The Journey
For helpful resources on every stage of the journey to understanding and dismantling racism, click one of the links found here:
Faith Seeking Understanding: Honest Conversations About Race
Anthony Alexander and Nathan Baxter (July 2, 2020)
They tore down the homes of black, brown and poor whites to build capital buildings, the museum, the archives, the department of transportation, the now justice building. That area was lived in by black brown, and poor whites, and it’s there no more. All of this was strategic and a part of redlining.
When white flight happened, realtors bought up the properties. They took dwellings and made them multiple dwellings. And so you had people living in two or so apartments in one building. And, of course, they weren’t kept up with.
When there is a plan being made, we are not a part, people of color--of the plan. We only have an auxiliary use, and once that auxiliary is removed, or there are enough whites to replace them, then people of color have to figure out what they’re going to do from there.
My first experience of racism that I can remember was when I was in 4th grade. I was told that I wasn’t too bright, and that I would never amount to anything. Mrs. Stauffer was her name. She was systematically getting children of color into vocational programs.
Williamsport had 117 UM churches in the district. It covered 3 counties. Not one was African American. I served there 5 years and had never been called so many SOB’s in my life.
Canon Stephanie Spellers (July 9, 2020)
Part of what Frederick Douglas was doing was naming the contradiction of America celebrating freedom on the 4th of July, but then being surrounded by enslaved peoples and having enslaved Africans since before there was an America.
Where are you church? How dare you talk about following Jesus or loving Jesus and yet when the slave cries out you are nowhere to be found. Church you are the ones making the case for slavery. You are the one telling slave owners that this is what God intends.
We wanted to call the church to be what the nation needs, and we wanted to call the church to be what we need.
Freedom requires truth telling.
Freedom requires letting go, and there are a lot of folks out there clinging to white supremacy, clinging to whiteness.
This church and this nation, founded by many of the same people, were designed for the purpose of white flourishing.
For us to lift up stories, to listen to and value and just be curious about each other’s stories, is already the anecdote. If you’re listening and I’m listening then we’re already telling a very different story than what white supremacy had presented.
Rev. D. Marie Tribble (July 16, 2020)
One of the things I’ve learned since the George Floyd murder is the responsibility of white people to claim their role and to claim their responsibility and to be accountable and not to lean on people of color to teach them. That you have enough of your own emotional labor to do just getting through each day in a society which is built on, white superiority, white supremacy which is institutionally oppressive to people that aren't white.
It’s life. I believe in preparing our children for the life that they are going to have to engage. I don’t believe in sugarcoating it, I don't believe in giving them rosy lenses that don’t exist. I need them to be able to stand on their own whether I’m with them or not…I think the best way to do that is to build an awareness of the reality of the world they are going to live in.
I didn’t know how powerful that river was when I started pastoring in Lemoyne, but I learned how powerful that river is. We used that river as a basis of conversation, trying to talk about the historical racial divide from the river. One of the things we learned early is that many of the white people believed that the divide had nothing to do with race while many black people were like it has everything to do with race.
I did not discover that I pastored on the whtie shore until I attempted to have my first black history program at my church…Mary told me “ you do realize you’re on the white shore? You’re going to ruffle some feathers with this.” She brought me up to speed on history that I didn’t know existed.
There are some roots and connections to the KKK from within my congregation, there is the history within my particular congregation. But the members that are there today are passionate about doing this work. They made the decision to move forward. And so we had our first black history program on the white shore.
I find hope in the generation that’s behind me. And I see the passion on the faces and in the voices of so many people who are advocating.
I find hope when I look at the church--in all of our flaws and our things that we still need to grow from and I am surrounded by a community of people who are genuinely loving people.
Dr. Drew G. I. Hart (July 23, 2020)
I was just confused how in this space [Messiah College] where at least the majority of people claim to be Christian, why is this more hostile and more overt than what I was experiencing in the public school, which was still a majority white space.
Whiteness is a social construct that was developed in the context of slavery and colonialism and all that stuff and it was an idea that justified European people dominating, enslaving, plundering other people’s bodies and lands.
If you are about oppression and domination and violence, if that’s at your core, how can you be Christian also?
The state is disproportionately funding the more white school districts, and the more people of color, the more likely they are going to be underfunded by the state.
These systems are already in place and we are okay with the fact that these disparities exist.
