By Raylee Foster | Staff Writer
Baylor University is growing its diversity, and Dr. George Yancey, professor of social sciences, recognizes the importance of fostering an environment of respect to build strong interracial connections.
Yancey’s book — “Beyond Racial Division: A Unifying Alternative to Colorblindness and Antiracism” — received Christianity Today’s 2022 award for book of the year in the category of politics and public life. It targets interracial relations, and Yancey said he found his inspiration in studying multiracial churches and interracial families.
“Couples, and even in churches, there’s some negotiation,” Yancey said. “Unfortunately, oftentimes — and it’s true across all sides — people don’t care about who they’re discussing with. They’re just trying to beat them down.”
Yancey said he continues to grow in his ability to apply the arguments from his book to his everyday life. He explained the concept of “collab conversation,” or mutual accountability, which encourages all parties to take responsibility for current racial relations and engage in fruitful conversation to arrive to answers. The main point, he said, is listening.
“The big takeaway, if there is one, is let’s learn how to listen to one another,” Yancey said. “Let’s learn how to talk to one another in ways they can actually hear us. And let’s find answers to our racial problems. And let’s do that now — before there’s another big racial break.”
At Baylor, Yancey teaches a sociology course on race and ethnicity, in which he teaches students how to apply concepts of his book to their lives. However, he applies these concepts not only to racial relations but also to gender, culture and other diversifying factors.
Perryton senior Itzel Gonzalez said Yancey’s class changed the way she views many things in her day-to-day life. After attending a minimally diverse high school, Gonzalez said Yancey opened her eyes to the beauty and truth of many different cultures.
“He changed the way I thought about college, because I came into college with a very closed mindset,” Gonzalez said. “I didn’t really know a lot of outside cultures until I got to Baylor, and it was just really nice of him to show us how [the cultures] really are.”
Gonzalez also said one of the biggest takeaways she had from Yancey’s class was his emphasis on respecting people. She said she has seen its application in her own life, especially in conversations with friends who come from different backgrounds.
“Respect is obviously gained, but it’s also given,” Gonzalez said. “We just base our ideas on stereotypes. And [Yancey] said if we believe these stereotypes to a point where we won’t give anyone the respect that they deserve but give what we think they deserve, that’s not logical if we don’t know them.”
Yancey’s publications focus on race relations and anti-Christian attitudes, including his award-winning book. He said his goal in his writing is to solve problems in ways beyond how society is currently attempting.
“As far as race relations and why I wrote this book, I don’t think that what we’re doing is working,” Yancey said. “So I don’t think anti-racism works, and we can’t ignore race. So what I propose is that we have better conversations with one another.”
