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School Apology Letter

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Dear: Dr. Patterson,
I hope this letter finds you well and that you are prospering and in good health. First, let me express my appreciation for your letter of apology concerning the twitter post by the preaching professors at Southwestern Seminary. I saw the post and was more disheartened more than I was upset or angry. I chose to wait awhile, gather my thoughts, and let things die down a little before I responded. I know that the post has gone viral and we have received harsh criticism which has left the Seminary, as well as the professors, with “egg on their face”. I know that the school has received criticism from the African American community, those that consider themselves evangelical and those that do not. I know, as the …show more content…

Even though, academically, I go to a predominantly White evangelical institution, socially, I still live in the African American world. I interact with those within my culture on various aspects of life including politics, social justice, the church, and theology; some conservative and some not, some Christian and some not. When engaging with those in my culture, I often hear the criticism against conservative evangelical institutions in general and Southwestern specifically. I hear and read comments that Southwestern is racist at worst or racially insensitive at best. In a conference I attended, prominent preachers have commented that Southwestern Seminary does nothing to speak to the race issue or social justice issue. Even though the preacher did not come out and say the name Southwestern, when he addressed the attendees as the keynote speaker at a local Forth Worth Divinity school and referred to, “a seminary in this city”, I knew he was referring to us. This statement saddened me because the tenor and the tone was somewhat demeaning. I was further dismayed when I read a book a few months ago where the author mentioned Southwestern by name and commented that we, as an institution add nothing to the conversation about racial equality. This too was disappointing. The major issue I had with the twitter post is that it fits into a narrative of Southwestern that is held by many African-Americans. It gives

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