When I first started speaking regularly about 3 years ago, it was a very exciting time. For years the research I had done about diversity in classical education was dormant. Through the support and encouragement of people and organizations like Jeremy Tate and CLT, Christ Perrin and Classical Academic Press, John Mark Reynolds and St. Constantine, St. John’s College, Great Hearts and Rob Jackson, Andrew Kern and Circe, and others, this work has grown tremendously and I am humbly grateful. Thank you for your support, encouragement, kindness and overall validation of this work. Thank you for welcoming me into your communities and sharing your classical family with me. This is definitely a joint effort and it has been a blessing to join with you in this work. Your kindness inspires me to make sure I am more focused on nurturing these relationships and supporting the work that you are doing.
After attending the Vision Conference with St. Constantine this week, I was even more excited about focusing on these relationships that I believe provide a welcoming space for diverse populations to come into the classical education community. The conference caused me to see what is possible if a safe space is created for diverse populations to enjoy this amazing tradition. As I was there, I kept thinking, “OH how I wish I could bring more of my community here! THIS is the place!” I then proceeded to text my teachers and others to encourage them to come next year. I do not believe a safe space is created by only recounting racist experiences that need to be addressed, because creating an environment of guilt also does not create a safe space. It is so much more than that. It may include that, but it should not stay there. It is also creating relationship and cultivating space where ALL people can share their stories with the voices of the canon and join in the Great Conversation. The desire to focus on these healthy spaces, drives me also to change how often I accept requests to speak.
When the requests to speak first came in a few years ago, I was so excited to share my research and to just get the word out that I was saying YES to everything. After several years of national travel, this year I decided to slow everything way down and to be a bit more selective. This process of restructuring my travel schedule involved a great deal of reflection on past experiences. There were times that the travel experience was not the healthiest for me and because the work that I do is intensive and time consuming it is essential that I guard my heart more so that I can be the best version of myself to serve my family, The Living Water School, Johns Hopkins and the classical education community at large. In this video I share more details about why I slowed down travel and how those unhealthy experiences gave me the strength to say NO to those opportunities. It was disappointing to realize that there have been times that the invitations to speak were were not grounded in an authentic desire to bring racial healing, Biblical diversity and true Christian fellowship into the world of classical education. I have tried to write about my concerns in emails, and there was no response. So, I have decided to make a video that does not shame or name anyone, but provides clear examples of how those spaces were not the fertile ground needed to grow a work that seeks to bring classical education to diverse populations.
I struggled about creating this video, fearing it may hurt the work, but no great movement can really grow without honest accountability. Often times, when minorities join in a work that is led by the White community, we will resist sharing our experiences out of fear of hurting the work or the relationships we hold dear. But, nothing should be about protecting the work of any one race or even a relationship that shows signs of being inauthentic. Instead, we should all do the work of fighting for what is good, true and beautiful for the sake of humanity. Classical education if done the right way, is THE answer to many of our problems in education and I even feel it is THE answer to many if not all of our societal ills (I know someone will think I am crazy or an Uncle Tom for saying that, but who cares). Sadly, classical education is attached to racial challenges that keep it from blossoming into its full greatness. It is my hope and prayer that as I share this video, these thoughts will not be perceived as slander or seeking to hurt a very great work, but will prayerfully inspire even more conscious effort to be poured into making this great and powerful tradition all that it should be, so that it reaches EVERYONE.
Dr. Anika T. Prather 