Racial Reconciliation among Undergraduates: Bridging the Gap between Diversity and Community

Abstract

There is a gap between diversity and community throughout the Christian institutions of higher education across America. The gap is a microcosm of a much larger issue: America’s racial divide. In the last two decades, Christian colleges and universities have experienced a steady growth in diversity. This trend has left many institutions with the sense that they are moving in the right direction in relation to race. Numerous reports indicate that there are benefits to having diversity in higher education. However, “diversity in proximity” on Christian college campuses does not equate to racial harmony or community. As some researchers have pointed out, the term “community” has been widely misused. For this study, the researcher specifically focused on bridging the gap between diversity and community among undergraduates at a Christian college in the New York metropolitan area. The researcher created an intervention, which consisted of a racial reconciliation course as a catalyst to strengthen a sense of community among undergraduates in the context of a diverse Christian college. A qualitative study methodology was used to determine how effective such a racial reconciliation course would be in helping to bridge the gap between diversity and community.