Divided by Faith

I am very frustrated after reading Divided by Faith. It describes racial division between Blacks and Whites as a structural concern and not an individual case dilemma. The authors blame white evangelical for creating chasm between the two races through segregation and through discrimination. They insist that structural issues are most evident in schools, job interviews, neighborhoods, and communities. They concur that white evangelical churches further supplement the gap by forming groups that are similar to their socio-economic background, income, class, and culture. The gap causes poor black communities to experience greater struggles in white prejudice environment. They believe that the cause for structural racial problems is due to white evangelicals who are not making intercultural relations with other ethnicities.

I am an immigrant who came to this country with nothing. My family and I pulled ourself by the bootstrap to start all over from the beginning. There were occasional help by our extended families (thanks to those who let us stay in their house for six months). For the most part, we had to spare every penny to survive. My parents, filipino immigrants with Filipino education, using streetsmart techniques slowly pulled themselves from lower middle class to middle class lifestyle. They worked hard to get promoted in their jobs. They did not indulge in luxury, but they saved for their future. They did not sit idly until they were able to say, "Im ready for retirement." They did not settle to be ordinary but they wanted to be extraordinary. They took advantage of every opportunity they have to buy their first house and their brand new SUV. Through my parents, I have seen the difficulty of migrating to America with nothing in their pockets. I have also experience how anyone can pass any hardships if one puts his mind into it. I do not believe that the government is not there to help, nor the system. For all I know, my parents had an American dream and their dream came true!