Helen Lee: The Race-Wise Family

"God has given us the gift of ethnic differences as a conduit to his witness and to the growth of his church." — Helen Lee

Join us for this conversation with author Helen Lee as we talk about ways we can cultivate safe environments that support families and church communities leaning into discussions about race.

Let me invite you into a conversation with Helen Lee, author and director of product innovation at InterVarsity Press. In the context of a racialized culture in which tension and violence is a daily reality, Helen and her co-author Michelle Reyes have written a book for families. The Race-Wise Family is a book designed for parents and caregivers who wish to imbue their family culture with sensitivity and nuance around the concept of race. Although the book is written for parents, I found that the wisdom within this book can be almost universally applied in the life of anyone who wishes to create a safe environment for young people to explore and grow in their ability to heal our communities from the devastating effects of racism. Helen doesn’t shy away from the need for deep thinking and soul-work on the part of the caregiver, but also suggests a number of very simple and practical ideas that could be implemented within moments. This book is an important contribution to our national and church-wide conversation about race, and Helen is just a delight to talk with. 

So have a listen! We're so glad you're here.

— Ann Boyd

You can listen on iTunes or at All Shall Be Well: Conversations with Women in the Academy and Beyond. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.

Further resources for this interview:

• The Race-Wise Family: 
  Ten Postures to Becoming Households of Healing and Hope by 
  Helen Lee & Michelle Ami Reyes
• The Multiethnicity Quotient Assessment — a resource from The Race-Wise Family that Helen mentions in the interview
• White Awake: An Honest Look at What It Means to Be White by Daniel Hill

Photo by Alyssa Sieb on Nappy.co