"Bridges Rather Than Barriers":
UUA President Issues Statement on Bilingual Education

Voters in MA and CO will be considering ballot measures to phase out bilingual education based upon a model already implemented in CA. The Rev. William Sinkford, president of the UUA, has issued the following statement on this issue.

(Boston, MA - October 31, 2002) We Unitarian Universalists are committed to promoting multiculturalism and to combating the evils of racism and oppression. We affirm the worth and dignity of all people. In a world divided by ethnic hatred and violence, we seek ways to build bridges of understanding and communication. We believe that different cultures and different perspectives enrich our lives. The Hebrew and Christian scriptures explicitly call upon people of faith to welcome the stranger and the foreigner.

As a religious people we are deeply troubled by much of the campaign against bilingual education. We are concerned about the undertone of fear and hostility toward immigrants that propels much of this campaign. Our task is not to force other people to be like us or to cut others off from their culture of origin. Rather, our task in a troubled world is to seek common ground, to learn to see things from another's point of view, to build mutual trust and respect. People who are bilingual and bicultural are an important asset. They can help us all learn to communicate across barriers of language and culture. Children should not be coerced to give up their language and culture, to lose their ability to communicate with their extended families. The vast majority of immigrants who do not speak English are eager to learn it and do. We monolingual English speakers should be as eager to learn one of their languages.

Good bilingual education programs have proved that they are an effective and culturally sensitive way of teaching children English and of building cross-cultural communication. We endorse bilingual education as one important means of building understanding and communication across cultures, and we oppose any referendum or ballot initiative that seeks to eliminate or phase out bilingual education in our public schools.

Every day we see horrifying images of the bloody consequences of mutual suspicion, ethnic isolation and fear of those who are different. I call upon Unitarian Universalists to reflect on how we can further understanding, peace, and communication across cultures. I call upon our members, on elected officials, educators and all people to reject attempts to force others to "be like us." Let us build bridges rather than barriers.

• Read the statement in Spanish
• Find out more about President William G. Sinkford
• See also: The President's Pages

Unitarian Universalist Association
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