Faith Unmuted With Esther Graham
This is the place where Christian women get the opportunity to press the button and say what they want, how they want and exactly how they feel.
The one place where, together, we can collectively walk through our truths, live unapologetically and stop hiding.
Esther Graham has being in ministry all her life and has felt silenced from all the labels and responsibilities that come from being a pastor's daughter to the unexpected role of being a pastor's wife. This journey has not been easy nor has it been just. Esther no longer wants to hid nor lower her voice.
On this podcast, Esther shares what happens when you use your voice and shares the stories of overcoming the stereotypes and living unapologetically.
Faith Unmuted With Esther Graham
Embracing Our Differences
The world we live in today is fracturing along lines of race, culture, religion, and identity—a reality that stands in stark contrast to the America many immigrants envision when arriving on these shores. This raw, heartfelt episode explores one woman's journey from Guyana to the United States and the discrimination she faced from both white and Black communities as she struggled to find belonging.
What does it mean to live in "the greatest country on earth" when that country continuously fails to embrace its rich diversity? Through personal stories and challenging questions, this episode cuts to the heart of America's ongoing struggle with acceptance and belonging. From the painful experience of being told to "go back to your country" to the uncomfortable reality of being rendered invisible in professional settings, we confront the everyday prejudice that undermines our collective humanity.
Beyond simply identifying problems, this conversation offers a path forward grounded in love and mutual respect. We challenge listeners to check their own biases, speak up against discrimination, and embrace differences rather than fearing them. The message is clear—we cannot claim to embody faith while rejecting those who differ from us. True greatness, both personal and national, comes through acceptance and celebration of our beautiful diversity. As Martin Luther King Jr. fought not just for Black rights but for human rights that would benefit everyone, we too must stand for unity rather than division. Ready to be the change you want to see in the world? This episode will inspire you to start today.
Ready to break down barriers in your own life and community? Share this episode with someone who needs to hear this message, and join us next week as we continue redefining what it means to be a Christian woman living authentically in today's world.
You are listening to Faith Unmuted. The place where Christian women get the opportunity to press the button and say what they want, how they want and exactly how they feel. The one place where, together, we can collectively walk through our truths, live unapologetically and stop hiding.
Speaker 2:So I was born in Guyana, south America, and I came over here as a child. My parents immigrated over here and you know, because of course America is this great place, a place of freedom and equal opportunity and just so many wonderful things and so my parents came. My father is in ministry and the church brought him over. My mother was an entrepreneur and she came over here and started her early childhood centers and of course I followed in her footsteps with that Um, and life was good and then it wasn't. I remember just going to school and the white kids didn't like me because I was black and the black kids sometimes didn't care for me because I didn't sound like how they sound right, because my English was totally different and in my home my parents never taught us about prejudice or the difference. I mean one of the reasons we came to America. You know, america is a diverse country. It's got everybody that's here, it's great, it's all of these different things. And yet in some ways, way back then, I did not experience that as a matter of fact, I experienced a lot of prejudice. As a matter of fact, I experienced a lot of prejudice. Moving forward to where we are right now, that prejudice is still there. Y'all, here we are. We live in a country that people are coming in from all over the world and they come to America for better opportunities and they do well in America for the most part, but the America that we're living in right now is not the America that people are expecting it to be. As a matter of fact, when I think about it, there are so many other countries where the diversity and the acceptance for who you are is so much better than right here in the United States of America, which is the greatest country on earth.
Speaker 2:That's what we all say, and this isn't a political conversation, trust me. This is really, I want to say, a morality conversation. It has everything to do with your morals. Who are you? The bottom line is is that we should be able to accept people for who they are, despite their race, their culture, their sexual orientation, their religion, anything, anything. Because God doesn't say oh, there's a black, there's a black. If you believe in heaven or hell, there's a black. Heaven, there's a white. Oh, there's the Hispanic one, you know, there's the Asian one. There's none of those.
Speaker 2:Why is it that we can't live together and accept people for who they are and who they choose to be. See, I'm not God, so I don't have a heaven or hell to put you in, so I just accept you for who you are. And here we are. We're living in a place to now. If you don't believe like I believe, if you don't look like I look, then you're not worthy. Then you're not worthy. Go back to where you come from, when the bottom line is in America. All of us came from somewhere. The only people that's really from America are the Native Americans, and even they're discriminated against In America, in their own land.
Speaker 2:How do we stop this madness, y'all? How do we stop it? I am so tired to the point to where, if I see there's any level of prejudice, any level of discrimination, I don't really want to have anything to do with you. Like I don't even want to sit and have a meal with you, because that's not who I am. I have fought against prejudice ever since I came to the United States of America and there were times I've kept my mouth shut when I should have spoken up, but I didn't know how to Long gone are those days. I know how to speak up now.
