The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! š
drbobcornwall's review against another edition
5.0
Being a white male I've never had to navigate the minority experience. Yes, I've occasionally found myself in a space where I am the minority figure, but even then my place in the broader majority culture has given me a certain amount of power. I cannot change who I am, but I can listen to voices whose experiences are different than mine. This is why the slogan "all lives matter," usually uttered by white males, fails to catch the reality of the human situation in the land that I call home. It is from the perspective as being part of the majority culture that I read Adrian Pei's important book "The Minority Experience."
This book is written by an Asian-American evangelical Christian who has experienced life within a white-majority Christian organization. Adrian Pei was once a staff-member of Cru, serving as associate national director of leadership development of Cru's Epic Movement. Today he is an organizational development consultant and leadership trainer. It is out of his experience with Cru that this book emerges. The book is addressed first and foremost to minority folks, especially minority Christians, trying to name the challenges faced living in a white majority culture, which often assumes that white culture is normative culture. Thus, the way to succeed is to assimilate and let go of one's cultural/ethnic identities. Pei suggests another path forward, which involves empowerment. For those of us living in the majority culture, this book invites us to listen and try to comprehend realities different from our own.
Pei divides his nine chapters into two parts. Part One focuses on "Understanding the Minority Experience." Much of this story is autobiographical. This is lived experience of "self-doubt" (chapter one), "pain, power, and the past" (chapter two), "domestication" (chapter three), and "weariness" (chapter four). The titles of these chapters give us a sense of the minority experience. The emphasis is on the past. Realities have been set in motion in the past that are difficult to overcome. They have to do with power differentials that are systemic in nature.
In Part Tw0, Pei seeks to redeem the minority experience. Building on the descriptions provided in part one, Pei seeks to move things forward, speaking of the challenges of organizational development in chapter five. Here he speaks of working to diversify organizations, something that remains difficult (and which is creating political backlash). There is a chapter on "seeing pain with eyes of compassion" (chapter six), in which he explores the pain of invisibility. The compassion here is not for the culture, but for one another within the system of minority cultures in our country. Chapter seven is titled "stewarding power with hands of advocacy." In this chapter Pei addresses the ongoing problem of sabotage, which often involves minority communities being pitted against each other, and moving toward advocacy for one another. Then in chapter eight he seeks to reframe the past with wisdom. Here he speaks of partnership between minority and majority communities that will reframe the realities of the past so as to empower the future. It is a work not only of reconciliation but healing unjust systems. Finally, in chapter nine, he speaks of the challenge and opportunity. The challenge is one of empowerment, and the opportunity is one of partnership. For this to happen, those of us in the majority culture will need to listen, understand, and step back. That won't be easy, but it is the way forward.
We are living in a time of increasing demographic changes. Before long the United States will be a majority minority nation, a nation where no racial-ethnic community has more than 50% of the population. Not everyone is comfortable with this, which has led to anti-immigration and anti-minority sentiment among a component of the white American population. Despite the resistance, change is coming. Having wise guides like Adrian Pei will help us move into this new reality in ways that can bless all.
One thing to note, Pei is an evangelical Christian and as such reads scripture through what some might find a conservative lens. There were a few places where I found his reading of scripture different from my own, especially regarding atonement theology. Nonetheless, the book is an important statement concerning the minority experience. Thus, to be recommended highly!
This book is written by an Asian-American evangelical Christian who has experienced life within a white-majority Christian organization. Adrian Pei was once a staff-member of Cru, serving as associate national director of leadership development of Cru's Epic Movement. Today he is an organizational development consultant and leadership trainer. It is out of his experience with Cru that this book emerges. The book is addressed first and foremost to minority folks, especially minority Christians, trying to name the challenges faced living in a white majority culture, which often assumes that white culture is normative culture. Thus, the way to succeed is to assimilate and let go of one's cultural/ethnic identities. Pei suggests another path forward, which involves empowerment. For those of us living in the majority culture, this book invites us to listen and try to comprehend realities different from our own.
Pei divides his nine chapters into two parts. Part One focuses on "Understanding the Minority Experience." Much of this story is autobiographical. This is lived experience of "self-doubt" (chapter one), "pain, power, and the past" (chapter two), "domestication" (chapter three), and "weariness" (chapter four). The titles of these chapters give us a sense of the minority experience. The emphasis is on the past. Realities have been set in motion in the past that are difficult to overcome. They have to do with power differentials that are systemic in nature.
