March 18, 2005
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Sidebar: Educating youth and congregations about racism
(Editor’s Note: This is a sidebar to “Damascus Road Anti-Racism Process marks 10 years of anti-racism work)
ATLANTA -- At a March 11-13 conference, “Damascus and Beyond: seeking clearer sight, bolder spirit,” participants shared stories of their work against racism and in educating youth and congregations about the issue.
Several participants and representatives of Damascus Road anti-racism teams, which operate in congregations as well as within church institutions, shared examples ranging from movie nights to book discussions to Sunday school lessons.
A workshop held by a Franconia Conference Damascus Road team from Blooming Glen Mennonite Church brought together youth from the predominantly white church and youth from Norristown New Life/Nueva Vida Mennonite Church, a multicultural congregation, to discuss racism and how to dismantle it, said Yvonne Platts, minister of youth and community outreach for Norristown New Life/Nueva Vida Mennonite Church. The effort is part of a growing relationship between the churches.
Felipe Hinojosa, a former Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Central States staff person, shared how MCC Central States and MCC Great Lakes joined together to bring Latino youth from Indiana to South Texas to, along with South Texas youth, explore issues of Latino identity.
The first student Damascus Road Anti-Racism team — which includes about 40 students at Bluffton University in Ohio — works with the administration on the required first-year curriculum and with hiring committees. The team has held movie nights and round-table discussions, and Tony Douglas, co-president and founder of the team, dreams that members will begin to conduct workshops or educational events for high school students.
“High school kids look up to college kids. We are what’s cool. If they see a group of college students going against societal norms and really being excited about that, that could be a big influence,” said Douglas, a senior at Bluffton.
Karina Derksen-Schrock, of Hershey, Pa., recalled how her youth group at East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pa., a predominantly white church, spent time focusing on white privilege and how white people benefit from centuries of societal inequalities. “Looking back, I realize it was really good for us to hear that as youth. We were having this before we were old enough to be defensive about it,” she said.
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