I switched my daughter to a private school because I wanted her to receive a better education. It also happens to be a Christian school, which was a bonus because our family believes in Jesus Christ.
However, a situation arose with an adult on only her fifth day. That situation is a conversation for another day, but it allowed me to see clearly where we are in America.
America is still segregated—and we are segregated badly.
I found myself asking the Lord, “When did this happen?” But honestly, it happened a long time ago. We just have to give ourselves permission to really look at it and call it what it is.
Is there currently a law requiring us to be segregated? Of course not. But if a law were ever put into place again, it would not be hard for many people to adjust because we are already living that way.
Look at your neighborhood.
Look at your child’s school.
Look at your church.
Look at your social circle.
In many of these places, one race is represented far more than the others—if another race is represented at all. That is segregation. It may not be written into law, but it is still happening right in front of us.
This situation also filled my heart with compassion because it helped me understand how one race can mistreat another race. If you have been raised around only your own race, with maybe one percent of another race around you, it can cause serious issues later in life.
You may not know how to communicate with people who do not look like you. You may not know how to adapt when someone comes from a different culture. You may see their differences as a problem because you were never taught how to understand or accept them.
I can only speak from an African American perspective because I am an African American woman.
From my experience, we love people. We include people. We do not care what you look like—we are going to come together, laugh, eat, celebrate, and have a great time.
What I have noticed about some other races is that they are raised with strong routines and consistency. There is love, but there is also a strong focus on structure, routine, and staying within what is familiar. When you have only been around your own race, with perhaps one percent of another race around you, that can affect how you respond when you are placed around people who do not look, speak, or live like you.
This does not excuse mistreatment, racism, or discrimination. But it does reveal what separation can produce.
When people do not know one another, they create assumptions about one another. Those assumptions can turn into fear. Fear can turn into hostility. And hostility can turn into mistreatment.
America, we have to get it together.
We do not need another country to start a war against us because we already have war among ourselves. We are fighting one another over race, politics, culture, social status, and beliefs.
The Bible warns us:
“If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”
—Mark 3:25
A divided house will fall.
The saddest part is that Christian believers are not doing enough to break this hostility and destroy the segregation that has become normal in America.
Many Christians see the separation, but they remain silent. We attend segregated churches, send our children to segregated schools, live in segregated neighborhoods, and build segregated relationships. Then we act surprised when people do not know how to love, respect, or relate to someone from another race.
This is not the heart of Christ.
Jesus does not see His people based on the color of their skin. He does not love one race more than another. He does not call us to tolerate one another from a distance. He calls us to love one another.
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
—John 13:35
If we truly belong to Christ, love must be more than something we preach on Sunday. It must be visible in our schools, churches, neighborhoods, workplaces, friendships, and homes.
We have to stop acting as though segregation disappeared simply because the laws changed. The law may have changed, but many hearts, habits, neighborhoods, schools, and churches remained separated.
We must intentionally expose ourselves and our children to people who do not look like us. We must have honest conversations about race without becoming defensive. We must listen to the experiences of other people. We must correct prejudice when we hear it, even when it comes from someone we love.
If we do not get it together quickly, we are going to walk into something that will be difficult to get out of.
Christians should be leading the work of reconciliation—not remaining comfortable inside segregation. We should be breaking down walls, confronting hatred, building relationships, and showing America what the love of Christ really looks like.
We all have to do better.
We have to love each other better.
We have to stop accepting segregation as normal.
And the Church must stop ignoring it.
— Talk That Transforms with Kim Davis 💛
