Our feature article provides an opportunity to listen to Black voices and to see ourselves through Black lenses in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Do we value those lenses?
Almost everyone gets a bit of thrill when they see a picture of themselves in a newspaper or magazine. We often preserve those photos as part of our personal history.
At Canada Lutheran we know that. So we take a great deal of care to ensure that this magazine reflects the rich diversity of people in our church, their experiences and their ideas. Good photos are part of the reflection we try to offer. We may not always get it right, but we are committed to ongoing learning.
As I was working with proof copies of this issue, I realized how much this issue is enhanced by the quality of the photos in it, particularly those of our Black contributors.
Our ability to make regular use of high quality photos in Canada Lutheran was quite difficult until about four years ago. Part of the problem was that most contributors did not have access to high quality cameras. The technology available to us also limited how much we could enhance such photos.
When the lighting and quality of a photo was poor in photos we received, it was even more challenging to work with such photos with Black members in them. Even with a lot of diligent technical work, it was extremely difficult to reproduce such photos so that the People of Colour in them could be seen or recognized.
With the significant improvement in cameras that are affordable for most people, the quality of the photos we receive has improved in many cases. We now have software that enables us to reproduce skin colour correctly.
That experience took on new meaning to me as I began to wonder why it had taken those in the publishing industry so long to find the way to refine the technology.
Was part of the reason that the people who had the ability to make the necessary changes didn’t feel that it was a significant enough matter to do anything about? The system that was in place, intentionally or not, played a role in what we now increasingly understand as systemic racism.
When I invited a couple of People of Colour to help me to reflect on this, I was asked, “Did anyone ever think to ask People of Colour what the best way to photograph multi-melanin groups were?”
It had never occurred to me to ask them. Although I was disturbed by the situation, it had also never occurred to me that I could or should speak up and say, “Surely there must be a way.” I had simply accepted that that was the way things were.
That’s how systemic racism works. How easily such things can become ingrained. How difficult it is to make the necessary changes.
Of course our feature is about more than photos. It is about lenses and how we use them. Please join me during Black History Month in looking at life through some Black lenses.
Glimpses
In our 2021 Bible study series, Rev. Elina Salonen and Rev. Ed Bastian explore stories in the Gospel of Mark (p. 31).
Discover the joy, surprise, fear, challenges and hope of a childhood shepherd and Southern Sudanese refugee who is now one of our pastors (p. 6).
Volunteering is good for the soul, builds community, and shapes a better world (p. 9).
God’s marvelous grace gives us new beginnings each day (p. 15).
Kenn Ward, Editor
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