In Part Tw0, Pei seeks to redeem the minority experience. Building on the descriptions provided in part one, Pei seeks to move things forward, speaking of the challenges of organizational development in chapter five. Here he speaks of working to diversify organizations, something that remains difficult (and which is creating political backlash). There is a chapter on "seeing pain with eyes of compassion" (chapter six), in which he explores the pain of invisibility. The compassion here is not for the culture, but for one another within the system of minority cultures in our country. Chapter seven is titled "stewarding power with hands of advocacy." In this chapter Pei addresses the ongoing problem of sabotage, which often involves minority communities being pitted against each other, and moving toward advocacy for one another. Then in chapter eight he seeks to reframe the past with wisdom. Here he speaks of partnership between minority and majority communities that will reframe the realities of the past so as to empower the future. It is a work not only of reconciliation but healing unjust systems. Finally, in chapter nine, he speaks of the challenge and opportunity. The challenge is one of empowerment, and the opportunity is one of partnership. For this to happen, those of us in the majority culture will need to listen, understand, and step back. That won't be easy, but it is the way forward.
We are living in a time of increasing demographic changes. Before long the United States will be a majority minority nation, a nation where no racial-ethnic community has more than 50% of the population. Not everyone is comfortable with this, which has led to anti-immigration and anti-minority sentiment among a component of the white American population. Despite the resistance, change is coming. Having wise guides like Adrian Pei will help us move into this new reality in ways that can bless all.
One thing to note, Pei is an evangelical Christian and as such reads scripture through what some might find a conservative lens. There were a few places where I found his reading of scripture different from my own, especially regarding atonement theology. Nonetheless, the book is an important statement concerning the minority experience. Thus, to be recommended highly!
hannahswiv's review against another edition
5.0
I begged a review copy of Minority Experience, as I work for a Christian organisation that is currently reflecting on diversity and increasing inclusion.
I found it helpful - very lucid and engaging - with its focus on pain, power and the past operating extremely effectively. I really liked that Pei was clear that his primary audience is members of minority groups - but as member of the majority, I found his approach robust and challenging, in a way that encouraged reflection not shame. It's one I would definitely recommend.
I found it helpful - very lucid and engaging - with its focus on pain, power and the past operating extremely effectively. I really liked that Pei was clear that his primary audience is members of minority groups - but as member of the majority, I found his approach robust and challenging, in a way that encouraged reflection not shame. It's one I would definitely recommend.
whitneyish's review against another edition
5.0
After finishing Adrian Peiās The Minority Experience, I am still left reeling from a simple and short line from the book: āNeither time nor history are neutral.ā As an ethnic minority in the US, seeing this statement feels immediately obvious, but with a little more reflection and opportunity to sink-in, Iām brought to feel the weight and consequences of time and history taking sidesāand mostly taking the side of the powerful and privileged majority. Yet, instead of being left in despair, Adrian endows us with hopefulness and a challenge to take our place in a most important conversation and movement. This is an eloquent and thorough must-read for leaders in any capacityāin any organization.
nova24's review against another edition
5.0
I devoured this book. It came at a crucial time for me, and the grid and vocabulary Adrian gives in light of his experiences were very helpful. As an ethnic minority, to be reminded I'm not alone in the midst of navigating emotional and organization realities that don't always resonate with me was extremely comforting and encouraging. I think as well, for majority culture, it's a well written book that can help give more insight to an ethnic minorities possible experience (not wanting to speak for every minority). Fantastic read!
notwithoutwitness's review against another edition
3.0
Pei, Adrian. The Minority Experience: Navigating Emotional and Organizational Realities. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2018.
Listening. Itās something none of us are really good at. All of us need to grow in this area. We must become better listeners. As part of of the majority culture, I am constantly trying, as a pastor in a minority context, to listen. This is what Andrew Peiās The Minority Experience asks of us, in the majority white culture: listen. Please hear what we have to say. Please listen to our experiences. We are not invisible.
Pei, as an Asian-American who has worked in majority culture institutions and ministries (para-church Cru and their Asian counterpart Epic) asks us to listen in on the minority experience so we may better understand the struggles, challenges, and often heartache that our minority brothers and sisters experience everyday.
He defines minority, not so much as ethnicity or race, but in relation to who holds the majority of societal and cultural power (Loc. 97, 154). He clarifies the distinction between ethnicity and race. āEthnicity refers to the various ancestral attributes that distinguish a people groupā¦ā while race āis a category with a history and purpose of social powerā (Loc. 111). The idea or category of āraceā was created for oppression. (Loc. 118).
Asians, hispanics, and African Americans are growing into the majority, soon to eclipse whites, but they remain at the boundaries of societal and cultural power. Therefore, they remain in the cultural minority.
