Sacred Conversation on Race and Education

First I want to say thank you to all those who participated in our conversation this morning. It was a wonderful experience that I was hesitant about. Too often our conversations about racial issues turn into conversations that are repetitive and non productive. From my perspective this morning's conversation not only benefited from a group who was truly willing to engage in an open and honest conversation but there was also a distinct presence of the holy spirit that allowed for a meaningful and productive dialogue.

While we may not have reached any solutions for the complex problem that is our public school system we did talk about the causes for the inequity in our school system and we also lifted up many of the proactive things that are being done already to make strides towards a more equitable system.

I will share some of the things that I found most significant about our conversation but it does not begin to reflect the multitude of perspectives and topics that we covered.

We talk about how technically the inequity in our school system is based in socio-economic status. However if you look at our schools it is clear that there are predominately white schools and schools that are predominately made up of ethnic minorities. It does not matter that racial discrimination is no longer a legal aspect of our school system. We send our students psychological messages that the color of their skin determines their potential in this world. That is not an acceptable message to send to any child and so we need to become actively engaged to change the racial inequity in our schools.

We also talked about how for many students going to college presents a challenge in their family dynamic. Not only is it difficult to get into a school academically and to be able to afford it. But once those hurdles are crossed families can be against it because maybe they don't understand the benefits because it was something they never experienced but also because having a child leave is a financial burden for the family. Perhaps there are government subsidies provided to the family because the child is living there, perhaps there are child support payments coming in, perhaps that child provides an additional source of income or acts as a child care provider or helps take care of sick or elderly family members. For me, these concepts seem so foreign because it was never an obstacle I had to face, for which I am very fortunate. However, it ads to the complexity of the problem and leads us to draw the conclusion that there is no simple solution. While this is not a revolutionary statement but it was reaffirmed by our conversations.

We also talked about the opportunity we have as a church to make a difference. We have the responsibility to help educate our young people. Through mentoring programs or just engaging the young people in your life and impressing upon them the importance of staying in school and making the most of their education. We can do that by showing not telling. By listening as much as we talk. By being a continual presence in the life of a child. I challenge you and me and us as a national church to take on the responsibility of educating our young people. In one way or another be a presence in the life of a child and help them see the importance of staying in school and investing time and effort into their education.

I don't know of anyone better than the UCC to step up to this challenge!