Mission Yearbook: Talking to kids about racism, injustice and the power of love

On April 28, in Rochester, Minnesota, a white woman named Shiloh Hendrix accused a 5-year-old Black boy of stealing something from her diaper bag. She shouted racial slurs at him, calling him the N-word. He also happens to be a child with autism. In defense of him, a man named Sharmake Omar took out his phone, pressed record and confronted the woman. The woman responded by shouting racial slurs at him.

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Omar’s video went viral, and because Hendrix allegedly received death threats, someone set up a GiveSendGo campaign. To date, thousands of people from all over the country have donated more than $700,000 to Hendrix. So many donors used racial slurs and Nazi jargon in the comments of the campaign that it overwhelmed the profanity filter.

This story is disturbing on many levels, not the least of which is the fact that it is as old as the United States itself: white women accusing Black boys of nefarious deeds, which brings racism bubbling to the surface and sometimes results in threats of violence or actual violence (think Emmett Till).

The question is, how can parents help their kids make sense of such a confusing moral landscape, where racism is flaunted and bad behavior is rewarded?

Here are four suggestions to help you to talk to kids about disturbing stories such as this one:

• When they hear stories like the Rochester incident, start with the big picture. The Bible tells us that there are six things the Lord hates and one of them is “feet that run swiftly to evil” (Proverbs 6:18). God doesn’t want us to do evil and doesn’t want us to run to see it, either. Help your kids think about excellent and praiseworthy things by pointing out a beautiful sky, the kindness of a stranger or the beautiful music on the radio.
• This doesn’t mean that you should ignore realities like racism, though. Rather, teach your kids about race and racism even when they’re young. You can say things like, “Recently a lady was mean to a little boy because of the color of his skin. That was very wrong, and it made God very sad.” Whether your kids are white or kids of color, tell them that all people are created in God’s image, and those with dark skin bear God’s image just as much as those with light skin.
• Teach your kids that the root of racism is hate. Jesus teaches us that the second greatest command (after loving God) is loving neighbor, and our neighbor includes people of every race and ethnicity. You cannot love God and hate people.
• Teach them that part of living in a sinful world means that sometimes right and wrong get mixed up.  Sometimes sinful people will call bad behavior, like the behavior of Shiloh Hendrix, good, and they will even reward it rather than rewarding the brave action of a stranger trying to defend a child. Kids find it confusing when adults do this because they feel adults should know better. But the truth is, adults who are filled with hate do not know better. All we can do for them is pray that their lives will be transformed by God’s love.

There are many sad things about this story, including the fact that Hendrix shouted these slurs with her own young child on her hip.  Parents keep passing racism down to their kids. Perhaps tonight, with your kids, you can model love by praying for Shiloh Hendrix, that God’s transforming love will invade her life; for the little Black boy and his family, that God would heal them and that they would refuse to return evil for evil; and for Sharmake Omar, that God would protect him and draw him to God’s self.

In his sermon called “Loving Your Enemies,” the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” Let’s teach that to our children.

Nicole Doyley is the author of “What about the Children?: Five Values for Multiracial Families,” published in February by Westminster John Knox Press. You can find her here.

Nicole Doyley, Special for Presbyterian News Service  (Click here to read original PNS Story)
 

Let us join in prayer for:

Cameron Stevens,  Mission Associate II, Constituency Relations, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Interim Unified Agency
Mindi Stivers, Financial Assistant, Presbyterian Women

Let us pray:

God of mercy, we are privileged to be called to join Christ in the world as we seek to do ministries of justice and kindness and bring glory to your name. Give us the courage to act boldly and let all that we do be conducted in a spirit of humility and love. In Christ’s name. Amen.