• Who We Are
    • Who We Are
    • Mission
    • History
    • General Synod
    • Leadership and Ministry
    • Staff
    • United Church of Christ Board
  • What We Believe
    • What We Believe
    • Worship Ways
    • Daily Devotional
  • What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Office of the General Minister & President
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
  • News
  • Church Finder
  • Donate Now
  • Search
UCC Logo United Church of Christ
  • Church Finder
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Store
  • Frontline Faith Portal
  • Donate Now
  • Search
  • Who We Are
    • Column
      • About
        • Mission
        • Constitution and Bylaws
        • History
          • UCC Archives
        • UCC Brand Guidelines
        • General Synod
          • Synod 33 Worship Videos
          • Past General Synods
        • Abuse Prevention
    • Column
      • Structure
        • Conferences
        • Affiliated Ministries
          • The Pension Boards
          • Cornerstone Fund
          • Insurance Board
          • The Council for Health and Human Services Ministries
          • Church Building & Loan Fund
          • Convergence
    • Column
      • Team
        • Elected Officers
        • Staff
        • United Church of Christ Board
          • Board Minutes
        • Office of General Counsel
        • UCCOSSN
    • Column
      • Career Opportunities
      • Annual Reports
  • What We Believe
    • Column
      • Worship
        • Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ – La Declaración de Fe de la Iglesia Unida de Cristo
        • Worship Ways
        • Daily Devotional
        • Sermon Seeds
  • How We Serve
    • Column
      • Office of the General Minister & President
        • Welcome to Human Resources
          • Employee Relations Resources
        • Center for Analytics, Research & Development and Data (CARDD)
          • General CARDD FAQs
          • About The Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data (CARDD)
          • Authorized Minister Opt Out
          • Access UCC
          • Archived Reports
          • Assessment Resources
          • Information Policies and Requests
          • Faith Communities Today (FACT) Survey
          • MissionInsite
          • Statistics and Reports
          • Vital Signs and Statistics Blog
          • Data Hub FAQs
          • Data Hub
          • Yearbook and Directory
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Justice
          • Faithful Action Ministries
            • Environmental Justice Ministries
            • Economic Justice
            • Racial Justice
          • Office of Public Policy & Advocacy in Washington D.C.
            • Justice and Peace Action Network
            • Our Faith Our Vote
            • Justice Training Resources
            • Action Center
          • Health and Wholeness Advocacy
            • Disabilities and Mental Health Justice
            • Encuentros Latinx
            • UCC HIV & AIDS Network-UCAN
            • LGBTQ Ministries
            • Our Whole Lives
            • Overdose and Drug Use Ministries
            • Scouting
            • Wellness Ministries
          • The Pilgrim Press & Stillspeaking Publications
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Local Church
          • The Faith Education, Innovation and Formation (Faith INFO)Team
            • Weekly Seeds
            • Youth & Young Adults
          • Worship Resources
            • Worship Ways
            • Sermon Seeds
            • Synod 33 Worship Videos
            • Music and Liturgical Arts
          • Stewardship & Generosity Resources
          • Ministerial Excellence, Support & Authorization (MESA)
            • History, Polity, and Theology
            • Search and Call
            • Ministerial Profiles
            • Ministry Opportunities
            • Manual on Ministry
    • Column
      • Wider Church Ministries
        • Global Ministries
        • Global H.O.P.E.
          • Volunteer Ministries
          • Refugee and Migration Ministries
          • Disaster Ministries
          • Recovering Hope
        • Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
  • Resources
  • News
    • Column
      • News
        • United Church of Christ News
    • Column
      • Columns
        • Witness for Justice
        • Into the Mystic
        • Getting to the Root of It
        • The Pollinator: UCC Environmental Justice Blog
        • UCC Roots
        • Encounters at the Well
        • Reflexiones
    • Column
      • Upcoming Events
        • Webinars
      • Subscriptions at the United Church of Christ
      • Changes & Deaths
  • Giving
    • Column
      • Donate Now
      • Ways to Give
        • Giving Tuesday
        • General Synod 2021 Thursday in Black Offering
        • General Synod 2021 Racial Justice Offering
        • Disaster Ministries: How to Give
        • Our Church’s Wider Mission
          • Our Church’s Wider Mission Basic Support
          • Strengthen the Church
          • One Great Hour of Sharing
          • Neighbors in Need
          • Christmas Fund
          • 5 for 5
    • Column
      • Ways We Give
        • Scholarships & Grants

