Tell Me the Truth About Racism
Helping you faithfully dismantle racism with kids and adults
"In the beginning, before there was anything, there was love. God had so much love that God made a big world, with lots of people, and God loved each one of them, and called them by their names. But the people didn’t all love each other the way God loved them, the way God dreamed they would. Instead, many were afraid of their differences, and believed a lie, that some were better than others. "
- From The Lie that Caused Racism
Tell Me the Truth About Racism is a story that frames racism through the lens of Christian faith. We, Will Bouvel and Jen Holt Enriquez, first built the foundation of this work in Lent 2021 to teach to children (as young as 5) at our churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. Soon thereafter we began training other Christian formation leaders to do this work in their own churches. The training program received a Becoming Beloved Community Grant from the Episcopal Church in July of 2021. So far we've walked along side over 75 communities across the United States and Canada so that they can bring the gift of antiracism to children and adults. We'd love to partner with you also in this work! Click here to see what trainings are happening next.
Register here for next Zoom Dismantling Racism training cohort January 23 - February 27 (Thursdays 11-1 CST)
Register here for an in-person Info Session on our Antiracism work in the San Francisco area, January 24th
The gift of dismantling racism for kids
Tell Me the Truth About Racism invites people of all ages into powerful wondering about the legacy of racism in our lives, but it holds a special gift for our youngest Christian disciples. Children are sponges of curiosity, absorbing everything they can to make sense of the world. Sadly, because racism is so systemic in the world, it is also one of the things they will absorb. We believe that framing racism in the context of our faith offers a powerful value system to ground an otherwise difficult discussion. Our approach defines racism as “The lie in our world that some people are better than others based on the color of their skin.” It is only because of the Truth we know from God, that all people are equally children of God, that we can clearly frame racism as a lie about our identity. Racism is a distortion from how God made us, even though most of us adults are so used to it that it's hard to notice. Before children absorb the lie that racism tells them about other people and even about themselves, we can expose how wrong it is with the Truth of God. That is why we feel this is a gift children.
-Jen and Will
Watch this video interview to hear us describe our work
On our YouTube channel you can watch sessions of the class that Jen and Will have shared with kids, from the "The Lie that caused Racism" story.
We can design a workshop or presentation for your church or institution.