Atlanta Pastor Louie Giglio Apologizes For Saying ‘White Blessing’ Is More Fitting Than ‘White Privilege’

Atlanta pastor for Passion City Church Louie Giglio apologized after receiving backlash for comments made about racism and white privilege during a conversation with rapper Lecrae and Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy.

In the video that was posted on YouTube Giglio said, “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.”

He then went on to discuss the term “white privilege” claiming that it was too abrasive and that maybe the wording “white blessing” would be better fitting. 

“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 said. “I know that you 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.”

After receiving major backlash online, Giglio took to Twitter to issue an apology. He wrote, “not seeking to refer to slavery as blessing – but that we are privileged because of the curse of slavery. In calling it a privilege/benefit/blessing— word choice wasn’t great. Trying to help us see society is built on the dehumanization of others. My apology, I failed.”

However, he soon posted another video on Twitter where he elaborated on his apology. He said, “I like so many and am so burdened by what is happening in our nation right now, and I’m heartbroken about where we are as a nation.”

He explained that the point he was trying to make was that many white people “sit in large part where we are today because of the centuries of gross injustice done” to African Americans.

Many conversations, such as the one held between Giglio, Lecrae and Cathy, have been held in the wake of George Floyd’s death, a black man who was killed in police custody by an officer kneeling on his neck. Protests have been taking place across the country in a call for both social and political change.