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Chris Rice spoke in last Thursday’s chapel on race relations. |
-Photo by Jason Harville |
The minds of the students and faculty at Milligan College were turned to the often forgotten subject of race when Chris Rice spoke in last Thursday’s chapel service.
Rice is a student at Duke Divinity School who spent 17 years at Voice of Calvary Ministries in Jacksonville, Miss. He co-authored “More than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel,” and authored “Grace Matters: A True Story of Race, Relationship, Friendship and Faith in the Heart of the South.”
Rice was contacted because of his membership in a Durham Church that Phillip Kenneson, associate professor of theology and philosophy and ethnic diversity committee chair, and Craig Farmer, associate professor of history and humanities, attended while students at Duke.
“I know that on any campus race issues are always an issue…and it just seemed like a wonderful opportunity to keep the conversation going,” said Kenneson.
Rice’s lectures stated that the Christian church is America’s most segregated institution. According to Rice, only 5 percent of whites and blacks attend church with Christians of another color.
Milligan reflects this trend; registrar figures indicate that slightly more than 5 percent of students are minorities.
Rice challenged, “Why are we comfortable with that?”
According to Rice, years of separation have pushed race into the back of whites’ minds.
Deniece Kitchin, co-chair of the ethnic diversity committee, said whites could ignore the issue of race, but minorities have to face it everyday.
This disparity in viewpoints makes racial reconciliation and diversity hard to achieve. Rice preached that if Milligan plans to live out the truth of the Gospel, it must create an open and equal environment.
“The witness of the church is at stake in the fragmentation of the body of Christ,” said Rice.
Milligan hired Troy Anderson to fill the roles of senior admissions counselor and coordinator of multicultural recruitment.
“My personal goal is to incorporate the vision of ethnic diversity within the student body,” Anderson said.
Anderson said he is meeting with key minority ministers in the area and planning summer programs that will allow minority high school students to visit the campus.
David Mee, vice president for enrollment management, said the college plans to be more intentional in its efforts to make Milligan more diverse.
“We must be committed to the ideal that Milligan will be a better place for [diversity],” said Mee.
Mee said building a diverse community will take time, but prove worthwhile.
“My prayer is that we will...foster an environment that is increasingly welcoming to students from minority backgrounds, while also recognizing the countless ways these students contribute to making Milligan a wonderful community,” said Mee.