Precious Lord, Expression and Belonging

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Permalink Reply by Cynthia Adcock on January 20, 2012 at 3:11pm

Dear Barbara--

I empathize with your writing here.  But I find myself asking you (in my head) several questions:

What quality did the tough white girls have that you most wanted in yourself?

To what/whom do you most want to "belong" nowadays?

Have you now, as an adult, developed and expressed that quality you envied in the tough white girls?

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Permalink Reply by John L. Bohman on January 21, 2012 at 10:04am

Barbara,

I think your posting is very much expressing yourself.  And, while I do see your cultural background, I wonder if that is really a straight jacket for you any longer.  We all speak in and through a cultural context, which has a lot to do with who we are, but we look beyond that when we express ourselves.  It seems to me that was what you were doing in your note.  

Dorsey had his own cultural background, but "Precious Lord" was the result of an extraordinarily personal experience that transcended himself or anything in his background.  He tells about how the song wrote itself; that it was given to him by God, the source of all being.  That can happen to anyone anywhere.  Dorsey was the vessel of the divine and his words are so powerful because they are universal. 

John Newton, a slave ship's captain, was also God's vessel when he wrote the words that became the song "Amazing Grace."  Like Dorsey's song, Newton's song became a song for all peoples; both touch on what it is universal in the human condition.  Interestingly, both songs have multicultural influences.  The melody for "Precious Lord" was written in the 19th century by a white music teacher at Oberlin College.  The melody for "Amazing Grace" was derived from a West African sorrow chant.      

All of us have the privilege of being alive.  All of us also have the right to be alive.  Everyone is included in that, including both the oppressed and the oppressor.  The is why we say every person has inherent worth and dignity.  That includes you, Mr. Dorsey, Mr. Newton, me, and everyone else.  

On other hand, some of us are born into and given more of other forms of privilege.  It is what we do with what we are dealt with that matters.  The only blame, guilt, or shame to be attached to your individual privilege is its misuse by you.  One way to do that is to allow yourself become your own oppressor.  We all have done that at times, but it is tendency we need to purge from ourselves.         

John

    

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Permalink Reply by jill herndon on January 23, 2012 at 8:33pm

Notes -- with lyrics.

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Permalink Reply by Bernie Hyde on February 13, 2012 at 1:36pm

Thanks Jill, It's lovely to have that.

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Permalink Reply by June Herold on January 24, 2012 at 9:23am

Barbara, thank you for this sincere, authentic post. It ain't easy to be so honest about these things. I see myself in aspects of what you recall. Taking risks and doing what you think is right is part of a journey.  I've learned not to be insecure about how others might react to me. But I've also learned to listen carefully for context and meaning to feedback as a way to grow and to keep an open mind to resistance, the meaning of which is often several layers deeper than how the giver groped to find  words. Our emotions often keep us for turning confrontation and disagreement into opportunities for growth that can be put into deeds sooner rather than later.

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Permalink Reply by Rev. Carlton Elliott Smith on January 27, 2012 at 9:56pm

Barbara,

I'm holding you in my heart.

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Permalink Reply by Alexandra Roth on February 5, 2012 at 10:51am

I certainly identify with your words here. My growing up was somewhat different in that my family was dysfunctional and that, more than anything, was what I identified with. My understanding that I could be privileged even as I was hurting came much later.

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