During a conversation with Christian rapper Lecrae and Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy, Atlanta pastor Louie Giglio said people should stop using the term "white privilege" because "a fuse goes off for a lot of white people" when it is said.

The statements took place at an online church service on June 14 centered around how communities and the church can address racism.

Pastor Louie Giglio, rapper Lecrae and Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy "had an honest conversation about race and the Church" on June 14.

Here's an example of why words and their meanings matter.

"White Privilege" vs. "White Blessings" pic.twitter.com/VkSP6RP0t1

— Nicola A. Menzie (@namenzie) June 16, 2020

Giglio and Lecrae were talking about having difficult discussions with people about racism in the United States, and the Passion City Church pastor explained that white people might be more likely to listen if people didn't use words like "white privilege."

"But I want to flip that upside down because I think the other side of it is true with our nation's history. We understand the curse that was slavery, white people do, and we say 'that was bad,' but we miss the blessing of slavery that it actually built up the framework for the world that white people live in and lived in," Giglio said.

"And so a lot of people call this 'white privilege' and when you say those two words it's like a fuse goes off for a lot of white people because they don't want somebody telling them to check their privilege," he continued.

Giglio went on to suggest using the term "white blessing" rather than "white privilege" and said he was living in the blessing of the aftermath of slavery.

"I know that [Lecrae] and I both have struggled in these days with 'hey if the phrase is the trip up, let's get over the phrase and let's get down to the heart, let's get down to what then do you want to call it,' and I think maybe a great thing for me is to call it 'white blessing.' That I'm living in the blessing of the curse that happened generationally that allowed me to grow up in Atlanta," he added.

A number of people took issue with Giglio's comments online once the video made its way to Twitter. A number of white people, including white pastors, criticized the idea that slavery was a blessing to them, and others said needing to replace the term "white privilege" was white privilege itself.

Louie-Giglio

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