Meet Christine. She is a second year student at Georgia State University and is a leader in InterVarsity. Last year she was a part of Race Matters, our discussion group that won the Diversity Award from GSU (see previous post). After Common Ground, our monthly worship gathering, she said, “For the first time in my life, I am proud of being Chinese”. Here is a little more of her story:
Race Matters really changed how I saw my identity as an Asian-American. I used to detest being Asian, always telling people that I was only American. I realize now that I can actively embrace being both Asian and American. When I was younger, whenever I told people I was Chinese, they would ask if I was communist, or if I ate dogs, you know…stereotypes like that. When it all added up, those stereotypes hurt. I thought to myself, maybe if I stopped identifying myself as Chinese, it wouldn’t hurt as much. I thought I was being an individual, but I was doing something worse by denying myself and my identity as a Chinese-American woman.
After being in Race Matters, I want to tell people what I learned. Jesus wants us to enjoy being who we are. I’m not ashamed of my culture anymore. I think God wants us to embrace that part of ourselves. If people label me with incorrect stereotypes, then I can just correct them and tell them that they are wrong.
We have seen God bring healing in many students lives through our Race Matters discussion group. Praise God for His work in Christine!
