One of my mentors once shared a reality that hit home: a difference he noticed between many white children and Black children was exposure. He’d gone into a library and saw a young white child with advanced books in hand culture and other faiths from around the world. Meanwhile, he noticed that many Black kids didn’t have that same breadth of material. That stuck with me.
This is about more than books; it’s about life. It’s not on our kids – it’s on us as parents, educators, and community leaders. If we don’t expose them, they stay in a narrow lane. But when we step outside of our comfort zones and invite them to come along, we expand their horizons.
Exposure can be as simple as introducing new foods. Too often, our kids stick to what’s familiar – sometimes highly processed meals. When we open their world to different cuisines – whether from Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean – they see that variety isn’t strange; it’s exciting. Take them to cultural festivals. Let them read stories from different backgrounds. Let them meet people who don’t look like them. That’s how empathy grows.
We also need to encourage them to engage with different faiths and perspectives. Even if they don’t adopt them, they’ll understand them. When kids realize the world is bigger than what they’ve known, they stop seeing differences as threats and start seeing them as invitations to learn.
When we do this as a community, we multiply the impact. Schools, churches, and community groups can create events that bring people together across cultures. But it starts at home. When we grow, our children grow. When we expose ourselves to the world, we give them the greatest gift: the confidence to thrive in it.
