If you had a choice of color/Which one would you choose/My brothers? If there was no day or night/Which one would you prefer to be right? So begins the song “Choice of Colors”. The song, written by Curtis Mayfield and performed by The Impressions reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart on the week of August 2, 1969. A song review by music critic Andrew Hamilton describes this song as “fitting right in with the Black equality movement of the times.” More than 50 years have passed since Mayfield first posed that question, and two things remain painfully clear. One is that despite protestations to the contrary, racial inequality continues largely unabated. And two, that the Protestant Church has continued to prefer white. From where I sit, as a Black female ordained minister, I would propose that before racial injustice can be adequately addressed by the Church, its existence must first be acknowledged. 

Reverend Tracey Anderson-Tellado is a wife, mother, minister, and U.S. Air Force veteran.  Tracey has served in pastoral capacities during her time in ministry, and is currently the Moderator-Elect for the Southwest Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) She is an Adjunct Faculty Member at the Stark College & Seminary in Corpus Christi, and is is pursuit of her Doctor of Ministry at United Theological Seminary. In the community Rev Anderson-Tellado is part of the local ministerial alliance and is active with the YWCA, and moderated their 14th Annual Racial Justice Forum during the 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at 

https://www.ted.com/tedx