2nd place — 2024 BIPOC essay contest: Katelyn Boozer

FFRF awarded Katelyn $3,000.

By Katelyn Boozer

While it is difficult for me to imagine the ways other religions go about curbing racial equality, having not experienced it for myself, I can certainly state that Jehovah’s Witnesses in the United States do not foster an environment fit for racial equality. The tactics that religion uses to ignore racial equality are conformity, separation from the ideals of the world, and ignoring everything outside of theirs.

To be the perfect Jehovah’s Witness is to be as interesting as a pile of eraser shavings.

Living by the standards of Jehovah’s Witnesses is an erasure of culture, holidays, and often includes family members who do not want to conform to the same rules. As a child, I grew up with two messages — one from the world, telling me that family comes first; and one from a tightly knit cult telling me that even family will not be exempt from shunning if they break their rules. It is insisted that everyone shares the same beliefs, beliefs taught through literature that exclusively included whitewashed figures, crafted by people who saw the world through a white lens.

There is no curiosity or willingness to learn about the point of view of people outside of their religion; it was their job to remain ignorant. The congregation I was raised in was predominately white, with the only other Black people being my family members. People felt the need to touch my hair without asking or would tell me that I “speak properly.” These were things that happened to me outside of their walls, too, but it was always by peers who did not know any better, not by grown adults.

There are many things that I am still recognizing as harmful, such as the requirement to remain apolitical. Abstaining from voting was painted as being on a moral high ground. They feel no need to try to improve the world they live in, for themselves or for others. In the mind of a Jehovah’s Witness, the world is already on its way to its end, therefore nothing outside of their small bubble matters. Every political issue was an issue only worldly people faced.

Life as a Jehovah’s Witness becomes a one-size-fits all, but with a bias for white people. It is comparable to the way that the majority of unisex clothing is based on what is socially acceptable for men to wear. I found it hard to accept myself in an environment that only conditionally accepted me. Even then, the acceptance came with no protection, and instructions to pray instead. It would be hard to be encouraged to fight for oneself when living in a cult mindset that teaches that exercising the right to protest and vote is going against the religion.

Katelyn, 20, is from Valley Head, Ala., and attends Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Ala., where she is majoring in technical theater. She writes: “I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness for the first 15 years of my life. After realizing that the constant pressure was nonsensical, my immediate family stopped attending. With the free time this granted, I joined my school’s volleyball team and the community theatre. The enjoyment I get from building and painting sets is something I am not ready to let go of. I want to spend the rest of my life learning all that I can about technical theatre, and falling in love with the world that I had spent years waiting to end.”