Speaker 2:I heard someone say that and I thought how disrespectful, because you don't even understand. I heard someone say that oh, february is Black History Month. Why do they get a month? Why white people don't get a history month? Well, that's because every month, every month, black history isn't taught in the schools. Not like that, but history is, and the history that's taught in the schools, believe it or not, it's really white history. It's not Latino history. It's not Latino history. It's not black history, it's not any, because many times we leave out all of the other cultures that really build this country up to where it is now. It wasn't just white people, it wasn't just black people, it wasn't just Latinos, it was, it was everybody coming and building the country up.
Speaker 2:Listen, listen, y'all Slaves built up this country and yet we struggle to live in a community that has everybody. When everybody's the same in a community, that's not a good community. A community needs diversity, because we learn from each other, we can appreciate each other. Can you learn from me and can I learn from you? We should be coming together as a people to fight against what's wrong in this world, but we're not doing that. What we are doing is a lot of discrimination, and it's happening everywhere. It's in the schools, it's in our communities, it's in our churches, it's in our synagogue, it's everywhere, and it shouldn't be. Whatever happened to love, whatever happened to love, whatever happened to love thy neighbor as you love yourself. You know what I've concluded? That many of us, we don't love ourselves. That's why we struggle with loving our neighbor. That's why we struggle with loving people who don't look like us. That's why we're saying go back to your country. Well, if everybody in America went back to their country, the only people that will be here are the Native Americans. Those are only people. So, everybody now go back and find out where your heritage is, find out where your ancestors came from, and go back to your country. Can we live together? Can we accept each other? America, if I'm not mistaking, when it was built, and our forefathers, as you know, they, they speak, and they, they brought the constitution. The constitution was for everyone. The constitution wasn't for one group of people, it's for everyone.
Speaker 2:People say Black History Month. No, black History should be every month. And why do we have Black History Month? So we could recognize. That's why, that's why there's the Latino Heritage Day, hispanic Heritage Day, and that's why the Asians have to know why, because everybody has the need to be represented and feel worthy and to feel as if they belong. And since we don't celebrate it every day, every month of the year, then we have to have those specific times, just like our birthday. We celebrate our birthday one day a year. Well, I celebrate mine all month, in April. All right, all month. But we don't celebrate the other cultures. And that's why we've got this particular day or this particular month, because, honestly, we don't know all of the African Americans that's contributed to the investment of America war and served in the military to build this country up so we could all be free and live a life of joy and peace and opportunity. That's really what this country is about.
Speaker 2:We shouldn't I shouldn't be concerned about my black son driving while being black so he gets stopped Right, or my Latino friend that just got stopped and assumed that they weren't a citizen of the United States and had to show their passport. What's wrong with that? What's wrong with us? That there's crimes against Asian Americans? It shouldn't be happening. There's crimes against the LGBTQ community.
Speaker 2:Shouldn't be happening, because we are all people, we're all human beings and, by the way, when Jesus came, he came for every last one of us. That's what I believe, and he loves all of us. He loves us. So in the words of is it Rodney? I can't remember his name. Can't we all just get along? Can we live together?
Speaker 2:If you say that you're a Christian and you've got the love of God, then show your love to all people, not just to some people. See, I don't have to agree with you to love you. I could love you despite, because I am created for love. I'm created to love. I was created from love, so I have no other choice but to love, to love. And what's happening now in our communities and in our country, in our cities, is that it's lacking love. It's lacking love and it's so sad that when we're looking at leadership, that even leadership isn't showing love. Even leadership isn't showing humanity, but what it's showing is discrimination, lack of acceptance. Shouldn't be this way at all. It's separating everyone. Long gone are those days, or they should be gone, but they're not.
Speaker 2:Martin Luther King fought for so much, and when he fought, he just didn't fight for black people, he fought for white people, he fought for Asians, he fought for East Asians, he fought for everyone Latinos, he fought for everyone. And what are we doing now. If you don't agree with me, then you're not like me, you got to go. If you don't agree with me, then you're not like me, you got to go. If you don't love like me, you're not like me, you got to go. You have no place. It's wrong.
Speaker 2:Suppose God said that to us. Suppose God actually said you know what I don't like, what you're doing, I don't like this, I don't like that, I don't like that. So let me, let me just remove you. Suppose he did that, oh my God, that all of us would be removed, every last one of us, because we all have our isms and our schisms and so many things. But I got to tell you you, it's so disturbing for me to see the discrimination that's going on. It hurts my heart and what really bothers me is that our young children. They're growing up in a world right now that's filled with a lot of hate, and what's sad is that the hate is accepted as if it's normal. People say they. You know, hate is such a strong word. Use it, because that's what's happening right now, and it's happening from the top.
Speaker 2:So what is it that we do about it? Can we start with ourself, like for me? Can I start with me and begin to really do some inward cleaning up? And I know and I believe that there is a level of prejudice in all of us. There is just a little. And so when I say that, I say to me like I may not like that, I mean you know, or like you know we may do a stereotype, not knowing that's what we're doing. So begin to check yourself with this. Bottom line is all black people don't like fried chicken or watermelon. All Asian people don't eat rice. All Mexicans don't like taco. I know some that don't eat rice. All Mexicans don't like taco, I know some that don't.