[The theological implications of thinking of Jesus as white is that] now the one who was from Galilee among the poor peasants is now identified with the powerful and the wealthy and those who dominate others.
There’s a difference between decentralization and marginalization. What’s happening right now in our society is we’re in a period where there’s more awareness of this in the past and so we’re in decentralization but there’s still, overall, white men are still centralized--you can see it in government and CEOs and leadership all around everything. But there is some shifting taking place.
How do we do grassroots justice in a world that’s so captivated by the caustic, partisan kind of fights that go on and shape our imagination for our work rather than connecting with our neighbors and figuring out what are the actual needs, who’s most vulnerable in our communities? How do we work for those things first rather than starting with the campaign that some elite handed down to us?
If we actually take seriously the implications of taking up the cross, it’s actually one of the most revolutionary ideas that Jesus has. You see what he means by it because he lives it out.
Praying About Struggle, Rest, and Reconciliation (Feb. 16, 2021) - Kevin Baron
[What’s happening in today’s world] is not really any different from what we’ve always experienced. I think what has made it seem as though it’s different. What’s changed is the immediacy of images--news, commenting on social media, etc.
Healing is something that is an ongoing process. A lot of the wounds that we carry, even though the wound may heal in a lot of ways overtime, the wound still remains.It just changes, is covered over. But that still requires a degree of attention. Not only are you healing the physical aspect, but you’re also healing the emotional aspect.
Our hope lies in one another. It lies in moving out of the space of the individual and moving into the space of the “we” collective. It’s not thinking less of myself, but thinking of myself less.
Celebrating Our Story: Webinar 1
(April 29, 2021)
Celebrating Our Stories: Webinar 2: Gathering Your Oral History (May 7, 2021)
The Legacy of Absalom Jones that Leads Us to Now
(Feb 28, 2022)
Racial Reconciliation Conversation
(April 6, 2022)
TEDTalks
Ruby Sales: How Do We Maintain Our Courage To Fight For Change? (April 12, 2019)
At 17, Ruby Sales witnessed the shooting of one of her fellow civil rights activists. She explains how despite the trauma, she went on to devote her life to fighting for social and racial justice.
Peggy McIntosh: "How Studying Privilege Systems can Strengthen Compassion" (Nov 12, 2012)
Alice Goffman: "How we're priming some kids for college — and others for prison" (2015)
n the United States, two institutions guide teenagers on the journey to adulthood: college and prison. Sociologist Alice Goffman spent six years in a troubled Philadelphia neighborhood and saw first-hand how teenagers of African-American and Latino backgrounds are funneled down the path to prison — sometimes starting with relatively minor infractions. In an impassioned talk she asks, “Why are we offering only handcuffs and jail time?”
Supporting Black-Owned Businesses in CPA
Black American Made (BAM!)
Sign up to support black manufacturers and commit to buy on a regular basis Black American Made products
Black-owned Independent Bookstores
You can order today from these black-owned independent bookstores.
106 Things White People Can do For Racial Justice
by Corinne Shutack
Podcasts
- 1619 – A NYT Podcast
“An audio series on how slavery has transformed America, connecting past and present through the oldest form of storytelling.” - Code Switch – An NPR Podcast
“What’s CODE SWITCH? It’s the fearless conversations about race that you’ve been waiting for. Hosted by journalists of color, our podcast tackles the subject of race with empathy and humor. We explore how race affects every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, food and everything in between. This podcast makes all of us part of the conversation — because we’re all part of the story. Code Switch was named Apple Podcasts’ first-ever Show of the Year in 2020.” - Pod Save the People
“On Pod Save the People, DeRay Mckesson explores news, culture, social justice, and politics with Kaya Henderson and De’Ara Balenger. They offer a unique take on the news, with a special focus on overlooked stories and topics that often impact people of color. There’s also a weekly one-on-one interview with DeRay and special guests, from singer/songwriter John Legend to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The experts, influencers, and diverse local and national leaders who come on the show go deep on social, political, and cultural issues. New episodes every Tuesday.”
Books
- How to Be An Antiracist – Ibram X. Kendi
- How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice – Jemar Tisby
- Black Theology and Black Power – James H. Cone
- The Cross and the Lynching Tree – James H. Cone
- Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God – Kelly Brown Douglas
- Preaching Black Lives [Matter] – Gayle Fisher-Stewart
The Journey
For helpful resources on every stage of the journey to understanding and dismantling racism, click one of the links found here:
