Empire State Today

Color Us United has kicked off its “Just Say It” campaign against racism and is turning up the heat on the Salvation Army, urging the organization to step up and publicly state it believes America is not a racist country. 

According to Kenny Xu, president of Color Us United, the campaign is part of a drive to get the Salvation Army to drop what Color Us United alleges is its racial undertones. Color Us United advocates for a color-blind nation. 

“The Salvation Army's hemorrhage of donors over ‘wokeness’ shows once and for all that polices that forcibly divide people on the basis of race cause massive resentment and guilt,” Xu told Empire State Today.

According to Color Us United's website, the Salvation Army has traditionally been a non-political organization, but it allegedly has some controversial political and racial ideas. Specifically, the website notes the organization, in its “Let’s Talk About Racism” agenda, has asked its white members to “apologize” and “repent’ for past racial injustices, as well as discussing police brutality and offering an endorsement of racial equity. 

The Salvation Army has denied these allegations.   

“I've seen ordinary donors heartbroken over what they read in ‘Let's Talk About Racism,’” said Xu. “The Salvation Army has one chance to reverse course and earn back the forgiveness of its most faithful supporters. Before this Christmas they must release a statement saying that America is unequivocally not a racist country.” 

Color Us United also is staging a petition drive to urge the Salvation Army to make a public declaration. It noted on its website that by Dec. 9, the effort had 15,677 signatures of the group's goal of 25,000. Xu pointed out that the statement could prove to be a healing move.

“If they don't do this, they will lose the support of their donors forever,” he predicted.

According to its website, Color Us United’s goal is to keep the Salvation Army focused on its positive efforts. A Central Nova News report said a petition drive to urge Salvation Army supporters to be able to reject its policies allegedly developed from critical race theory. According to Color Us United, it then stepped up to oppose the Salvation Army’s racial position. 

Color Us United’s effort includes a social media campaign on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, according to its Facebook page. It asks on posts whether the Salvation Army believes its donors, members and the country are racist. This, the post said, is at the heart of its campaign to get the Salvation Army to publicly say America is not racist. 

The curriculum drew much criticism, and the Salvation Army was forced to remove the training program from its website, according to Color Us United. On its website, the Salvation Army said the guide was only a voluntary resource and it was pulled “for appropriate review.” 

Without mentioning Color Us United specifically, the Salvation Army also noted on its website that groups have tried to misrepresent the organization to meet their own needs, noting that allegations that the Salvation Army is asking donors should apologize for their skin color or that it believes America is patently racist are false and misrepresent the work they do. 

"But although we remain committed to serving everyone in need—regardless of their beliefs, backgrounds, or lifestyle—some individuals and groups have recently attempted to mislabel our organization to serve their own agendas," The Salvation Army posted on its website. "They have claimed that we believe our donors should apologize for their skin color, that The Salvation Army believes America is an inherently racist society, and that we have abandoned our Christian faith for one ideology or another. Those claims are simply false, and they distort the very goal of our work."