ROSELAND — There are more active hate groups in Florida than in any other state, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project. In 1999, Florida had 38.

"We know these things are out there," said Dr. Arnett Smith Jr., chairperson of the Florida Commission on Religion and Race. "We should be proactive. Don’t do nothing. Be active."

Since last March, Smith and Connie Nelson Barnes, a consultant with the General Commission on Religion and Race, have been delivering that message to clergy and laity in each district throughout the Florida Conference. The final workshop was held Jan. 17 at Roseland United Methodist Church here.

More than 725 clergy and laity, including the bishop’s cabinet and members of the Commission on Religion and Race, attended the workshops, which were the vision of the late Bishop Cornelius L. Henderson, Smith said.

The goal of the program was to build awareness about racism and its incompatibility with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

"I’m hoping the training will increase the racial consciousness of the churches, and that they’ll understand that being in the comfort zone is not moving forward to build the inclusive community Jesus Christ wants us to build," he said.

The workshop itself created some division, especially over Smith and Barnes’ definition of racism. Racism is a combination of prejudice and power as stated in the Social Principals in the 1996 Book of Discipline, Barnes said. Since the Caucasian race is the majority group in the United States, controls the societal structure and has given birth to and shaped society, it wields power in the United States.

"Considering the definition, prejudice plus power equals racism, to speak of racism in the United States is to speak of white racism," Barnes said.

Several class members disagreed that only white people can be racist. Several said power could be wielded personally, institutionally and socially. Anyone, regardless of race or culture, was capable of fulfilling the definition for racism. Hate crimes committed by black people against white people were an example of that.

Barnes said racism is not necessarily just a personal act or attitude. Racism occurs when one race dominates society, business and government to the point where its members feel and act superior to other races. She said that superiority could manifest itself through personal prejudice or systems that exclude full participation by members of other races.

Smith knew the definition of racism would cause debate, but hoped people would look past that to the larger issue. "No matter which word we choose to use — racism, prejudice, bigotry, discrimination — none of those are acceptable, and we must work to eradicate all of them," he said. "They’re all just as poisonous to the soul."

Barnes and Smith also discussed White Privilege, a passive form of racism through which white people benefit socially and economically because they are a part of the dominant race. "White Privilege is in invisible systems that give Anglos an advantage and makes the playing field uneven," Barnes said.

In a video called "Free Indeed," four white church members learned about White Privilege after offering to do a work project for members of an African-American congregation. They found out they were not aware of the struggles of minority people and encouraged not to offer token assistance that did not address the root problems of the people they were trying to help.

Barnes said she has seen many participants grow in their awareness of racial issues, especially in their own congregations. "Most people coming to this have been white people," she said. "There has been a growing awareness that the racism issue is still prevalent in churches…and there are no ethnic people in the congregations."

The next step for pastors is to interpret this information to their congregations. "One thing is critical," Barnes said. "Pastors must challenge the people to go to the next level. Some of us have been stagnant for a long time. Pastors are called to liberate people. Their minds are still in bondage to the needs around them."

The Commission on Religion and Race is building a corps of people in each district who will take this same training to local churches and district groups. "We’re putting in place the mechanism and in-depth training for those persons, and we’ll let them move back into the districts to do these kinds of workshops," Smith said.