  • Home
  • News
  • Column
  • Witness for Justice
  • Teaching Truth for Young People
Witness for Justice

Teaching Truth for Young People

by Trayce Potter | published on Jan 6, 2022

Minister for Youth and Young Adult Engagement

Time moves quickly. It seems like just yesterday I held a newborn in my arms for the first time and wondered about all the possibilities before him. In reality, a little over four years has passed and I am now at the stage of preparing both him and me for the transition to formal education. There is a small private school I have in mind, but this will also pose some challenges as the school is a predominantly white, upper-class private school for boys. I sat across from the admissions representative and asked her very straightforwardly about the school’s curriculum when it comes to diversity, representation, and race. I needed to know that history would be taught accurately and that my son would hear about people who look like him more than in the month of February. While I was satisfied with the answers for this particular school, there are undoubtedly too many parents who are frustrated by attempts to censure voices from the margins or attempts to erase truth.

I am far from an expert on critical race theory (CRT) and defer to my colleagues who have multiple degrees in the area. Essentially, CRT affirms that America—both society and its institutions— have been built on systems of racism that have allowed white supremacy to flourish unchecked. This keeps minorities in a state of oppression no matter how hard they work. Racism is a part of everyday life for many individuals, whether it is talked about or not.

Naturally, this idea can make people uncomfortable and want to shy away from the difficult conversations that it might lead to. White suburban moms have stormed school board meetings and demanded that their children be protected from CRT and any teaching that highlights the fact that certain groups enjoy privileges at the expense of another people. The claim is that many BIPOC voices and concepts of race are unfair because children are not ready for such heavy topics. What these individuals fail to realize is that black and brown children are never too young to experience the effects of racism firsthand.

There is a disconnect between my faith and what our young people are being taught about history and/or themselves. My faith and what I tell young people centers around the belief that God desires for all of us to live a full and abundant life. If we can’t even talk about the simple truths that have been created as a byproduct of racism, there will continue to be children who fail to experience all that life and God have to offer. There are no easy answers or ways to undo four hundred years of racism, neglect, and harm, but we also cannot pretend it never happened or just hope our children will remain innocent and unaware of differences.

My invitation to all of us, regardless of whether you have children or not, is to consistently advocate for our children. We are handing over a world to this generation without giving them the tools to thrive. And I know my four-year-old son and his best friend who looks nothing like him, and every child that God has entrusted to us communally, are worth doing the hard work to dismantle racism one truth at a time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Trayce Potter is Minister for Youth and Young Adult Engagement for the United Church of Christ.

View this and other columns on the UCC’s Witness for Justice page.
Donate to support Witness for Justice.
Click here to download the bulletin insert.

Categories: Column Witness for Justice

Sign Up For Our Newsletter








Privacy Policy






Related News

Witness for Justice
Witness for Justice

Cause for Alarm

In my social media feed, there’s a funny video of an emu overreacting to a loud noise by...

Read More
The Pollinator: UCC Environmental Justice Blog

Solidarity and Support for East Palestine: Three Actions to Embody Love

On February 3rd, the small town of East Palestine, Ohio suffered from a toxic train derailment...

Read More
Talitha Koum
Talitha Koum - The UCC Women's Newsletter

Welcome to Talitha Koum: The UCC Newsletter for Women, Girls and Their Allies

Welcome! I am so grateful that you have decided to connect with UCC women and allies through...

Read More
  • Column
    • Local Church and Conference Resource Directory
    • Mission
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
    • General Synod Resolutions
  • Column
    • Contact
    • News
    • Store

Content on ucc.org is copyrighted by the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and may be only shared according to the guidelines outlined here.

1300 E. 9th Street, Suite 1100
Cleveland, Ohio 44114

  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Subscribe on YouTube

Donate Now


UCC Crest
© United Church of Christ 2023. Privacy Policy.
Crafted by Cornershop Creative