are examined and understood, new insights emerge and clarity is gained. Otherwise, stubbornness and persistence in one’s views will merely lead to continual conflict and the truth will remain hidden. By seeking consensus and then enacting decisions in unity, a particular course of action may be tested and revised as necessary through a process of collective learning.

Also relevant to such participation is greater appreciation and application of the spiritual quality of moderation. This call for moderation includes, in particular, the manner of speech if a just conclusion is to be achieved. Moderation in this case is not referring to mere compromise, the dilution of truth, or a hypocritical or utopian consensus. It is not the tempering of diverse opinions or the silencing of those with whom we disagree. This moderation demands an end to destructive excesses that have plagued humanity and fomented ceaseless contention and turmoil. Moderation in deliberation and action stands in contrast to the arbitrary imposition of views through power or insistence upon ideological aims, both of which obstruct the search for truth and sow the seeds of continuing injustice. A moderate perspective is a practical and principled standpoint from which one can recognize and adopt valid and insightful ideas, whatever their source, without prejudice. From this perspective, moderation is a means by which virtues are able to balance each other: For example, urgency is balanced by wisdom, mercy is balanced by justice, and truth is balanced by tact.

As people of faith, we are positioned to bring spiritual qualities to bear in a way that helps us to persevere in the reciprocal quest for justice and unity. These qualities include love, humility, forgiveness, self-examination, and joy. We should be careful to neither surrender ourselves to anger or despair nor offer platitudes or shallow prescriptives unsupported by the force of example. Rather, these qualities are best demonstrated with sincerity of word and deed. In this regard, we can learn and grow in capacity over time to help our fellow citizens frame concerns in a way that rises above fissures, to share views in a manner that transcends divisive approaches, and to create and participate in spaces to work together in the quest to enact solutions to the problems that bedevil our nation. In this light, justice is indeed essential to seeing reality with one’s own eyes and to identifying the requirements for an equitable society. Unity — forged through consultative processes, including action and reflection — is also essential to achieve the power required for positive social change.