The Race-Wise Family

March 21, 2022
Lee (The Missional Mom), associate director of strategic partnerships and initiatives at IVP, and Reyes, vice president of Asian American Christian Collaborative, deliver in this pragmatic guide Christian parenting strategies for combatting racial injustice. The authors outline 10 approaches or “postures” with which to “pursue a biblical vision of human flourishing in the home, the community, and the nation,” including “seeing color,” “journeying towards racial healing,” and “raising kingdom-minded children.” To practice “addressing privilege,” the authors posit, one should acknowledge one’s advantages and commit as a family to sharing with those in need. Another posture advocates “valuing multiethnicity,” which the authors find support for in God’s creation of cultural difference in the tower of Babel story. Each chapter concludes with activities to help parents bestow these postures on their children, including helping them identify trustworthy news sources and introducing them to histories by marginalized voices. The authors’ down-to-earth approach prioritizes practicality, lending the recommendations a specificity that parents will appreciate (five appendices include family-friendly media suggestions and a kid-friendly glossary to explain racism). This is a thoughtful volume on raising Christian, anti-racist children. Agent: Don Gates, Gates Group.