The Minority Experience is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on understanding the minority experience by delving into Peiās three foci of pain, power, and past. Chapter 1 deals with understanding the pain and the self doubt that flows out of that pain. Chapter 2 looks at all three (pain, power, and past) as distinctive of the minority experience. Then chapters 3 and 4 focus in more specifically on push toward domestication because of majority power and the weariness of the past. I am scratching my head a bit why chapter 2 wasnāt an introductory chapter. Why start with pain, then pause to cover all three again, and then hit play to finish with power and past?
The second part focuses on redeeming the minority experience specifically within the context of organizations. Chapter 5 focuses on how organizations may diversify. Chapters 6 through 8 seek to address pain, power and past redemptively. We must see pain with the eyes of compassion. We must steward power with the hands of advocacy. And we must reframe the past with a heart of wisdom. Pei ends the book with a challenge and opportunity. He ends by writing:
The biggest challenge of race, politics, and any polarizing issue in society today is not who is right or wrong. Those debates will likely never end, nor be resolved. More importantly, how do we engage people who are different from us? That is the great challenge and opportunity of leadership today (Loc1752).
His book calls us to consider three elements of the minority experience: pain, power, and past. I believe these categories are helpful ways to think through the minority experience. For example, the Black Lives Matter movement incorporates elements of all three: pain, power, and past.
Pei stands against the tendency of the majority culture to try to flatten out the pain and experiences of minorities with the expression: āAll lives matter.ā While this is true, it misses the point. āBlack Lives Matterā is a call to see blacks as human beings. Itās a call to affirm the dignity of African Americans. When āAll Lives Matterā is thrown out, conversation ceases and the pain of being a minority is silenced. We must not silence one another. We must become better listeners. We must be willing to hear the stories of pain experienced by others. This pain exists because of the power held over minorities by white culture and there is a long history of this oppression which continues on today.
When āBlack Lives Matterā is confronted with āAll Lives Matterā it says that your pain doesnāt matter and makes the past irrelevant. But to listen is in itself an act of dignity and value. Listening to one another expresses love, and showers dignity upon them. As Christians, it is giving rightful due to the imago dei within all.
The second half of The Minority Experience focuses in on the organizational dimension. Pei asks, āAre we willing to listen and absorb stories of pain from minorities in our organizations? Are we willing to confront imbalances and abuses of power in our organization? Are we willing to explore the impact of the past in the United States and in our organization?ā Questions like these are valuable mirrors we need to peer into in order to become better listeners to the minorities in our organizations. Peiās focus plays out in the para-church Cru, but asking such questions would be just as valuable for churches and their leaders.
An element of The Minority Experience I deeply appreciated was Peiās voice adding to what has been predominantly a very black and white issue. He recognizes that Blacks have in many ways led the way forward for other minorities. Itās good to hear voices from Asians, Latinos, and others. Peiās voice and the other diversity of voices he brings along with him are much needed elements to the discussion. Pei writes, āWhen people of color bring their voices together, it helps grow the sense of common good and flourishing for all that God intended.ā (Loc. 1554).
The church is the ultimate minority group. This is the broader portrait that we as followers of Christ find ourselves in. We are outsiders in this world. We are other. We do not belong. We are oppressed, despised, and often relegated to meaninglessness. The church has a shared pain, a lack of power, and a past history of suffering.
Obviously, some may object that Christianity is anything but a minority. The reality is, Christianity has always been and always will be on the fringes of culture and society. Any semblance of Christianity that appears to be part of the majority culture is only a christianity that has capitulated itself to the world.
The true church, the remnant people of God, has always been culturally weak throughout history. And even if there were perceived times of power where Christianity seemed to rule the majority and hold all the power those times are gone. Christianity, with each passing day, is more and more relegated to the boundaries of society at best and shoved into dark corners with the hope of it never coming out again. True followers of Christ are the spiritual minority.
Therefore, I would have loved to have seen Pei trace these themes of remnant, church in the diaspora, etc. throughout Scripture and apply them to the current ethnic minority situation. I believe there is room for a lot of fruit if we would place the ethnic minority experience into the framework of the broader spiritual/Christian minority experience.
It would have been helpful for Pei to have written a foundational chapter which focused on the biblical-theological themes of pain, power, and past. This would have helped situate the ethnic minority experience into the broader framework of Scriptureās storyline.
The ābible partsā at the end of each chapter felt a bit tacked on. This book would have been better served to have a separate foundational section which dealt with the biblical material from a redemptive-historical outlook. Instead of brief snippets of biblical examples from minority backgrounds it would have been more instructive to trace the larger themes of pain, power, and past through the scriptural flow of history in both testaments. Without this, the book feels a bit weak and lacks a bit of the punch of Scripture necessary to cut through the majority cultureās inability to listen.