Speaker 2:Can we be so open-minded that we see the person for who they are and we love them anyway? And even if we'd say I don't really care, I don't believe it, but can we love them despite of or in spite of of or in spite of? God said, out of everything, the greatest of these is love. And if I could just love my fellow human being, if I could love you enough to work together with you, if I could love you enough to say you know, I don't really agree with you in this, but we could still love on each other, we could still go out to dinner together, we could still laugh and talk. See, what happens is that we're a nation that still needs healing and America, as a nation, needs to realize who we are and to embrace that we are a country. We are a nation that needs to be healed Before the womb spreads more.
Speaker 2:Right now, the hatred is spreading faster, I think, than stage four cancer Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. It's taking people out, it's causing people to live out of alignment, and here it is. When you choose to live in alignment, then you're discriminated against. If you choose to live in alignment with love, and peace and embracing the other cultures, embracing the other people, then all of a sudden you're wrong. Other cultures embracing the other people then all of a sudden you're wrong. You're wrong because you choose to love, you choose to say this is not right. Then you're out of alignment with what they're saying and so then you're the one you're canceled.
Speaker 2:When are we going to begin to speak up and embrace the beautiful world that God has created us, with everybody's culture, the diversity? I just personally believe that when we could all come together and embrace each other's culture, we are so much richer for that. When I can begin to understand you. I don't have to agree with you, but if I can begin to understand you and understand where you come from and embrace you, my life is that much more richer when I can begin to love you. It is that much more richer when I can begin to love you. It's that much more richer when you can begin to love me and say that your dark skin, your lips and all of that is just absolutely beautiful. When I could see the beauty in you and you could see the beauty in me, then we could live together and we could work together.
Speaker 2:But we can't do it if we see another person as a lesser being, if we see the other person as not being worthy, we see that woman that's not worthy. We see her as the lesser. We see that person as they have to serve us. They could only be this. They don't reach up to my expectations. They don't have what I have. They don't believe like I believe. I've been there to where I was told I'm too black, too dark. I talk funny. You don't believe like I believe you dance funny. Oh my God.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I've been in rooms with people that they forgot that I was there. They forgot that I was there, I was invisible to them, and they would begin to talk about foreigners coming into the country taking jobs. They forgot that I was there. I was invisible. I remember one time in particular. I'm in a group these are all now listen to what I'm saying. These are all CEOs. We're at a meeting. They forgot that I was there because I was the only person of color and so, while they didn't talk about the color issue right they began to talk about the immigrants, the foreigners, as they called them, all the foreigners coming in.
Speaker 2:But yet those foreigners were good enough to clean your house, work on your farms, help you to get to where you are, make sure food the foreigners. And they began sure food the foreigners. And they began to talk about the foreigners. And I sat there quietly because I was invisible. And finally, when they were all done and everybody's laughing yeah, da-da-da-da, we're doing all this I spoke up. I spoke up and I said you guys know that I'm from Guyana, south America, and that my whole family, every last one of us, are foreigners, and we came to this country and we worked in this country and build up this country and, yes, this country has been a blessing to us, but we've also been a blessing to the country. And you could have heard a pin drop. It got quiet. Don't try to backpedal now, because what I saw, what was really in your heart and what you felt about me, and the only reason you didn't bring in the race is because at least you could look and see my race, but I was invisible. See, if you were always listening to me and you were always like on my side, we were together you would have already known I was a foreigner. You would have known that because it wasn't like I kept it a secret.
Speaker 2:Stand up for who you are secret, stand up for who you are. Know that, wherever you're from, that you are worthy and you belong in this country. You belong here because that's why you're here. Embrace diversity, embrace the difference. Don't discriminate against anyone, because remember that someone could discriminate against you. You're not above everyone. No, we're all human beings working together for change. Let's embrace each other, let's love.
Speaker 2:Let's really stand up for what's going on in this country right now and let's make a difference. Be the change you want to see. We always say that. Mahatma Gandhi said it. So let's actually do that. Whatever change you want to see happen in this country, then you be that change. Start speaking up against the discriminatory acts that's going on. Don't agree with someone because you're afraid. Speak up, speak up, use your voice, stand up for what's right. Stand up for what's right in this country and don't use, by the way, your religion, your belief system, as a tool to discriminate, to say others are wrong. Don't use that. Don't. Don't even use your race, don't use your sexual orientation, don't use any of that to discriminate against someone else. Let's come together as humanity to build a better world, not just for us, but for our children and their children and their children for generations to come. This is America. This is a land of opportunity. This is a land of diversity. Let's work together. Let's live together. Yeah, love you guys.
Speaker 1:Wasn't that episode amazing Living unapologetically, faith unmuted has allowed us once again to ask ourselves the kind of questions that will help us get to the next level and live this life unapologetically. Your next step head on over to wwwesthergramcom and let me know what your favorite episode is, ask a question or share this with a friend. I can't wait to be with you next week as we dive deeper into redefining what it means to be a Christian woman, and redefining what it means to be a Christian woman and redefining what it means to live in our truth.