DAY 6 STOP CORRUPTION

Day 6 - Racism in Education

“Start children off on the way they should go,
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” -Proverbs 22:6
 

AREAS TO CONSIDER

• A 2012 study found schools to be more segregated than they were before the Supreme Court required racial integration in Brown vs. Board of Education. (1)
   
• Segregation is more likely to occur between districts than within a single district. (2)
   
• Lines are regularly redrawn by some (but not all) elected officials in order to keep poor and minority children in separate districts from white and upper/middle class students; research indicates this division is actually hurting students as the most effective environment for children to flourish in is one where a wide diversity of race, economic status and ethnic background is present. (3)

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PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Father God, forgive me if I, in any way, have held racist or prejudiced feelings towards anybody. Help me to see and love every person as You do.
 

CORPORATE REPENTANCE

Lord, we stand in the gap for the United States and humbly repent for racism in our nation. We repent for our prejudices and segregation just because of the color or culture of others. Expose racism in the education system, and eliminate racism in our nation by Your loving power.

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PRAY

1. Pray for the continued healing of race wounds in our nation. (Psalm 147:3)
    
2. Pray for the emergence of leaders from all ethnic backgrounds who can pave the way for healthy dialogue and new strategies in a way that will not segregate students. (Proverbs 15:22)
    
3. Pray for the hearts and motives of elected officials to be laid bare. (Proverbs 16:2)
    

ACT

1. Develop friendships with people of races other than your own. Relationships are a potent force against racism!
    
2. Stay out of the gossip. Communities love to buzz about “good schools” and “bad schools”, but people rarely know what is actually going on. Unless you are involved, connected and knowledgeable, don’t be part of the gossip chain.

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SOURCES

1. Mullins, Dexter. “Six decades after Brown ruling, US schools still segregated.” Aljazeera America. 25 September 2013. Web. 16 June 2014. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/9/25/56-years-after-littlerockusschoolssegregatedbyraceandclass.html
    
2. Barkhorn, Eleanor. “Why Are American Schools Still Segregated?” The Atlantic. 5 November 2013. Web. 16 June 2014. http://www.theatlantic.com /education/archive/2013/11/whyareamericanschoolsstillsegregated/281126/
    
3. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Asian American Justice Center, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. The Impact of Redistricting in Your Community. https://maldef.org/assets/pdf/Redistricting.pdf