And with those biblical themes being traced he could have ended on a chapter of hope: how the Gospel of Jesus Christ offers hope to the spiritual minority of Christians and the ethnic minorities who are in Christ. Ultimately, how does the good news of Christās death, burial, and resurrection address the pain, the power, and the past of the minority experience. This was briefly hit on, but in reality this and only this is the answer which offers any hope. The Gospel deserves a broader reckoning in the story of the minorityās experience.
Listening. Itās something none of us are really good at. All of us need to grow in this area. We must become better listeners. As part of of the majority culture, I am constantly trying, as a pastor in a minority context, to listen. This is what Andrew Peiās The Minority Experience asks of us, in the majority white culture: listen. Please hear what we have to say. Please listen to our experiences. We are not invisible.
Pei, as an Asian-American who has worked in majority culture institutions and ministries (para-church Cru and their Asian counterpart Epic) asks us to listen in on the minority experience so we may better understand the struggles, challenges, and often heartache that our minority brothers and sisters experience everyday.
He defines minority, not so much as ethnicity or race, but in relation to who holds the majority of societal and cultural power (Loc. 97, 154). He clarifies the distinction between ethnicity and race. āEthnicity refers to the various ancestral attributes that distinguish a people groupā¦ā while race āis a category with a history and purpose of social powerā (Loc. 111). The idea or category of āraceā was created for oppression. (Loc. 118).
Asians, hispanics, and African Americans are growing into the majority, soon to eclipse whites, but they remain at the boundaries of societal and cultural power. Therefore, they remain in the cultural minority.
The Minority Experience is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on understanding the minority experience by delving into Peiās three foci of pain, power, and past. Chapter 1 deals with understanding the pain and the self doubt that flows out of that pain. Chapter 2 looks at all three (pain, power, and past) as distinctive of the minority experience. Then chapters 3 and 4 focus in more specifically on push toward domestication because of majority power and the weariness of the past. I am scratching my head a bit why chapter 2 wasnāt an introductory chapter. Why start with pain, then pause to cover all three again, and then hit play to finish with power and past?
The second part focuses on redeeming the minority experience specifically within the context of organizations. Chapter 5 focuses on how organizations may diversify. Chapters 6 through 8 seek to address pain, power and past redemptively. We must see pain with the eyes of compassion. We must steward power with the hands of advocacy. And we must reframe the past with a heart of wisdom. Pei ends the book with a challenge and opportunity. He ends by writing:
The biggest challenge of race, politics, and any polarizing issue in society today is not who is right or wrong. Those debates will likely never end, nor be resolved. More importantly, how do we engage people who are different from us? That is the great challenge and opportunity of leadership today (Loc1752).
His book calls us to consider three elements of the minority experience: pain, power, and past. I believe these categories are helpful ways to think through the minority experience. For example, the Black Lives Matter movement incorporates elements of all three: pain, power, and past.
Pei stands against the tendency of the majority culture to try to flatten out the pain and experiences of minorities with the expression: āAll lives matter.ā While this is true, it misses the point. āBlack Lives Matterā is a call to see blacks as human beings. Itās a call to affirm the dignity of African Americans. When āAll Lives Matterā is thrown out, conversation ceases and the pain of being a minority is silenced. We must not silence one another. We must become better listeners. We must be willing to hear the stories of pain experienced by others. This pain exists because of the power held over minorities by white culture and there is a long history of this oppression which continues on today.
When āBlack Lives Matterā is confronted with āAll Lives Matterā it says that your pain doesnāt matter and makes the past irrelevant. But to listen is in itself an act of dignity and value. Listening to one another expresses love, and showers dignity upon them. As Christians, it is giving rightful due to the imago dei within all.
The second half of The Minority Experience focuses in on the organizational dimension. Pei asks, āAre we willing to listen and absorb stories of pain from minorities in our organizations? Are we willing to confront imbalances and abuses of power in our organization? Are we willing to explore the impact of the past in the United States and in our organization?ā Questions like these are valuable mirrors we need to peer into in order to become better listeners to the minorities in our organizations. Peiās focus plays out in the para-church Cru, but asking such questions would be just as valuable for churches and their leaders.
An element of The Minority Experience I deeply appreciated was Peiās voice adding to what has been predominantly a very black and white issue. He recognizes that Blacks have in many ways led the way forward for other minorities. Itās good to hear voices from Asians, Latinos, and others. Peiās voice and the other diversity of voices he brings along with him are much needed elements to the discussion. Pei writes, āWhen people of color bring their voices together, it helps grow the sense of common good and flourishing for all that God intended.ā (Loc. 1554).
