DEI is NOT attending a Black church.
DEI is NOT reading How to Be an Antiracist.
DEI is NOT hanging flags from different countries in your church while all of the leadership is still predominantly White and you only sing praise and worship songs from White artists.
DEI is NOT having a Black or Brown friend.
DEI is NOT “letting” a few people from different ethnic groups work in certain positions while keeping other spaces and positions closed to them.
DEI is NOT only knowing about Black history.
DEI is NOT simply being nice to people of color.
DEI is NOT a White led organization going into a poor Black neighborhood to set up a school that teaches children about slavery and Jim Crow but never teaches them about Africa, their broader heritage, or the rest of the WORLD.
DEI is NOT punishing White people when you think they have said or done something racist.
DEI is NOT reading The 1619 Project.
DEI is NOT reading books like White Fragility.
DEI is NOT reading books like Woke Racism
DEI is NOT Anti-wokeism because it gives no solution for ending racism…which DOES STILL EXIST.
DEI is NOT erasing everyone else’s story to center your own, even if your story has been oppressed, erased, or mistreated.
DEI is NOT seeing the world ONLY through a Black vs. White framework.
DEI IS first seeing every single human being as made in the image of GOD.
DEI IS recognizing our shared humanity.
DEI IS valuing every single human being and their story.
DEI IS sharing space without putting a quota on how many Black or Brown people can enter that space or even be in leadership in that space.
DEI IS realizing that we are all part of the human family.
DEI IS refusing to center any one ethnic group’s human story as THE story of origin for civilization.
DEI IS removing dividing lines such as race, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, and other categories when developing relationships with other members of the human family.
DEI IS loving your neighbor like the Good Samaritan loved his neighbor, even across the divisions that were supposed to keep them apart.
DEI IS loving every single person on this earth without condition, no matter who they are, where they are from, or what they have done.
DEI IS loving humanity so much that you desire to learn about each human being’s story without feeling threatened by it
DEI IS seeing how each of our stories are connected into one beautiful HUMAN TAPESTRY
DEI IS understanding that unity in our shared humanity is not the same as unity in religion, faith, or belief systems, for recognizing the humanity and dignity of every person does not require us to compromise, diminish, or disrespect our own faith.
DEI IS doing life with people across difference.
DEI is NOT what is hurting our country.
Doing it wrong is hurting this country.
Rejecting it without seeking to improve it is hurting this country.
Trying to keep your own human story at the center is hurting this country.
Continuing to hold onto anger over the racism that has plagued our country, and that still exists, is hurting this country.
Refusing to believe that racism exists is hurting this country.
Ignoring the cries of hurting communities is hurting this country.
Labeling and generalizing people simply because of the color of their skin, even when their skin color matches those who have oppressed you, is hurting this country.
WE are hurting this country.
And that means WE have to decide to do something different.
As Christ gave His life for others, we must be willing to give our lives to others too. We must be willing to surrender our need to always be at the center. We must listen. We must learn. We must love. We must make room for one another.
If we are not willing to do that, then we will never heal.
Anika Prather 