The Salvation Army is losing some long-time support this holiday season in light of the organization picking up on anti-racism and Critical Race Theory (CRT) teaching. Reporting from Carly Mayberry with Newsweek highlights the problematic teaching document in question, “Let’s Talk About Racism,” which aims to address “racism and the Church.”
As Mayberry reports:
Definitions of institutional and systemic racism are included while real or perceived differences in life outcomes (“inequities”) are attributable not to individual effort and other circumstances, but to discrimination. Sections address topics including police brutality, health care and Black unemployment linking such topics to “racial inequity.”
That’s troublesome for those who note The Salvation Army has been a leader in confronting racism long before the rest of the country and over five decades before the civil rights movement. And they’re asking why then should members of an organization built by the Christian faith to actually assist people of all races in need, be repentant of behavior they never perpetuated?
One can find the document through a simple Google search. The question asked above is a worthwhile one, since one of the things the document hopes to achieve is to “Lament, repent and apologize for biases or racist ideologies held and actions committed.” There’s an entire section on “Lamenting and Repenting,” which is a theme throughout the teaching document.
Of particular concern, and what is a theme of CRT programs, is the idea of rejecting colorblindness. The document makes several suggestions for white Americans for “challenges… to overcome and address,” so as to “begin the process of creating lasting racial reconciliation and healing.”
They include:
- “Denial of racism.”
- “Education about racism and inequality”
- “Defensiveness about race.”
- “Little or no exposure to People Of Color.”
- “Become aware of your bias.”
- “Stop denying that White privilege exists and learn how it supports racial inequity.”
- “Racism is not an individual act, it is systemic and institutional.”
- “Stop trying to be ‘colorblind’”
One long-time donor who has called it quits is Greg Koukl, who issued an open letter to the Salvation Army on November 1 shared over Facebook, as highlighted by Mayberry.
We’ve sent them a check at Christmas for as many years as I can remember, but not again!
as a conservative white male, I’ve done more for the black community then a lot of blacks have.
I used to give to SA every year since I was a teenager. No More!
since the blacks own this problem nothing more from me, they can figure it out for themselves, i had to!
shame on them!
Go woke go broke!
I notice a lot of White asses marching past the red kettles. Hmmmmm. They all must have read the article about the Salvation Army.
I have addressed my shame and have decided to take corrective action. I haven’t passed a bell ringer for many years without donating, sometimes 2 to 4 times a day. I can no longer continue to participate in this racist activity.
The Salvation Army in Salisbury is worse . They addressed the seniors in a meeting prior to Covid. Told the seniors that they were spoiled, wealthy old people and that is the truth. I will never drop another coin into the kettles here & take all items to Goodwill.