Racial Discrimination

In reflecting on the events of the last year and the deep-seated
history of racial discrimination in the United States, we at GA wanted to be able to start a conversation surrounding this topic. As the year went on, we educated ourselves on the multi-faceted issues involving racism in our nation and around the world. We aimed to facilitate this conversation with the hopes of leading the student body of Biola to a posture of conviction of the Spirit and reconciliation. GA’s intentions have always been to seek justice. However, there have been gaps in the past in the ways this conversation surrounding racial discrimination has been discussed.

We believe now more than ever that it is the job of the believer to fight against injustices and to continually amplify the voices of the marginalized. This is central to our mission in Global Awareness -- to seek out the vulnerable and shed light on the darkness of these issues. However, when it comes to topics surrounding and including racial discrimination, our department hasn’t always done the right thing. In some cases, we have failed to recognize that the way we have conducted our research, put together our rooms, and facilitated these conversations has sometimes contributed to the problem of racial discrimination. Throughout the history of GA, there have been many instances where certain perspectives were not taken into account, and in a lot of cases, that only perpetuated the discrepancies in inequitable racial representation and how these issues affect People of Color differently around the world. We want to recognize that there are countless stories to be told, following in the footsteps of Jesus as He sat down and listened to those around Him. Our goal for the future is to include multiple diverse perspectives and elevate the voices of those who are marginalized.

The Student Congress on Racial Reconciliation or SCORR has done phenomenal work in this area and continues to push students all around the country to truly follow in the footsteps of Jesus in seeking to reconcile this issue.

Please take the time to educate yourselves on the important topic of racial discrimination and reconciliation by following the link below to the SCORR Conference Sessions from this year.

https://www.biola.edu/scorr#schedule