Where Does Forgiveness Fit In When Racism Is Involved?

Where Does Forgiveness Fit In When Racism Is Involved?

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude,” wrote Martin Luther King Jr. in a collection of his sermons called “Strength to Love,” published in 1963. In the book, King addresses loving people responsible for racial segregation and violence against Black Americans, but he does so without ever condoning racial harm. While King’s understanding of forgiveness flowed from his theology, psychology offers a perspective on whethe…