1449 Wilcox Park Drive, SE

Grand Rapids, MI  49506

                                                                                                 September 2007

Dear Parents,

            It is difficult for me to write you about this concern.  We would all like to think that there is nothing in this regard at Saint Thomas School and Parish to be concerned about.  But there is.  Let me set out the concern with two actual experiences.

            Having recently enrolled in our school, an African-American parent was asked the following by White parents in a casual social setting:

“Are you here on scholarship?  How much is the non-parishioner rate?

How can you afford it?”

Here is what the African-American parent heard being said:

You are black.  That puts you in a category:  Black People.

People in your category couldn’t possibly afford to be here without help.

People like you are out of place here.

This exchange illustrates a form of prejudice called Racism.  Racism sees a person possessing a characteristic held in common, like black or brown skin, a Hispanic accent, Asian features, not married, etc., and assumes that those who possess this characteristic also possess other characteristics, like being poor, uneducated, promiscuous, don’t live in Ada, couldn’t be a doctor or the chief executive of a bank, etc. Because most often people don’t think before they speak or act, they speak or act upon the unconscious assumptions they have acquired.  What they say and do, based on their prejudiced assumption, delivers a very clear message to the person with whom they are interacting. The person on the receiving end receives the full and bitter sting of racism’s lash:  she has been put in a box, it is labeled, and she supposed to know her place. 

            Here is another actual experience.  Deborah Armstrong, Director of InterCity Christian Federation’s Family Haven, visited a First Grade classroom after the first graders had completed a service project for Family Haven.  During her presentation she told the children that she helps the homeless.  A first grader responded, “You mean black people like you.”  Later, in a conversation with the teacher, Deb said:  “You have a lot

of work to do here.”  We do.

The child mentioned in the incident above made the assumption:  “if you are homeless, you must be black.”  This assumption came from somewhere.  Let’s not presume that it was from their parents.  Instead, lets just say they got it from somewhere and that we very much want to know where, so that no one else gets it too.

This is what we have devoted ourselves to do at Saint Thomas Parish and with our students at Saint Thomas School.  It will require everyone’s help.  Adults weave the

world of assumptions that envelop our children.  Adults generate the atmosphere of attitudes that they breathe in, day in and day out.  We will never get an answer to “Where did they get it from?” unless we work together.  This isn’t about protecting our children from the darkness in the world.  At times we want to and have to do that.  The truth is that children have to make their way in a very real world of cruel assumptions and the social structures that are built upon them.  These assumptions and social structures destroy the dignity of persons and compromise their equal access to opportunities to equip themselves and participate in society as equal players. 

Our children have to be prepared.  As is clear from Deb Armstong’s experience

at Saint Thomas School, they are already absorbing the assumptions of those around them and becoming unwitting agents of a culture of death.  Done in ignorance or full awareness, done unintentionally or intentionally, sin deals death to the hope for a humane world.  Our task together is:

1)      to identify prejudiced assumptions,

2)      to discover where they are coming from and how they are formed,

3)      to help our children recognize them and name them for what they are:  racist,

4)      to lend a hand in the effort to change “the way things are” in the world.

To do this, I suggest we move on four fronts:

First, examine yourself.  Each of us carries within ourselves “automatic assumptions” about people with certain characteristics (skin color, accent, mannerisms, marital status, etc.)   We need to be able to name them to ourselves.  We then need to see them for what they are:  prejudice, or that particular form of prejudice called “Racism.”  Next, we must press ourselves to identify where these “automatic assumptions” came from in our life experience. This is not pleasant or easy to do.

As a parent, you are the first educator of your children.  You need to be able to explain to your children how prejudice and Racism works in you, if you are going to help them recognize how it works in them.  It takes a lot of humility and courage to be willing to let your life be a resource for the moral growth of your children.  This is what Jesus had in mind when he said:  “There is no greater love than this to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15: 13)  To be a parent, “Do what I say” is not enough.  “Do what you see me trying to do and know why it is important to me,” is the necessary gift of yourself as a parent to your children.  For many people, this self-examination is not easy.  That is why both our parish and school will continue to offer reflection groups and seminars to assist you.

Second, stop and think before you speak or act with people who have the characteristics that summon prejudiced assumptions in you.  Literally say to yourself:

“They are black, Hispanic, single, etc.”

“I tend to assume that they are not well off, that they are not trustworthy,

that they can’t afford a house like mine, etc.” 

When you speak or act, resolve that you will not say, ask or do anything that you wouldn’t say, ask or do to a person like yourself.

Third, take a hard look at the environments that surround you and your children.  What is in your home, your extended family, your workplace, your church and school community, or in the media that reinforces prejudiced assumptions about people with certain characteristics?   Identify them for your children and explain what they are making people believe.  Remove the source of them, if possible.  Correct them when they are being made in your family, work and social environment.  If you can’t remove the source of them or correct them when they are made in your child’s environment, at least talk  with your children about how not to be taken in by them in forming their attitude toward others. 

Fourth, lend a hand, in any way you can, to correct the structures of our society that perpetuate racist assumptions and deny people human dignity and opportunity because

of them.  Your prayers will help.  Prayer makes us aware, keeps us vigilant, and summons courage to act.

            I hope you will join me in saying to Deb Armstrong and to anyone else who has visited Saint Thomas Parish and School and left thinking, “You have a lot of work to do here,”

Yes, we do!

We know it!

We are doing something about it!

Yours in discipleship of Christ,

Father Jim Chelich

P.S.      In writing this, the thought occurred to me that someone might say that Saint Thomas the Apostle School has just been designated a School of Distinction and now it seems they are casting a shadow on their own reputation.  Being a School of Distinction means more than having achieved a standard of excellence in organization and programming.  It means having a commitment to ongoing reflection on our mission, values, organization and programs.  It also means having processes in place for doing this.  At Saint Thomas I feel that this includes an ongoing examination of our character as an apostolic work of a Catholic faith community.  The School of Distinction designation is a great honor, but only in the measure that it draws people’s attention to what we are actually striving to be.        

You pay tithes on mint and herbs and seeds

while neglecting the weightier matters of the Law,

justice and mercy and good faith.

It is these you should have practiced, without neglecting the others.

Matthew 23:23