By now, most people in the Pittsburgh area have heard about the termination this week of Wendy Bell, a local news journalist for WTAE. If
you’re like me, you have heard the news because of the reactions it generated,
both in support of Bell and in support of the station firing her.
I do not, nor have I ever, watched local news, and I barely knew who
Wendy Bell was before this week. So, I have no intention of debating whether
she is a noble journalist who was simply misunderstood, or a racist whose true
colors are finally showing. There are enough people doing that already. This is
not a referendum on Bell or WTAE.
However, I have read Bell’s original post on Facebook that started this
whole mess, and it unquestionably demonstrates white privilege and racist
attitudes. This does not necessarily make Wendy Bell a hateful person or
explicitly racist. She may have had the best of intentions. I will give her the
benefit of the doubt that she did and does mean well.
But that doesn’t make it okay. This controversy sheds light on a
problem in our culture, particularly in Western Pennsylvania where
conversations on race are few and far between. A professor of mine from
seminary often said, “There are no racist people. Only racist attitudes.” That
has always stuck with me. It reminds me that even if I have the best of
intentions, I still possess racist attitudes of which I am unaware. This is
known as implicit bias – having attitudes or beliefs that operate below a
conscious level, affecting our thoughts and actions without our awareness of
it. It is these attitudes which must be addressed, and which are in some ways
equally as problematic as explicit racism.
Wendy Bell, like me, benefits from white privilege. Wendy Bell, like
me, isn’t always conscious of the implicit biases and racist attitudes she has.
Wendy Bell, like me, continually needs anti-racism or sensitivity training. My hope is that Bell takes advantage of this situation to grow and mature as an individual.
As for WTAE, they could have used this controversy as an opportunity to address a systemic
issue by requiring all their employees, including Bell, to engage in such
training. Maybe they are, and maybe they terminated Bell because she refused to
participate. I don’t know. What I do know is that firing Bell solves a public
relations problem, but it won’t do anything to dismantle racism in WTAE’s
workplace, our region, or our country.
This is one reason I am proud of my employer, the Western Pennsylvania
Conference of the United Methodist Church. We take seriously our commitment to “creating
a culture of inclusiveness”, recognizing that “We are richer with diversity and we will continue to find ways to
witness with full inclusion and the embracing of all our sisters and brothers
of color.” Several years ago, we required all pastors to participate in a
two-part Dismantling Racism training, and conference leadership has recently decided
to require similar training for new pastors within their first year of service
as a commissioned minister and provisional member. The conference also added a
new staff position last year, a Coordinator of Diversity Development, to help “move the church forward in being racially
inclusive of all persons as we seek to make disciples for the transformation of
the world.”
Until we move beyond calling people racists or getting defensive when
others call us racist, nothing will change. Until we acknowledge that we have
implicit biases and work to overcome them, nothing will change. Until we begin
to discuss about what is problematic in our language surrounding race, nothing
will change. Attacks and counter-attacks draw headlines, and employee
terminations have the veneer of taking a stand, but the real work lies beyond.
Change begins with conversation, and continues with a commitment to changing
ourselves from within. This is what God requires of us. Might this be a chance for
the church to take the lead, changing and re-shaping the cultural discourse?
