Past Is Prologue
Why White Jesus Must Go
The image is not only inaccurate — it’s harmful
On June 22, 2020, Shaun King tweeted, “Yes, I think the statues of the white European they claim is Jesus should also come down. They are a form of white supremacy.”
Responding to the national call for the removal of confederate flags, statues, monuments, and memorials, Shaun King pressed things even further by demanding the removal of white Jesus.
The internet exploded as Christians throughout the United States proceeded to debate whether Jesus was a symbol of white supremacy. Arguments swirled around Jesus’ true ethnicity and the traditional white European depictions of him, ultimately leading to a call for these lily-white images to be eradicated.
Black Christians chimed in supporting that these images—from statues to paintings to stained glass windows—are not historical but are in fact tools of white supremacist intimidation and indoctrination. Such conversations raise several questions: What is the history of white Jesus? Why are white Christians so uncomfortable imagining Jesus outside of whiteness? And, in light of the…
