Salvation Army defends racism guide some read as asking white donors to apologize

The Salvation Army has withdrawn a resource guide designed by its International Social Justice Commission. According to the report, the guide was said to ask white donors to offer a “sincere apology” for racism.

The guide, titled “Let’s Talk About Racism,” was put out in April. The report says it discourages “colorblindness” and encourages staff members to “apologize for being white.” The organization recently released a statement defending the guide, though the report does not give the statement’s full text. The guide has since been removed from the Salvation Army’s website. In its statement, the organization says some individuals and groups have attempted to mislabel it, a claim that reflects the broader need to test accusations before accepting them as settled (Proverbs 18:17).

Maj. David Minks, commanding officer of the Fox Cities Salvation Army, said that when he first read the story, he did not believe it. “It’s not possible, because it doesn’t fit the mission of the Salvation Army,” he said. He described the guide as intended “to help us understand some perspectives in the world today.”

Minks said the guide is not endorsed or followed by the Salvation Army in Wisconsin, or by his unit. “It’s not something we use or follow,” he said.

Minks also said the organization includes a diverse group of people who serve and care for others, and that some hold different political views. “The Salvation Army is not a political movement,” he said.

News of the guide has spread on social media, the report says, with many commenters writing remarks such as “Go Woke, Go Broke” and threatening to stop supporting the Salvation Army.

“This is really gonna hurt,” Minks said. “It breaks my heart when I hear from a donor that says, ‘I don’t support Critical Race Theory,’ and I, myself, don’t support it, but I think recognize that, when they withhold their donation and give somewhere else that who it hurts is the people that we serve.”

Source: Read the original report