OUR PRO-BAPTISMAL / ANTI-RACIST JOURNEY
Opportunities To Engage, Learn, Listen & Grow
As we commit ourselves to engage, learn, listen and grow together on our pro-baptismal / anti-racist journey, know the work ahead will not be easy or quick. We may not always get it right. It will take patience, grace, growth and hard work. But it is the work we are called to do. It is the work of the Church. It is the work of our church.
As tip #16 in Be the Bridge’s Bridge-Building Tips for White People says, “Don’t give up. This will be a hard, lifelong process. Take care of yourself. Find community. Take time out to disconnect and process. Abide in the Word. Pray. Laugh. Cry. Yell. Sit quietly. Sing. Dance. Remember that our hope is in Jesus, who is present, and who sees all, and who grieves more deeply than you over racial oppression. Then come back and work hard again tomorrow. POC don’t get to step out of their skin and walk away the way we can. Remain, even when it’s harder than you imagined it could be, in solidarity.”
RESOURCES FROM OUR BE THE BRIDGE STUDY
Weekly resources from our study around the book Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison. Week One, Week Two, Week Three and Week Four.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR THE JOURNEY
REMEMBER OUR BAPTISMAL VOWS
Renounce, Resist & Reject Racism, a UMC.org feature by Ryan Dunn
An Anti-Racism/Pro-Baptism Conversation, On July 15, 2020, Rev. Lisa Yebuah and Rev. Greg Moore led a powerful conversation with our Church Council outlining a spiritual framework for our pro-baptismal/anti-racist journey.
GETTING STARTED TIPS
16 Bridge Building Tips for White People, from Be the Bridge
How to Really Listen from We’re Not Really Strangers
Be the Bridge 101: Foundational Principles Every White Bridge-Builder Needs to Understand
AFFIRM
The North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church’s Summons to Witness, Protest & Promise.
PRAY FOR CHANGE
Praying for Change: Daily Prayers for Anti-Racism from UMC Discipleship Ministries
A Prayer for the Church, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Turning to God in Days of Trouble – for when you need help with words
EXPLORE YOUR BIASES – WE ALL HAVE THEM
How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly towards them. TED Talk by Verna Myers
Who Me, Biased? a New York Times six short video series
Biased by Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt (check out her interview with Trevor Noah)
Bias resource from the National Museum of African American History & Culture
HAVING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE
Talking About Race, resources from the National Museum of African American History & Culture
Helpful Tips from a UMC Pastor in Ferguson, MO
The 8 Rs of Talking About Race: How to Have Meaningful Conversations by Net Impact
Want To Have Better Conversations About Racism With Your Parents? Here’s How, NPR
Comparing Debate, Discussion & Dialogue
TALKING WITH CHILDREN ABOUT RACE
Children Will Light Up the World if We Don’t Keep Them in the Dark, TED Talk by Lucretia Berry
Talking to Kids about Race, resource by National Geographic
Embrace Race, website resource for raising children
Raising Antiracist Kids: An Age by Age Guide for Parents of White Children by Rebekah Gienapp
Talking to Kids about Race and Racism – Part 1 & Part 2 from Be the Bridge
3 Experts on How to Raise Anti-racist Kids by Fast Company
How to Talk with Kids about Race, Privilege Amid George Floyd Protests, tips from Good Morning America
ARTICLES TO CONSIDER READING
Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of our Nation, by John Lewis
Renounce, Reject & Resist Racism, a UMC.org feature by Ryan Dunn
The Church Must Commit to a Longterm Fight Against Racism, by Dr. Eric Mason
15 Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes That Will Challenge You To Take Action from Relevant
Who Gets to Be Afraid in America? by Ibram X. Kendi
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh
Explaining White Privilege to A Broke White Person by Gina Crosley-Corcoran
21 Racial Microaggressions You Hear on a Daily Basis by Heben Nigatu
Guide to Allyship, created by Amélie Lamont
Reflections from a Token Black Friend by Ramesh A Nagarajah
Performative Allyship Is Deadly (Here’s What to Do Instead) by Holiday Phillips
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
The Average Black Family Would Need 228 Years to Build the Wealth of a White Family Today by Joshua Holland
Climbing the White Escalator by Betsy Leondar-Wright
Equity vs. Equality: Understanding the Differences by the UMC General Commission on Religion & Race
BOOKS TO CONSIDER READING
Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation by Latasha Morrison
Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi (other books suggested by this author)
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Byran Stevenson
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
A Spectacular Secret: Lynching in American Life and Literature by Jacqueline Goldsby
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy by David Zucchino
BOOKS FOR KIDS
25 Books about Protest, Pride and Promise by Black Authors
20 Books for 2020: Readings to Embrace Race, Provide Solace & Do Good from EmbraceRace
The Conscious Kid book subscriptions
10 Diverse Books to Teach Kids (preschool – 16) about Racism and Representation
Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper (ages 9-13)
Ghost Boys by Jewel Parker Rhodes (grades 4-8)
Dear Martin by Nic Stone (grades 9 & up)
The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas (grades 8 & up)
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You: Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds (young adult version, ages 12 & up)
Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story for the Fight for Justice by Bryan Stevenson (for ages 12 & up)
PODCASTS
Code Switch, an NPR podcast tackling race from all angles (an especially powerful episode: A Decade of Watching Black People Die)
Unlocking Us, Brene Brown interview with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist
Scene on Radio’s Seeing White Series (a few of the episodes have some political statements and language that might make you uncomfortable. Please keep going. The hard work before us is the work of learning and listening).
Truth’s Table, Michelle Higgins, Christina Edmondson and Ekemini Uwan – three Black Christian women who love truth and seek it out wherever it leads them.
Still Processing, a New York Times culture podcast with Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morrison
Be the Bridge Podcast, Awaking to Whiteness
1619, a New York Times series on how slavery has transformed America
On Being with Krista Tippet, many great episodes around what it means to be human
TED TALKS/VIDEOS
We Have a Choice by Jonathan Walton – Dean of the Wake Forest Divinity School
Tyler Merrit Project: Before You Call the Cops
How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly towards them. TED Talk by Verna Myers
Color blind or color brave? TED Talk by Mellody Hobson
Children Will Light Up the World if We Don’t Keep Them in the Dark, TED Talk by Lucretia Berry
How to Deconstruct Racism, One Headline at a Time, TED Talk by Baratunde Thurston
The Danger of a Single Story, TED Talk by Chimamanda Adiche
A Conversation on Race, a series of short films about identity in America (all under 7 minutes)
26 New York Times Mini-Films for Exploring Race, Bais & Identity with Students (and people of all ages)
Deconstructing White Privilege with Dr. Robin DiAngelo
SOCIAL MEDIA
Austin Channing Brown, author of I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
Ibram X. