Face Test: Do I Have the Full Picture?

The body of Christ is multicolored, made up of thousands of languages and experiences, multiracial and interclass. But our upbringing, family, friends, schools and churches—from which we develop our world view—are often not so diverse. Did your background expose you to the many textures of God’s human family? Draw one component of a human face for every “yes” answer you get for the following questions (eye, eye, nose, mouth, ear, ear and hair). If you can draw a whole face, draw as far as you can, and be prepared to discuss the ones you COULD draw.

1. At least one member of my immediate family (parents, siblings, brother/sister-in-law, grandparents) is from a racial/ethnic group other than my own (meaning at least one of their parents is Asian/Pacific Islander, Latino/a, Native American/indigenous to the Americas, African-American or of African descent or Anglo/White/European descent),
2. At least one family on my block is (one out of about 10 homes) is of a racial/ethnic group other than my own.
3. At least one of my close friends (you know their parents and/or their phone number is programmed into your cell phone, etc.) is from a racial-ethnic group other than my own.
4. The church I attend is racially mixed (at least 10 percent of the members are of a racial group other than my own).
5. The school I attend is racially mixed (at least 10 percent of the student body are from a racial group or groups other than my own).
6. Of my 10 closest friends (i.e., the last people you want to see before you pass on), at least one is from a racial/ethnic group other than my own.
7. I grew up in a home where I NEVER heard my parents or siblings say a negative word about groups of people by race or ethnicity (i.e. “Those dumb Puerto Ricans…”; “Jews only care about money,”; She’s poor White trash”; “Race-mixing is again the Bible, so you can date a Black girl”, etc.)
8. Of the friends my parent(s) socialize with and regularly invite to our home, at least one is from a racial/ethnic/language group other than their own.

The Face Test was created by racial justice specialist M. Garlinda Burton.