The Church and Educational Injustice

By Terence Lester, PhD

Educational injustice in the U.S. cannot be separated from where people live. For decades, Black and brown neighborhoods were cut off from investment through the practice of redlining. Beginning in the 1930s, federal housing maps marked these neighborhoods as “hazardous” for investment, denying families access to federally backed mortgages and the chance to build generational wealth. This was never just about property lines — it was about whose future would be allowed to flourish. In God’s vision of shalom, every child deserves wholeness, stability, and justice, yet redlining worked to deny that very possibility.

Even though redlining was outlawed in the 1960s, its residue remains. Neighborhoods once marked off in red are still concentrated with poverty, and because schools in the U.S. are funded largely by local property taxes, those neighborhoods also became the ones where schools are systematically starved of resources — and students suffer as a result. Meanwhile, wealthier neighborhoods enjoy higher property values, stronger school budgets, and consistent reinvestment in the lives of students who gain access to the shalom and flourishing God intends.

This is what I call educational redlining: a system that determines the quality of a student’s education not by ability, but by zip code. Students in underfunded schools face outdated textbooks, overcrowded classrooms, and limited pathways to higher education and long-term careers. Meanwhile, students who live in neighborhoods not weighed down by generational barriers thrive in schools with advanced courses, updated facilities, extracurricular activities, access to technology, tutoring, and exposure to opportunities beyond struggle.

This concentration of poverty means that students in these schools are less likely to have access to rigorous courses, mentoring, or counseling that prepares them for college — which is why first-generation college students remain far too few and far between. The weight of these barriers means that many young people never even get the chance to imagine futures beyond survival. And when that door stays closed, the loss is not just theirs — it keeps the gifts God has placed in these students from fully flourishing: future doctors who might heal the sick, lawyers who might defend the vulnerable, pastors who might shepherded congregations, engineers who might build solutions, and educators who could shape the next generation. Injustice does not erase the gifts God gives — it blocks the opportunities to use them. And when gifts are stifled, entire communities are deprived of the flourishing God intends to flow through those lives.

Scripture does not let us stay on the sidelines when it comes to this kind of injustice. Isaiah 58 calls us to “loose the chains of injustice” and to share bread with the hungry. James warns us not to show favoritism to the wealthy while dishonoring the poor. And Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 that whatever we do for “the least of these” is what we do for Him. Educational injustice is not only a social or political issue — it is deeply biblical and moral. God’s vision is shalom: wholeness, justice, and flourishing for all people — no matter where a person might live and what school they might attend. Anything less falls short of God’s desire for God’s children.

The Church has always known education is about liberation. After Reconstruction, Black churches founded schools when no one else would, ensuring Black children had access to basic education when they were otherwise denied. In time, those same churches helped establish HBCUs to create pathways into higher education when other institutions shut the door.

That same spirit is needed now. To embody shalom, churches cannot just talk about justice — they must practice it and confront educational injustice that continues to shape students’ futures. This is the call for all churches now. Education sits at the center of the national conversation, with student futures more vulnerable than ever because of recent funding cuts and layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education — including sweeping reductions to financial aid, civil rights enforcement, and research staff. That means opening sanctuaries for tutoring programs and safe spaces after school.

It means funding scholarships so students can pursue higher education. It means partnering with schools to provide books, technology, and mentoring so that students who grow up on what some might consider “the wrong side of the tracks” can experience flourishing and God’s true shalom. This shalom calls us to show up with presence — not charity from a distance, but walking alongside students, families, and educators in solidarity, just as Christ walks with us.

When the Church responds like this, it becomes an agent of shalom in the midst of educational injustice, bearing witness that God has not abandoned students growing up in environments with minimal resources. It tells them, “We see you, we value you, and we believe God has placed greatness inside of you.”

References

Brookings Institution. “Budget Cuts Threaten Federal Protections for Homeless Students.” July 21, 2025. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/budget-cuts-threaten-federal-protections-for-homeless-students/.

Chen, Brendan. “The McKinney-Vento Act Helps Thousands of Students Every Year. How Could It Help Even More?” Housing Matters, Urban Institute, January 25, 2023. https://housingmatters.urban.org/articles/mckinney-vento-act-helps-thousands-students-every-year-how-could-it-help-even-more.

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Exploring the Nexus of Property Taxes, Housing Disparities, and Educational Access for Black and Brown Youth in Major U.S. Cities. Washington, DC: CBCF, 2023. https://www.cbcfinc.org/capstones/education/exploring-the-nexus-of-property-taxes-housing-disparities-and-educational-access-for-black-and-brown-youth-in-major-u-s-cities/.

EdWorkingPapers. Johnson, Andrew, et al. The Lingering Legacy of Redlining on School Funding, Diversity, and Performance. Cambridge, MA: EdWorkingPapers, 2021. https://edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai21-363.pdf.

Learning Policy Institute. Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute, 2021. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/media/3926/download?file=District-Supports-Homelessness-BRIEF.pdf.

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. The Property Tax–School Funding Dilemma. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute, 2010. https://www.lincolninst.edu/app/uploads/legacy-files/pubfiles/the-property-tax-school-funding-dilemma-full_0.pdf.

National Center for Biotechnology Information. Educational Pathways for Black Students in Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK578001/.

New America. Segregation and Resource Inequality Between America’s School Districts: Executive Summary. Washington, DC: New America Foundation, 2020. https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/segregation-and-resource-inequality-between-americas-school-districts/executive-summary/.

The Washington Post. “Supreme Court Allows Massive Education Department Layoffs.” July 15, 2025. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/07/15/education-cuts-nation-report-card-supreme-court/.

TIME Magazine. “How Gutting the Department of Education Hurts Millions of Americans.” July 2025. https://time.com/7303430/gutting-department-education-hurts-americans/.

Urban Institute. “How Does Past Redlining Affect Present-Day Disparities in Educational Outcomes?” Housing Matters, 2021. https://housingmatters.urban.org/research-summary/how-does-past-redlining-affect-present-day-disparities-educational-outcomes.

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