Responses to Salvation Army employee racism discussion guide (2021)

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The Salvation Army's International Social Justice Commission in 2021 published a discussion guide called “Let’s Talk About Racism,” which drew responses from the news media, pundits, donors, and employees. This article covers the conversations and responses surrounding the document.

Background

The Salvation Army in July 2021 began distributing training materials based on a discussion guide called “Let’s Talk About Racism." The Salvation Army's International Social Justice Commission (ISJC) developed and published the guide, along with an accompanying study guide.

The preamble for the "Let's Talk About Racism" document said it was "designed to stimulate gracious discussion among Salvationists who choose to participate." The guide was designed to stimulate internal dialogue and was "not a position or policy statement," nor did it, "replace, supersede, or act as an addendum to The Salvation Army’s International Positional Statement," according to the Salvation Army.

News outlets and pundits began to report and comment on the documents, arguing they asked white donors and Salvationists to apologize for their race. The following excerpts from "Let's Talk About Racism" became central to the conversation:

• "Why is it so difficult to acknowledge the sin of racism and the seeking of God’s forgiveness both individually as believers and corporately as the Church for our complicity in racism?"
• "We must stop denying the existence of individual and systemic/institutional racism. They exist, and are still at work to keep White Americans in power."
• "[A]s we engage in conversations about race and racism, we must keep in mind that sincere repentance and apologies are necessary if we want to move towards racial reconciliation. … Perhaps you don’t feel as if you personally have done anything wrong, but you can spend time repenting on behalf of the Church and asking for God to open hearts and minds to the issue of racism."
• "The desire is that Salvationists achieve the following: Lament, repent and apologize for biases or racist ideologies held and actions committed."

The accompanying study guide also said, "The subtle nature of racism is such that people who are not consciously racist easily function with the privileges, empowerment and benefits of the dominant ethnicity, thus unintentionally perpetuating injustice."

Responses to issuance of “Let’s Talk About Racism”

This section includes the responses of employees, donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders to "Let's Talk About Racism."

Employee responses

In a now-deleted Facebook post, Salvation Army Captain Charles DeJesus said the Salvation Army's race-based discussion materials appeared partisan. He wrote, "I am directly calling upon you, without equivocation, to restore The Salvation Army's purely apolitical position and spirit of Blood and Fire/World for God Salvationism. ... There are countless individuals who are working angles and schemes of racial justice and unity. For that reason alone, why are we so fixated on this, the environment, DEI initiatives, and other things that make us indistinguishable from academia, humanism, and other things that appear partisan?"

National Salvation Army advisory board member Mary Theroux said of the materials: "I have a real problem with that website and the resources that are suggested readings—to my mind they do not accord with what I've seen at the SA. ... They're silly notions that are not going to resolve the disparate conditions of people. ... I don't think it advances real solutions and real solutions are needed. ... Jargon like systemic racism and whiteness being a sin is a smokescreen for correctly diagnosing the problems and addressing them in a meaningful way that will resolve them."

Donor responses

Greg Koukl, a Christian author and talk show host, said in a Facebook post on November 1, 2021, that he would terminate his monthly donation to the Salvation Army. He wrote, "I have been a Christian radio talk show host and a vigorous defender of Christianity in the public square on the air, in print, and in public presentations and debates on more than 80 college and university campuses both in the U.S. and abroad for over 30 years. In my estimation, CRT is a Trojan horse taking in well-intentioned Christian enterprises that— because they care about justice and oppose oppression—naively promote the most serious threat to biblical Christianity I have seen in 50 years."

Donor Richard Nakano also wrote about his reasons for ending support for the Salvation Army, saying, "I have been a faithful supporter of The Salvation Army for many years. My parents were supporters when they were alive, and they passed that down to me and my siblings. It was always a joy to see the red kettles around the holidays, as well as to hear of the efforts of TSA in helping the poor and those affected by disasters. Now I have noticed TSA has taken a turn to the far left politically, championing and virtue signaling such 'woke' policies as LGBTQ 'rights' and CRT. I am very disappointed the TSA has turned away from its Christ-centered mission, and is now embracing such un-Christian, world-centered views. ... Until the TSA admits its error, denounces these woke views and turns back to its original foundations, I will NOT support it—financially or otherwise. There are other Christian organizations I can send my donations to, just as deserving and NOT politically subservient to the woke mob."

Activist reponses

Color Us United, an organization that, according to its website, advocates "for a race-blind America," started a petition for the Salvation Army's removal of "Let's Talk About Racism" from distribution and the website. The petition also called for the "International Social Justice Commission of The Salvation Army to publicly recognize that the suggestion that their membership ought to repent on 'behalf of the church,' while well-intentioned, is antithetical to the Christian ethic of individual salvation." As of April 2, 2022, the petition had 18,796 signatures.

Aftermath

This section covers the Salvation Army's response to the conversations in the previous section and events that transpired following the removal of the guide.

Salvation Army withdraws "Let's Talk About Racism"

The Salvation Army removed "Let's Talk About Racism" from distribution on November 25, 2021. In a statement, the organization said the discussion guide did not ask white donors, employees, or volunteers to apologize for their skin color. The organization also argued that the document did not break with their Christian beliefs to align with a political ideology.

According to the statement, "[A]lthough we remain committed to serving everyone in need—regardless of their beliefs, backgrounds, or lifestyle—some individuals and groups have recently attempted to mislabel our organization to serve their own agendas. They have claimed that we believe our donors should apologize for their skin color, that The Salvation Army believes America is an inherently racist society, and that we have abandoned our Christian faith for one ideology or another. Those claims are simply false, and they distort the very goal of our work."

The organization continued, "In this case, the guide 'Let’s Talk About Racism,' was issued as a voluntary resource, but it has since become a focus of controversy. We have done our best to provide accurate information, but unfortunately, some have chosen to ignore those efforts. At the same time, International Headquarters realized that certain aspects of the guide may need to be clarified. Consequently, for both reasons, the International Social Justice Commission has withdrawn the guide."

Volunteer numbers and red kettle donations

During the 2021 holiday fundraising season, media outlets reported missed donation goals and fewer bell-ringing volunteers in some local markets, including areas in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Ohio.

Fox News and the Washington Examiner reported a decrease in Salvation Army donor and volunteer support during the holiday season following the distribution of "Let's Talk About Racism." The Salvation Army and other news sources like CBS News said the decreased availability of bell-ringers and donations was related to the COVID-19 pandemic and regional variations.

In a Breitbart opinion piece, John Nolte wrote, "Naturally, no one dares to admit that the Salvation Army’s outrageous decision to ask its white donors to apologize for being racists might be the cause of its troubles. Instead, the Christian group’s problems are blamed on the pandemic—which makes no sense. As you’ll see below, some of the Salvation Army’s donation and volunteer problems are down compared to last year. Some of you might recall that there was not only a pandemic last year, but that last year there was no vaccine."

The Salvation Army said in a statement to Fox News, "We have no information to suggest that the efforts of any political action group is affecting the Red Kettle results. Our units in local markets have ups and downs each year, which shouldn’t be mistaken to represent the status of our national Red Kettle campaign. We expect to have a measure of the national results in early 2022, and we are encouraged by the final tally of his year's National Commander's Red Kettle Challenge, which doubled the amount raised in 2020."

Major David Dohmann said of the Salvation Army's lack of bell ringers, "We certainly had some that said 'hey, we're still not comfortable going out and ringing the bell. Maybe next year.' I think the other thing is, last year, I think a lot more people had time on their hands because of the pandemic. Offices were closed and people were wanting to get out of the house."

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