Absolutely fascinating, if tragic, analysis of the genesis and development of the race problem in the US. A thorough exposition of the historical backstory gives a critical context.
If you've got a problem with the content, a good hard long look in the mirror is in order.
White Savior: Racism in the American Church
2019
Action / Documentary
White Savior: Racism in the American Church
2019
Action / Documentary
Plot summary
The 2008 election of Barack Obama led many to believe we had entered a post-racial America, one in which the nation's traumatic and painful history of racism had finally been erased. In the years since, it's become increasingly clear that the deep roots of racism and white supremacy continue to run through our political, cultural, and religious institutions. Based on interviews and current research, the documentary film White Savior explores the historic relationship between racism and American Christianity, the ongoing segregation of the church in the US, and the complexities of racial reconciliation. Featuring interviews with Lenny Duncan, Soong Chan Rah, Jacqueline Woodson, Jim Bear Jacobs, Dominique Gilliard, and more.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Excellent exposition
Ambitious and direct--with great interviews by contemporary voices
This is an exceedingly ambitious film, condensing 400 or more years of history and theology and work into an hour examination of America itself through the eyes of the American white Protestant beliefs and behaviors.
It was great to see so many familiar faces, great to see honest truth spoken plainly, great to see people of all demeanors and styles, from serious and earnest to hopeful and happy.
Racism is a sin, period. It seems to be the one sin that cannot be examined in the American church. It has led to grievous behaviors by white Christians for 400+ years, and it still causes the witness of the American church to be grossly stained.
This film is an attempt not to fix that--no film can do that, and the film and the speakers say that--but it is an attempt to get people, especially Christians, and most especially white Protestants, to examine themselves, what they really want, and how much do they want what they say they really want.
I watched this straight through, starting at 1130 pm when someone forwarded me the link. I couldn't go away from this the entire time.
Kudos to the entire production team on this most excellent film. Please, more of this!
An Inside Look at Racism, Conscious and Unconscious. Within US Christianity
I found the review claiming the film mostly looked at racism in America very puzzling. It actually spends less than 10 minutes at the start on that. The rest is focused laser like on racism within the church.
In fact, the segments within the film focus specifically on: The Story of Race, The Bible and Race, Anti Blackness, Erasing Native Voices, Intersectionality, Christianity in Black and White, and Problem of Reconciliation.
Only the first segment talks about US history in general. The rest are all specific to Christian churches. Almost everyone in the film are clergy, and they are uniformly self critical, blunt, so honest that it will make some uncomfortable.
The voices in this documentary are incredibly wide ranging: Black, white, Latino, Native, Asian, Arab, and seemingly dozens of denominations. It is quite striking the one group that is conspicuously entirely absent, white fundamentalists. These are not necessarily the most racist of Christians, but they certainly are the ones most likely to deny there is even a problem.
"There is no resurrection without crucifixion" as one minister points out. This means talking about the horrors, including mass deaths, of 400 years of white supremacy that was in US churches as in the rest of the US. And as one of the other ministers points out at the end, sometimes the best and most ethical thing to do is be quiet and listen.