The church is the ultimate minority group. This is the broader portrait that we as followers of Christ find ourselves in. We are outsiders in this world. We are other. We do not belong. We are oppressed, despised, and often relegated to meaninglessness. The church has a shared pain, a lack of power, and a past history of suffering.
Obviously, some may object that Christianity is anything but a minority. The reality is, Christianity has always been and always will be on the fringes of culture and society. Any semblance of Christianity that appears to be part of the majority culture is only a christianity that has capitulated itself to the world.
The true church, the remnant people of God, has always been culturally weak throughout history. And even if there were perceived times of power where Christianity seemed to rule the majority and hold all the power those times are gone. Christianity, with each passing day, is more and more relegated to the boundaries of society at best and shoved into dark corners with the hope of it never coming out again. True followers of Christ are the spiritual minority.
Therefore, I would have loved to have seen Pei trace these themes of remnant, church in the diaspora, etc. throughout Scripture and apply them to the current ethnic minority situation. I believe there is room for a lot of fruit if we would place the ethnic minority experience into the framework of the broader spiritual/Christian minority experience.
It would have been helpful for Pei to have written a foundational chapter which focused on the biblical-theological themes of pain, power, and past. This would have helped situate the ethnic minority experience into the broader framework of Scriptureās storyline.
The ābible partsā at the end of each chapter felt a bit tacked on. This book would have been better served to have a separate foundational section which dealt with the biblical material from a redemptive-historical outlook. Instead of brief snippets of biblical examples from minority backgrounds it would have been more instructive to trace the larger themes of pain, power, and past through the scriptural flow of history in both testaments. Without this, the book feels a bit weak and lacks a bit of the punch of Scripture necessary to cut through the majority cultureās inability to listen.
And with those biblical themes being traced he could have ended on a chapter of hope: how the Gospel of Jesus Christ offers hope to the spiritual minority of Christians and the ethnic minorities who are in Christ. Ultimately, how does the good news of Christās death, burial, and resurrection address the pain, the power, and the past of the minority experience. This was briefly hit on, but in reality this and only this is the answer which offers any hope. The Gospel deserves a broader reckoning in the story of the minorityās experience.
livewonderstruck's review against another edition
3.0
The Minority Experience: Navigating Emotional and Organizational Realities is a new entry into the own voices discussions of race, particularly as they relate to organizationsā employees.
The first section of the book discusses Peiās experiences as Asian American and also offers examples of those of other persons of color.
The second section offers ideas for how to approach topics of race and pain within an organization. Peiās background is in ministry and the corporate world, but the concepts are applicable to many industries, organizations, and groups.
Unless this is a completely new topic for readers, there isnāt anything particularly revelatory in this book. However, it is a good addition to the own voices books about social justice, and it is somewhat new due to the Asian American perspective. We need perspectives from all different people of color to round out our knowledge and our libraries.
I received an advance-read copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The first section of the book discusses Peiās experiences as Asian American and also offers examples of those of other persons of color.
The second section offers ideas for how to approach topics of race and pain within an organization. Peiās background is in ministry and the corporate world, but the concepts are applicable to many industries, organizations, and groups.
Unless this is a completely new topic for readers, there isnāt anything particularly revelatory in this book. However, it is a good addition to the own voices books about social justice, and it is somewhat new due to the Asian American perspective. We need perspectives from all different people of color to round out our knowledge and our libraries.
I received an advance-read copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
shonaberu's review against another edition
5.0
Like the title suggests, this book talks about the experience of being an ethnic minority, but it focuses on the psychological aspect of it. It did a great job at putting words to the feelings that minorities might find difficult to explain, and exploring where those feelings come from, and how social inequalities and underrepresentation affect minorities psychologically.
This book is meant for minorities to read, but as a white person I learned a lot from it. It was written in a very comprehensive and accessible way. I would recommend it to anyone.
It is written from a Christian perspective, but even as an atheist I didn't mind it too much, and even though it only mentioned these topics briefly, it was respectful to other religions and other minorities such as lgbtiq+.
This book is meant for minorities to read, but as a white person I learned a lot from it. It was written in a very comprehensive and accessible way. I would recommend it to anyone.
It is written from a Christian perspective, but even as an atheist I didn't mind it too much, and even though it only mentioned these topics briefly, it was respectful to other religions and other minorities such as lgbtiq+.
danielmcgregor76's review against another edition
5.0
This is a leadership book that every leader in a multiethnic setting needs to read. This book opens the reader's eyes to the challenge and promise of minority leaders in an organizational context.
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