It is March, which means that Black History Month has passed. We have been collecting some resources to empower conversations about race but felt it was important to wait until now to share these.
Black history month is great. Intentionally directing attention to Black voices is essential and needed. As a ritual, it serves to remind all educators to make the effort to utilize resources and present content that might have otherwise gone underrepresented.
The issue is that sometimes well-intentioned schools turn their attention to race during February because it is easy to see race as an ‘issue’ that concerns people of color in general and Black people in particular. Race becomes, for example, something that we discuss with students when the Civil War comes up, or when a Black character enters a book otherwise filled with white characters.
But, of course, race was already on the scene.
Similarly, sometimes Black history, Black literature, and Black experiences become segmented into units or even separate courses which can unintentionally mislead students into thinking that it is a tangent away from the main American narrative. Despite the best of intentions, Black History month can, at times, serve this same end.
Like most schools, we at OC Online want to be thoughtful and faithful in the way we continue to grow in awareness and conscientiousness on matters of race. As part of our commitment to a culture of care, we seek to offer an environment where students can belong and thrive in a diverse world. We participate in Black history month but also want to recognize the need for race training and education for all students, and all educators, all year.
To that end, we offer this much abbreviated list of resources from our OC Online team. While we may not all agree with everything shared in these resources, as Christian educators we welcome and encourage the opportunity to listen, learn, and grow in humility.
Let us know if we can suggest more materials. Likewise, if there is a resource you have to share, we’d love to hear about it from you.
| Online Media | Articles | Books |
| Holy Post – Race in America | “Only Biblical Peacemaking Resolves Racial and Political Injustice” | Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison |
| Creating Safe Spaces to have Honest Conversations about Race | “It’s Not Enough to Preach Racial Justice. We Need to Champion Policy Change.” | Disunity in Christ by Christena Cleveland |
| Beyond Diversity: How Leaders Can Build More Equitable Organizations | “The Absence of Injustice Is Not Justice” | Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson |
