Resources that address racism.
As an American the right to vote is seemingly implicit, but the reality is that there has been, and continues to be, a focused effort to suppress voting. In fact, America was founded on voter suppression as only property owning white men could vote when the Constitution was penned.
Without many in the white evangelical church even knowing it there are usually two baked in assumptions when we try to help our poor or oppressed neighbors. One, that we have the answers and a fresh perspective to problems that have plagued communities for generations and two, that our short term volunteer work is more helpful than harmful. Pastor David Docusen weaves personal stories of learning, embarrassment and hope with the evolution of his church, Center City Church (Orlando, FL), moving from an affluent part of the city to an impoverished part.
A movie based on the true story told in the book, “Just Mercy.” It tells the story of lawyer Bryan Stevenson (played by Michael Jordan), who works to overturn the wrongful conviction of an African-American man named Walter McMillian (played by Jamie Foxx).
When George Floyd was murdered in May of 2020, we were awakened to our own ignorance. We lacked the theology or words to articulate why his death impacted us so deeply. This began a journey to understanding the origins of racism in our country and churches.
A true story about America’s criminal justice system and how it treats people of color, the poor, the wrongly convicted, and the wrongly condemned. The material is heavy, but the author is hopeful despite his years of seeing terrible injustice.
A fantastic, thorough read penned with humility, nuance and honesty. If you are looking for an extensive resource on your journey towards racial reconciliation or are wondering what that process entails this is the book for you.
Associate professor at North Park Theological Seminary (Chicago, IL) Soong-Chan Rah meticulously goes through the five chapters of Lamentations providing a theological framework for lament while simultaneously critiquing the American church . He argues that American exceptionalism and its theology of praise has pushed out the important practice of lament in the American church.
A sobering, challenging speech where Mark Charles argues that America does not know about race, gender and America’s history.
Author Jemar Tisby traces the intertwining of race, the church and politics into the 21st century in his 12-part study series with episodes ranging from 5 to 26 minutes that starts in the 1400’s.
Baylor University professor George Yancey says that the white fragility term has some truths, but there is a better way to engage in dialogue and come up with solutions between people of different colors.
