Talking about Race with Teenagers
There is so much that goes on in our world today, and unfortunately not all of it is positive. The reality is that even though we live in such a multicultural society, many people still experience various degrees of racism.
It’s not always easy to have conversations around race and racism with peers, co-workers and friends let alone trying to have these conversations with young people. Young people are in the midst of these experience, if they’re not experiencing it themselves, they observe it, seeing it in their communities, seeing it online.
So how do we approach these conversations? Some may think that they don’t have the ‘qualifications’ to talk about such issues, others may even think that these issues don’t affect the young people in their communities and so there’s no point in having these conversations, but as Christians and especially as Christian leaders we need to equip ourselves for these challenging topics. We have a responsibility to help young people navigate through these issues and finding God in these spaces.
The Fuller Youth Institute have a great guide for leaders, parents and church members on “Talking about Race with Teenagers”.
‘This easy-to-use guide is the perfect handbook for any leader who needs a starting point to talk about race, culture, immigration, and power with today’s young people. Throughout the guide you’ll widen your vocabulary, gain insight through stories from diverse perspectives, and follow our practical next steps so that you can confidently engage teenagers in faithful and caring discussions about race.’
If you’re ready to talk about race with young people, you can find this guide here to help equip you for the conversation.
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Ofa Foiakau is the Field Officer (Central/West), and responsible for youth/high school ministry as a part of the PULSE team.
