Running head: ACTION PLAN

Action Plan
Kelli Jo Haley
Wright State University

ACTION PLAN

I chose to do my Action Plan at the Observation level. The proposal objective for
my action plan was to become more comfortable around African Americans as a minority
and understand what it feels like to be a minority in a public situation. I have been around
African Americans for most of my life, but I have not typically been the minority in the
situation. For my Action Plan, I wanted to understand how it feels to be in the minority
group. When thinking about my proposal and the goals and objectives for my plan, I
decided I wanted to do something out of my comfort zone, but still in a place I would not
feel like a total outcast. In order to achieve this goal I decided to learn at the
observational level and attend a church service of a predominant ethnic minority group.
With this activity I was able to have the comfort of being in church which I was used to,
but became a minority in the situation by attending a predominantly African American
church.
Throughout my life as a White female, I cannot think of many instances where I
have felt like a minority. Although the majority of my hometown is White, there is a
significant population of African Americans. From my early childhood years until now, I
have interacted and had friendly and working relationships with African Americans in my
community as well as outside of it. This action plan thus allowed me to broaden my
relationship with many of these people. During this observational experience I definitely
felt like a minority, as I was one of the only few White people in the predominantly Black
Baptist Church in my hometown. Upon arrival I felt anxious even parking the car. There
was a sense of unknowing and fear as I stepped out of the car and started walking
towards the church as with going to any new place for the first time. Approaching the
front doors I was thankfully greeted with high spirits and genuine hospitality.

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One of my friends wanted to join me for church that day and when I told her
where I was going she was also excited because she had never been there before either.
She is a White female as well. We walked in and sat toward the rear of the church trying
to identify any one we thought we might know. Fortunately enough I was able to spot a
high school classmate that greeted me with a small wave of the hand with a look of
surprise and confusion on his face. This helped me feel slightly more comfortable
although I was still not completely at ease, wondering what all of the regular church
members thought of my friend and I joining them with no warning. Especially since it
was a small church, and there were only about 50-75 members total.
I was excited for the music to begin, not knowing whether to expect old hymnals
or more contemporary songs, and it ended up being a mixture of both. When the first
group of singers began singing older songs, I was a bit disappointed to be honest. I was
hoping the music would be very loud and it was just a group of 5 older men softly singing
hymns from books in the pews, but I quickly learned that was just the warm-up. After a
few songs led by the men, a large group of both females and males took the stage and
began singing the music I was actually hoping to hear at a majority Black church. It was
the kind of music that was very loud and immediately made me want to get up and start
dancing. It was passionate and the whole church became quickly involved in the praise
and worship. At this time I didn't feel out of place or uncomfortable because I was able to
delve into my own worship and not focus on anyone else around me.
What happened next definitely made me realize once again that I was a minority
and that the whole church would be able to recognize it. The pastor asked if there were
any visitors and my friend and I both raised our hands. Then, to our surprise they asked

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us to stand and give our names and if anyone had invited us to the service that day. I
became so nervous once again; realizing all eyes were going to be on me and I all could
think was that I hoped I wasn't being perceived as an outcast. Once the introductions
were over, the whole church body came around to shake our hands and welcome us not as
just guests but as family. This ultimately gave me reassurance that even though I was a
minority, I was not going to be treated any differently.
Overall I felt that it was absolutely a beneficial experience for me as a person, and
even for my friend as well. I am truly blessed to have had this opportunity to expand my
spiritual horizon in a place that welcomes its guests with open arms like Bible Missionary
Baptist Church did for my friend and I. The final thought I took away from this
experience, which the Pastor conveyed in his message to the congregation, is to cut things
out of your life that take you away from God. I perceived this message as do not let any
ethnic or social differences, even places of worship take you away from hearing Gods
message. Instead, it is in the differences that we still find common ground and that is
belief.
I absolutely believe that my objectives were met for the experience and even
exceeded my expectations. Even though I felt comfortable at times, there were other
times I felt completely out of my element and truly like a minority. This is something
African Americans have to deal with on a daily basis and it is something I only had to
truly feel for one day, even for a few hours.
According to research done by Edwards (2009), African Americans are uniquely
known to practice spontaneous, ecstatic, participatory worship. I found this to be true
when I attended Bible Missionary Baptist Church but I have also experienced this at

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predominantly white churches as well. Worshiping spontaneously and ecstatically can

happen at any church although it is seen as a larger part of African American worship
according to Edwards (2009). Another aspect of African-American worship that I looked
into was that children often use behaviors they learn from church in the classroom as
well. According to Peele-Eady (2011), Moreover, African American students frequently
initiate churchlike interactions and use religious talk in the classroom context to
establish common social ground with peers (p. 54). Unfortunately I was unable to see
what the Sunday school was like at the church I attended or to really be able to observe
the behaviors of children.
In terms of implications for multiculturalism in higher education and student
affairs, I feel this experience has definitely given me insight into what it feels like to be a
minority. Although it was for a very short amount of time, I feel that going out of my
comfort zone and putting myself in a different situation, I can hopefully be more relatable
to someone who is struggling in a minority situation. As a Student Affairs professional, I
feel that being a voice for the students can be important. I am thankful for the opportunity
to learn something about not only myself but about something that others go through
daily.

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6
References

Edwards, K. L. (2009). Race, religion and worship: Are contemporary African-American

worship practices distinct? Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 48(1), 3052. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01428.x
Isiorho, D. (2012). A tale of two cities: Implicit assumptions and mission strategies in
black and white majority churches. Black Theology: An International Journal,
10(2), 195-211. doi:10.1558/blth.v10i2.195
Lee, S. (2003). The church of faith and freedom: African-American Baptists and social
action. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42(1), 31-41.
Peele-Eady, T. B. (2011) Constructing membership identity through language and social
interaction: The case of African American children at Faith Missionary Baptist
Church. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 42(1), 54-75. doi:10.1111/j-15481492.2010.01110.x