Becoming Like Creoles: Living and Leading at the Intersections of Injustice, Culture, and Religion by Curtiss Paul DeYoung

Becoming Like Creoles: Living and Leading at the Intersections of Injustice, Culture, and Religion Reviews

• 
  Robert D. Cornwall

  To be a creole is to be intercultural and even multi-ethnic. It is a term that emerges out of the French West Indies, that might have important implications for the contemporary church as it addresses an increasingly complex world. As the author, Curtiss Paul DeYoung writes, "Using biblical exposition in conversation with present-day Creole metaphors, cultural competency research, whiteness studies, interreligious peacemaking practices, and real-life narratives, "Becoming Like Creoles" seeks to awaken and prepare people of faith to live and lead in a world where injustice is real and cultural diversity is rapidly increasing" (p. xi).
  
  The author, Curtiss DeYoung, is the chief executive officer of the Minnesota Council of Churches, and a community activist focusing on racial reconciliation and interreligious dialog. Although White, he has sought to put himself in positions in his life, including serving Black Churches and attending the predominantly Black Howard University School of Theology, where he earned his M.Div. In addition, his spouse is Black. Thus part of the story of the book is focused on his own journey toward becoming like Creoles.
  \The first chapter introduces us to the concept of Creolization as experienced in the French West Indies, as well as cultural experiences present in the biblical story, especially the Book of Acts. He notes that Creolization is a response to oppression and colonization. As cultures were crushed, the oppressed and colonized began to recreate a new culture.
  
  From there he invites Jacqueline Lewis, pastor of the multi-cultural/multi-ethnic Middle Collegiate Church in New York City, to describe the congregation she leads, which is clearly one of the most diverse in the country. Her chapter serves as an example of what such a community might look like. The point here is the possibilities of radical inclusion, something few of our congregations have been able to achieve. Through worship and the arts and activism, the congregation serves as a response to racism and white supremacy.
  
  Chapter three uses the church at Antioch as a biblical metaphor for building diverse leadership platforms, with the church there bringing together Jews and Greeks into the community. This gives DeYoung the opportunity to discuss the importance of critical cultural competency so that one can communicate effectively across cultural lines. In this chapter, he borrows from Milton Bennett's Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, which offers six developmental stages running from denial of cultural deference to integration. The last stage is a difficult one to achieve, but adaptation, the penultimate stage is quite possible. Adaptation is about awareness, while integration is the ability to move between cultures without effort. None of this is easy but is an important move toward multicultural leadership. This chapter is followed by one in which DeYoung engages with five women, from differing cultures who have moved into an integrated hybrid identity. All are persons of color who must be able to navigate a white majority American context, but in doing so find empowerment. They're not assimilated, but they find purpose in their experiences.
  
  One of the challenges in these conversations regards those of us who are white. How do we understand ourselves in an increasingly diverse context, that we have dominated through colonization and oppression? DeYoung begins by noting Jesus' engagement with Samaritans, persons who were understood to be of mixed ancestry and confused religious beliefs. Jews sought to distance themselves from Samaritans, but Jesus engaged them, and in the process was himself changed. Might this be true for we who are white and privileged? Might we become creoles ourselves? It's not an easy process, but DeYoung helps us understand its possibilities and benefits. To get there we who are White must experience immersion in other cultural contexts so that we might be transformed.
  
  The chapter on the creolization of whites leads to DeYoung's own story, how he was transformed by his experiences with a Black Church in Harlem that he would serve as an Associate Pastor and as a student at the predominantly Black Howard University. These allowed him the opportunity to become immersed in the stories and lives of others different from himself but sharing his faith. Through this, he was able to experience a healed white identity.
  
  The final chapter uses the burial of Abraham by Isaac and Ishmael in Genesis 25 as an entry point into the possibilities of Creolization at Religious Intersections. How might we step into the identities of others who do not share our religious beliefs? These are different questions perhaps, but necessary ones. As one who is engaged in interfaith work, I found this to be a helpful chapter. How might we experience religious empathy without abandoning our beliefs? If we can we might see the revolutionizing of our world, where healing of divides might take place.
  
  I have been reading more widely in areas of diversity, racial justice, and interfaith relationships. Finding ways in which we can come together and build relationships of trust and healing, something that isn't easy to accomplish, is desirable. Books like this give us some hope and some guidance. Thus, it is a worthy read for all concerned about the state of our world.
  
  
• 
  Chelsea K

  Interesting but a bit too religious for my take. Highly recommend that all my white friends read chapters 4-6.