Michael Deacon| Credit: The Telegraph
An attempt by the Church of England to fight racism, is creating a divisive and racially charged environment, says Michael Deacon, a columnist with the UK Telegraph. Deacon points out the recent initiatives by Church officials to defeat racism with the introduction of policies and statements that echo America’s concepts regarding racial politics.
In his column Way of the World, Deacon queried the attempt by the Church to tackle “whiteness” by raising £1billion to atone for slavery, the order given to parishes to draw up “race action plans”, and the search for an “Anti-Racist Practice Officer” whose job would be to “deconstruct whiteness” by engaging in a critical examination of whiteness, exploring its social and historical implications.
However, he mentioned that the use of the term “anti-whiteness” by the Archdeacon of Liverpool who is white during the weekend is the height of the attempt of the Church of England to tackle racism with racism, as Miranda Threlfall-Holmes’ attempt to clarify her statement, is being knocked by Deacon.
He described Threlfall-Holmes’ “Whiteness” statement as inherently racist, suggesting that it could have been more effectively communicated as being against racism without introducing divisive terminology, “Unfortunately, I’m not sure that this explanation helps. After all, there is already a word for “viewing the world” in this way, and it’s “racism”. So why, to avoid causing confusion and offence, didn’t she just say she was against that?
Of course, “whiteness” is a newer, trendier term. So maybe she thought that saying “whiteness” would make her sound more cutting-edge. More dazzlingly au courant. More American.”
