Ending racism is an important endeavor, and starting early is key. Learn how you and your children’s ministry can help stop racism before it starts.
What will you do now to embrace the “people of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” who will worship God in heaven? Arm yourself for ending racism. Begin by eliminating negative attitudes or messages at church and Sunday school.
10 Ideas for Preventing & Ending Racism
1. Begin young.
Most 2-year-olds notice skin color differences. If they also hear inappropriate comments about skin color? Then they may decide that different-color people aren’t as good as they are. So embrace and celebrate people of all colors.
2. Don’t ignore racial differences.
If children ask why a child’s skin is a different color, say something like, “Natasha’s skin is white because her mom and dad have white skin.” With older children, explain that the amount of melanin, the substance in skin that accounts for color, determines the darkness.
Louise Derman-Sparks, author of Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children (National Association for the Education of Young Children), says we “can’t ignore [kids’] questions because kids make up their own theories, many of which are incorrect and can lead to prejudice.”
3. Don’t tolerate prejudice.
Forbid racial slurs or name-calling in classrooms. If you hear ethnic or racial insults, confront them at once.
ReGena Booze, a retired professor at Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School in Pasadena, California, says, “When a child in class, Rosa, was called a ‘yucky Mexican,’…I said to the children, ‘Yes, Rosa is Mexican, but yucky is not part of who she is. Let’s find out about her… Rosa’s family came from Mexico before she was born, and her family can speak Spanish. So can Rosa. She’s very smart because she can speak two languages. But yucky is not a part of who Rosa is.”
4. Break down stereotypes.
A personal encounter with people of other races is the best way to combat stereotypes. Get kids working together in multiracial teams. Invite special guest speakers of all races to your ministry.
5. Redecorate.
Examine kidmin classrooms. Do any items promote racial or cultural stereotypes? Do church pictures show Jesus with children of only one race? Replace these with pictures of Jesus with children of all colors. Use multiracial dolls or only stuffed animals in your nurseries.
