Awareness, resolve and change
As we consider our world today and how we want to shape the future, it is time for us to engage in some long overdue reflection on the issues of bias and racial prejudice at Dakar Academy Schools. We are compelled to take an honest look at ourselves, both individually and corporately, in order to assess the extent to which we may be committing the sin of racism. It is vital that as people of God we see this summons as a biblical mandate for all people, for all time, and not merely as a reaction to the urgency of the times in which we live. This is especially true since our aim in all of this is to see real and lasting transformation.
Students at DA Schools experience the beauty of a multicultural learning environment—an experience that is vastly superior to that of their peers in other parts of the world. With more than 30 countries represented in the DA student body, our students have the distinct advantage of learning and living cross-culturally and doing so in an environment where the love of Christ works in us to bind us together in unity (Colossians 3:14). However, we still fall short of this scriptural ideal, and we must shine the light of Truth in areas that need it.
As Christians, we believe all people are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:28) and have equal dignity and worth in His sight. Scripture teaches that people of the multi-ethnic congregations in places like Galatia were “all one in Christ” (Galatians 3:28), and scripture insists further that “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34). If we are going to be true to God’s Word and His character, then we must be quick to acknowledge that racism can have no room in our hearts or in our schools. DA Schools are committed to offering education in an environment that celebrates racial diversity. The administration, staff and school board are resolved to taking deliberate action to put an end to racism on our campuses and in our community.
On the surface some might be tempted to deny the existence of racism here. After all, everyone knows racism is wrong. And besides that, one need only look at the broad spectrum of races growing and learning together in apparent harmony in our classrooms to conclude that all is well. But racism has many forms, some of which can lie hidden deep within a diverse and otherwise healthy-looking exterior. One might be satisfied with the outward appearance of things, but we know that God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 7:16). And what lies hidden in our hearts as well as within the structure of our institution needs to be brought into the light (1 John 1:5-7).
Before considering this issue any further, we must have a good definition of racism so that there can be a common understanding of what is meant by the term. The Oxford definition of racism is “the belief that different races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities, especially so as to distinguish them as inferior or superior to one another.” It is important to note that racism need not involve hatred or intentional mistreatment. In fact, some of the most intractable forms of racism are unintentional, or perhaps even kind-hearted. Without meaning any harm, people who consciously or unconsciously see themselves as superior end up either patronizing or marginalizing those who are believed to be beneath them.
Historically, people from Western societies have been prone to harboring deep-seated notions of Black inferiority. This idea has manifested itself in some ugly ways throughout the history of Western civilization, scarring the psyches of both oppressors and oppressed. If slavery is what lies at the root of many North American prejudices, colonialism does so here in Senegal. And although one is not bound by one’s history, one cannot be so easily freed from the inherited prejudices that are woven into the values and beliefs of one’s culture. But freed we must be, if we wish to have a school where people are neither privileged nor discriminated against on the basis of race. Jesus teaches that it is the truth that sets us free (John 8:32), and we need to be open for the light of truth to shine ever more brightly at DA Schools.
To that end, I would invite all of our staff to join me in asking God, as the psalmist does, to search our hearts to see if there is any “grievous way” that needs repentance (Psalm 139:23-24). And I urge all members of our community (students, staff, and parents) to forge strong relationships, bridging the racial divides that would tend to separate us from one another. In addition to these important personal connections, there is also a need for some scrutiny of the systems, policies, and procedures that form our institution. We need to look at what can be done to make DA Schools a place where our ethnic diversity contributes to an even richer shared educational experience—one where all of us are growing in knowledge, certainly, but also growing in our love for one another.
Awareness, resolve and policy change are great things, and I won’t shy away from pushing us in that direction, but those things can only do so much. The most important changes take place in the heart. My earnest prayer for DA Schools is that our community will respond to these words from God’s timeless message to his people through the prophet Micah:
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you?
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God.
About the author: Tim Austin is the interim director of Dakar Academy Schools. He has 18 years of teaching experience, holds a Bachelor of Science in Secondary English/Language Arts Education, has taught courses across academic departments as well as electives, and has lived 22 years in Africa.