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The African American Church Lecture Series is a program of the Wheaton College. Currently sponsored by a multidivisional committee of campus members facilitated by the Office of Multicultural Development. The lecture serves:

1. To examine critical issues involving or affecting the African-American church, our society, and the world community.

2. To dialogue with key leaders in the African-American church or its evangelical leaders.

3. As a vital resource for students, faculty, administrators, staff, and local churches.

4. To foster and nurture current or future leaders in the African-American church and collegiate community.

 

The series began in the 1993-1994 academic year designed to introduce interesting themes from Black American religious experience and history to the Wheaton student body. Particular interest was in encouraging African American students and the local community to use the resources of the BGC library and the Graham Center Archives related to the African American Church. The lecture series has grown to include challenging all members of the campus community to address issues of the impact of the African American Church on current evangelical thinking. Each lecturer has addressed themes regarding history and impact of the African American Church. There have been 10 lectures thus far:

* Recordings of these lectures are available at Media Resources . The lecture has traditionally taken place in the last week of February including both a chapel address and an evening lecture.

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Some students reflect upon the fact that issues of diversity are important to them and want to find out more, but they qustion what types of things they can do while at Wheaton to enhance their personal understanding of diversity issues. While there are no "right" ways to explore diversity we recommend a few thoughts. The foundation of all these thoughts is an open mind to different perspectives.

• During Orientation -- try to meet lots of students from varied backgrounds and be genuine in sharing yourself.
  
  
• · Seek out a faculty/staff mentor, especially one who understands issues of diversity.
  
  
• · Intentionally participate in the activities of OMD and the clubs Gospel Choir, Koinonia, Unidad Cristiana, and William Osborne Society.
  
  
• · Search for film opportunities and or other metro Chicago activities (music, literature, art, etc.) to both experience and reflect on issues of diversity.
  
  
• · Sign up for coursework that will foster an understanding of diversity. Examples :

Sociology of Racial and Ethnic Relations

Cross Cultural Psychology

ID Asian Studies major

Urban Studies Certificate

African American Literature

• Do some intentional research about your own ethnicity.
  
  
• Do some evaluation of your own attitudes regarding people who are different from yourself. For example, try taking the Implicit Association Test at http://buster.cs.yale.edu/implicit/ and share your results with a friend from another ethnicity.
  
  
• Intentionally build relationships across gender and ethnic/cultural lines.
  
  
• Be open about differences.
  
  
• Don't single out one person as the "spokesperson" for their race (or gender).
  
  
• As upperclassmen, choose to mentor/encourage underclassmen especially with regards to cultural diversity.
  
  
• Get involved in the many opportunities for student leadership including being a Teachers Assistant (TA), and address issues of diversity within them.

This list is by no means complete, but it represents a few ways to enhance your understanding of your cultural background and allows you to get to know others. We also recommend that while at Wheaton College you: · Travel in one of the Wheaton programs or with friends, to expand your horizons. · Spend some time getting to know Chicago. · Study in groups -- it helps the learning process immensely. · Effectively develop and manage your personal budget, which may include finding work. Utilize Career Services in the search for work. · Get to know departments on campus that are necessary for your academic success. · Talk to older students before picking professors. · Proofread each others' work. · Invest in friends and networks: they are valuable beyond college. · Use campus resources for future internship opportunities.

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A number of issues continue to face our society, a significant one being assumptions made about people based on their race or ethnicity. The Wheaton community is not immune to these tensions, and a number of students have faced racial harassment, typically through verbal comments. One way to directly address situations of racial discrimination is to thoughtfully challenge the inappropriateness of others' words and actions. Below you will find recommendations for both immediate and future handling of harassment based on race. These actions are to be followed when you, as a student, are confronted with situations of harassment on and off campus. Racial Harassment conflicts with Wheaton College's Statement of Responsibilities and will not be tolerated. Therefore, all reported cases are taken seriously and investigated promptly. If you are able to mediate the situation to your satisfaction, please chronicle the event and report it to the Director of Multicultural Development as soon as possible. As a community and as individuals, we need to pray that these vestiges of racially motivated thoughts and actions will be broken down. Our long-range goal is to continue creating an environment for open and honest interaction across cultural lines, and to encourage the holistic development of all our students to the glory of Christ. I pray that you will be a catalyst for Christ-centered social change in this area and all areas of your life. Please feel free to stop by and discuss these concerns if you have any questions.

In Christ,

Rodney K. Sisco
Director, Office of Multicultural Development

In the Event of a Harassment Situation

• Remain Calm - Do not yell out in anger or hostility or engage in unnecessary debate.
  Get names of all people involved in the incident who are being harassed.
  
  
• Get descriptive information of those involved in the harassment: names, license plate or other identification, any physical description, vehicle description, any other descriptive data
  
  
• Though assigned to protect and serve the public it is possible that an officer of the law could be involved in racial harassment, in those cases please also remember to get badge number or other identification. With an officer, even if there is a debate as to the appropriateness of their actions, answer all questions, and remain engaged in conversation. It is easy enough to file the appropriate complaint later.
  
  
• Pay close attention to the details of the event. Note important issues - date, time, actual words spoken, actions taken, etc. One person should make it his/her objective to promptly get all the pertinent details in some written form.
  
  
• Immediately contact a campus administrator or faculty member. The key issue is to make contact with someone at that time. Leave a message if the one you are calling is not there, but continue calling until you reach someone who can immediately give advice and/or come, regardless of the hour. If alone, be sure to pay attention to all details and excuse yourself to make the phone call.
  
  
• As soon as the event has been completed, write a summary statement of the actual situation, including as much detail as possible.
  
  
• If a situation occurs on campus, and you feel the harasser is willing to listen, attempt to point out what has been said that is abusive
  
  
• If online, attempt to print screen for accuracy of words transpired. Additionally attempt to secure any information regarding the identity of the harasser.
  
  
• Continually commit the matter fully to prayer.

• " A Police Officer Stops Your Vehicle: What Next? " - Produced by the Wheaton Police Department.
  
  
• " The Law And You: Guidelines for interacting with law enforcement officials " - Produced by the NAACP, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and Allstate Insurance Company.
  

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