Occasionally, I get asked the question by well-meaning friends: "Have you experienced racism here?", whether in the friendship or at their institution.

Here's some thoughts. Forgive the fact that this is more rambly than my other Twitter engagement.

My answer is often no. And the question comes from a kind place. No one wants to be racist. But we also can't see this as a box to check. Our responsibility to one another is not merely not to kill one another. Our responsibility is not merely not to hate one another.

If you're Christian, Christ calls you to actively support the flourishing of your neighbor. Love them. It's like you've spent your whole life being stabbed and you go to a space where no one's stabbed you and their question is, "Did we stab you?"

No, you didn't. But then again, that's the bare minimum. We must ask our neighbors and our friends, "Have I loved you?"

When Christ returns, his questions as noted in Matthew 25 are not a list of sins which we must negate. They are acts of love we must affirm.

That's hard. Hence our need for the Holy Spirit, sacraments and the communion of saints. All of that's to say, maybe ask your friends if you have loved them. If you're racist, that'll come up, I'm sure.