In regard to racism, the definitive word is this: (
Acts 17:26-28)
26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth,
having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.
Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for
" 'In him we live and move and have our being;'
as even some of your own poets have said,
" 'For we are indeed his offspring.'
The word translated "nation" is "ethnos" - ethnicity, race (and their near synonyms- tribes, foreigners, people, nations). The passage tells us three things about ourselves. It says that we are one, that we all have a place in the earth, and we all have an opportunity to seek God.
When we allow social norms, political ideologies, economic considerations, and cultural norms to become the key ways by which we relate to one another, we thereby sin against God and against one another. We deny the blood that unites us, and we deny the image of God within us. The darkness that follows can be seen parading in the streets with fists and voices raised, and even in mixed groups, diverse in appearance, exchanging polite and winsome words devoid of the love which the words imitate.
These things are so even among Christians in spite of the fact that God says, "Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all" (Colossians 3:11). This is not mere sentiment, nor is it mere civility; it is, as we may infer from the preceding verse, something that comes from the new self. It is, therefore, the expected and necessary response to one another which must govern all of our interactions.
Otherwise, we rebel against God, damage an unbreakable bond, and do violence to our own nature, defiling our spirit thereby. In our hearts, if not in our words, (Colossians 3:8) we slander one another as inferior, or dangerous, or hate-filled. Such attitudes (Colossians 3:12) cause kindness and humility to hemorrhage from our souls, hardly noticed, except by God.
It should be unnecessary for non-white people to have to prove their equality or their worth. They already have both from God. If we deny it, we steal it from them. For example, it was non-white people who built the remarkable and seminal civilizations of Egypt (Nubians, etc.) and Sumaria ("black-headed people," as they called themselves).
It was an African, Augustine of Hippo, of whom one historian said, "Augustine's impact on Western Christian thought can hardly be overstated; only his beloved example, Paul of Tarsus, has been more influential."
Similar examples can be found that show the accomplishments of any other "race" (a somewhat imprecise term). But the Biblical point is that all men are inherently equal and inherently worthwhile. Accomplishments demonstrate a part of that worth, but only secondarily.
Until we follow Christ's example of love and humility in these matters, we will be disobedient and injurious. Therefore, "in humility count others more significant than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3).