Many who follow me, know that I often speak openly about my experiences growing up in Christian schools in the 70s, 80s and early 90s. Those years were fraught with painful racist experiences. Yet, in case anyone is misunderstanding my intent, please know that I do not share from a place of bitterness, but from a sincere desire to see healing and unity come to the body of Christ. I would love to see racial healing come to the entire country, but that task always feel so daunting to me. Because the Bible is my foundation, I have chosen to focus a lot of my work on the church community and my prayer is maybe from that core, the light will spread. I figure that if we have the Word of God as a common language, we can all have civil discourse about how to heal from a Biblical perspective.
One misunderstanding that often happens in the church community is that if people identify racist experiences in the church or Christian school or other Christian spaces, then that person is “woke” or causing division. Yet, these spaces are still filled with people who are hurting from unhealed wounds from racism in the body of Christ. To force those voices to be silent isn’t healing anyone, but it is just making the White community feel comfortable. A Black person suffering in silence while the church community keeps smiling and having the “joy of the Lord” is not healing. It is a mask. It is oppression. It is a form of White supremacy. I have often seen those of us who do try to speak boldly about racism in Christian spaces, are having to “prove” that we have experienced racism. In fact, there are some Whites who actually feel that they have the authority to actually verify if someone has had a racist experience or not. If that person doesn’t feel it “passes” their litmus test, then the person is dismissed, mocked and even cancelled.
I find comfort in knowing that God sees hurting people. He hears the cries of the broken hearted and whether in this life or when we all stand before him, those who chose to dismiss these cries will be held accountable. God is looking for a perfected church and he wants us to be holy BEFORE he returns. That holiness extends beyond the obvious good deeds or following the letter of the law, but that holiness is in how we LOVE one another. How can we claim to love God and yet not love our neighbor? Me and others like me don’t share our experiences to hurt the church (and I know there are those who do….but that is not my intent and I can only speak for me), but we share them to hopefully heal the church. Those individuals, churches, schools and other organizations who are even attempting to right the wrongs of racist Christianity that have plagued our country since its founding, really are a blessing to me.
I have visited a number of classical charter schools in the past few years, and as I walked the halls and saw efforts to educate the students about diverse history, including the culture in the school environment, seeking to place teachers of color or those who are passionate about racial healing in the classroom, and so much more, my heart has rejoiced. I know that the media gives these groups a very hard time because assumptions are made based on the political affiliation of the founders, the donor base and other affiliations, but walking into the schools, there is another perspective that I see. When I talk with the founders, leaders and teachers, there’s another perspective that I see. When I see the students and parents who are grateful for the opportunity, there’s another perspective that I see. These schools are addressing the scars of racism that have plagued American education since its founding. These schools are seeking to provide an equitable educational experience so that these students have every opportunity to be as successful as any other child in America. I am connecting this to Christian education, because many of the founders of these charter schools are Christian, but they have a different mentality than the ones I experienced growing up. The desire to bring classical education into these communities comes from a desire to give every child access to the educational opportunities that the most elite private school or AP program may offer. Why is this wrong??
Because many Christians may have been educated in a school (private or public/college and university) that did not teach about diverse narratives in history, they grow up not realizing how diverse stories intersect the American story. The schools are often founded with this hole in their understanding. What I have really appreciated about many of these school founders, however, is that there is a humility that admits to this deficit and thus they seek to learn how to make sure the next generation doesn’t grow up being educated without knowing how America and human history overall should be inclusive of everyone’s story. One of the beauties about classical education is that if done well, students really do learn the human stories from each continent, because authentic classical education invites all to the Great Conversation. As I visit these charter schools, this is what I see happening. Even I had suspicions as I started this journey and that is rooted in my experiences with Christian education (and being told that if my parents did not vote for Reagan or Bush, they were sinning…help us Lord…some are still doing that…please stop), but visiting and connecting with places like Great Hearts, Hillsdale, Optima, Vertex. Brilla and others I just see something different. For me, it’s very healing because it is renewing hope within me that change can happen and education is an effective tool to right the wrongs that the Christian education of the past is guilty of. I want to encourage people to not be so quick to think that these charter schools are part of a large conspiracy to make Black people vote for Trump or to love Candace Owens. Instead, see it as an effort by many to fix a very broken system that is still slow to address the racist foundation of American education. I say this as someone who has never been nor ever will be a conservative or a Republican (in case someone thinks I’m being paid by the party to write this…lol). If you are in doubt, visit the schools and see for yourself and if you see anything of concern, share it with leadership so changes can be made. The heart is in the right place and lives are being changed at a massive level. I understand the suspicion but my fear is that suspicion will be an obstacle that prevents all communities from having access to the education needed to truly bring liberation to education in America.
I see hope in many Christian schools too! Cornerstone Schools of DC, Rafiki, Imago Dei and Elijah House Academy, for example are being intentional about creating a Christian school experience that is the antithesis to my experience. These schools fill my heart with so much joy because I see the effort to find literature that reflects the communities they are serving. I see staff being hired that have a sensitivity to the struggles minorities still face in America. I see a desire to have honest conversations about the trials but also an effort to teach these communities about agency! I have noticed that even all Black schools focus so much on teaching about slavery and oppression (and they should) that they forget to teach about the victories! Our children cannot find pride in their story if they only know about how our ancestors were slaves or lynched. They cannot learn about how this country is part of their heritage too, if they don’t see how their ancestors have participated in its creation and growth. They should know the painful history, but the power comes when those stories are connected to stories of victory, success and of making American live up to its promise. Diverse populations were instrumental in pushing America closer and closer to becoming a more perfect union. That phrase “more perfect union” denotes that this is an evolutionary process that spans human life times. It is a never-ending process and we all must keep engaging in the work! Education can play a powerful role in that process. Because America has claimed that it is a Christian nation and is a country that gives Christian schools the freedom to exist (hallelujah!), then Christian schools can really impact this process by adhering to the principles America claims it seeks to follow and then illuminating how the scriptures command us to move in that direction. Christian schools can equip its students with a Biblical perspective on how to be a world citizen like Christ was and thus can create the next generation that can show the light of Christ to a world that continues to fight the pride of man who seeks to be “better than.”
I am neither Democrat or Republican. They both really make me want to pray (lol). One side seeks to dismiss any effort of a Republican to create schools that can address educational inequities that have been here since 1776, without really investigating what is happening IN the schools. The other seeks to dismiss those who have had real racist experiences and want to tell these truths in order to encourage us to finally unchain ourselves from America’s sin of racism and oppression. Neither of these efforts are helping the CHILDREN. So I vote for Jesus and the children. That is my focus. I recognize my stance alienates me from being fully embraced by either side, but I am not concerned about that. All I care about is the children and I will partner with any person or organization no matter how they vote if I can see that they are doing the work to make sure children do NOT have the racist experiences I had in Christian schools and/or who are seeking to close the achievement gap in the school system at large.
Dr. Anika T. Prather 