According to Jim Wallis, “Racism is the original sin of America.”[1] Therefore, there must be a repentance from people who have committed the Original Sin and then participate in courageous actions in dismantling racism. Children of Color suffer from discrimination and racism early in their lives. Immigrant children suffer from stereotyping, and along with their parents and siblings encounter racial profiling. Children could learn hate and racism. But children could also learn how to stand up against racism and participate early in their lives to help dismantle racism. Children could become young disciples of Jesus in teaching people not to judge children according to the color of their skin.[2]
WORD Psalm 139:13-18
You are the one who created my innermost parts:
you knit me together while I was still in my mother’s womb.
I give thanks to you that I was marvelously set apart.
Your works are wonderful—I know that very well.
My bones weren’t hidden from you
when I was being put together in a secret place,
when I was being woven together in the deep parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my embryo,
and on your scroll every day was written that was being formed for me,
before any one of them had yet happened.
God, your plans are incomprehensible to me!
Their total number is countless!
If I tried to count them—they outnumber the grains of sand!
If I came to the very end—I’d still be with you.[3]
WISDOM The impact of racism has been linked to birth disparities and mental health problems in children and adolescents. The biological mechanism that emerges from chronic stress leads to increased and prolonged levels of exposure to stress hormones and oxidate stress at the cellular level. Prolonged exposure to stress hormones, such as cortisol, leads to inflammatory reactions that predispose individuals to chronic disease.[4]
PRAYER
Pray for: