“Why does everything have to be about race? Or gender? Isn’t God colorblind? Doesn’t ‘man’ in the Bible mean both men and women? Why do we have to be so divided?”
These are the questions often asked by those who have the privilege of never confronting the realities of marginalization.
Living in the Margins
Marginalization is best understood by looking at a simple sheet of paper. The main text sits in the center, while the margins hold the notes, the additions—things that seem secondary but are still present. Those in power often relegate entire communities to the margins of society, treating them as footnotes in history rather than part of the story itself.
bell hooks described this reality best in Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics:
“I was not speaking of a marginality one wishes to lose—to give up or surrender as part of moving into the center—but rather as a site one stays in, clings to even, because it nourishes one’s capacity to resist.”
We are living in an era where marginalized communities are still fighting for a seat at the table—still experiencing firsts in places where they should have long been included.
Firsts That Shouldn’t Still Be Firsts
The past decade has brought historic milestones in culture, politics, and government:
Kamala Harris became the first Black and South Asian woman Vice President of the United States.
Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 2024, Lisa Blunt Rochester became Delaware’s first Black female senator.
Angela Alsobrooks was elected Maryland’s first Black senator and only the third Black woman in the U.S. Senate.
Maria Elena Cruz became the first Latina and first Black justice on the Arizona Supreme Court in 2025.
Beyoncé became the first Black woman to win a Grammy for Best Country Album in 2025.
Kendrick Lamar became the first non-classical, non-jazz artist—and the first Black entertainer—to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018.
Viola Davis became the only Black actor to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting (Oscar, Emmy, and Tony).
Paul Tazewell became the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for Wicked in 2025.
The fact that these firsts are still happening today speaks volumes. These communities have existed in America for centuries before its beginning—why are they still fighting for recognition?
The War on Diversity and Equity
In modern times, in our current social, cultural, and political climate in the U.S., we now have to prepare to fight to be removed from the corners and one-inch margins of the pages of history—because war has been waged on the civil rights of those who are not white, straight, or male.
The very term “DEI” has been twisted into a racist dog whistle for “Blacks,” never mind that white women have gained the most recentering from the margins of society, the workplace, and the marketplace. Equity itself is under attack. The removal of policies like Affirmative Action from college admissions isn’t just about academics—it’s about putting marginalized youth “back in their place,” outside of the center-page status of whiteness and “model minority” privileges.
It’s about closing doors before they’re ever cracked open.
College isn’t just about education. It’s about access—access to networks, opportunities, and institutions that have historically been locked away from those who come from the rural fields, the inner cities, the projects, and every other society-installed “rock” designed to keep certain people hidden.
This is why we have to keep talking about race and gender. Because race and gender are still being used by those in power to keep others marginalized.
The goal is clear: to restore the centrality of white, male, straight privilege—to push others back into the margins where they are easier to control, easier to ignore. But this isn’t just a political struggle. This is a spiritual battle, too.
The Bible Was Written for the Marginalized
Ironically, many of the people advocating for racial and gender blindness use Christianity as their justification. White, evangelical men in particular have wielded the Bible as a weapon to reinforce systems of oppression. But a true reading of Scripture tells a very different story.
The Israelites were a marginalized people. Jesus was born into a marginalized community. His entire ministry was centered on those whom society rejected. He stood with women, the poor, the sick, the outcast, the foreigner.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”
— Proverbs 31:8-9
Time and again, Jesus disrupted the status quo to uplift those in the margins:
The woman with the issue of blood—excluded from society, yet healed and restored by Jesus.
The Samaritan woman at the well—despised for her gender and ethnicity, yet seen and valued by Jesus.
The parable of the Good Samaritan—challenging prejudices by showing that love and righteousness are not determined by race or class.
The Beatitudes—declaring that the meek, the poor, the persecuted are the ones who will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
God is not colorblind. He sees the suffering of the marginalized, and He acts on their behalf. The real question is: why aren’t we doing the same?
The Call to Action
God is the only true Center of the Page, and He consistently moves in the margins. If we claim to follow Him, then our place is there too—fighting for justice, amplifying voices, and ensuring that no one is erased from history.
So the next time someone asks, “Why does everything have to be about race and gender?” The answer is simple: because people are still using race and gender as tools of oppression. Until the margins are erased and everyone is truly seen, we have a moral and spiritual obligation to keep speaking up.
Because Jesus did.