Tait went on to explain why he thinks that might be the case. “And it goes with the guise of…Okay, I’m not a racist. I don’t mind white people. I don’t mind Black people…but I’m just going to go over here, because this is what I know. This is what I’m comfortable with,” Tait said. “But we have to visibly leave that — because we know that’s there, but it’s not going to happen through osmosis. We’ve got to subject, submerse ourselves in that culture, in that different experience, if you will, and allow our norms to be shaken up a little bit.”
To illustrate, Tait shared a story from his childhood. “My dad was very quick to make sure as kids that we met Black people, white people, Hispanic people, Asian people, Iranian people. He went down the list, because he knew that we were all human…We all bleed red blood, and this hate stuff is for the freaking birds. We don’t have time for that.”
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When Law asked Tait to share his experience as one of the few Black men to achieve mainstream success in the CCM industry, Tait said, “I don’t think people even see me as a color. They think, ‘Oh, it’s just the Newsboys.’ Except it’s kind of a big deal, I think, to have a Black lead singer of an all white band.”
Tait went on to express frustration with the fact that race isn’t often discussed in CCM. “But for some reason, we don’t want that splash in Christianity. We think, ‘Ah, that’s just Michael Tait, you know. He’s the honorary Negro’ or whatever. It’s like — but the thing is it’s not about that,” Tait said.
Circling back to his message of positivity, Tait concluded, “Variety is the spice of life. Just leave that zone. Go out and don’t be afraid. Do acts of kindness. Go out of your way to find out what and why God created this, this way or that way. Get to know your neighbor.”
The Newsboys album STAND is available now.
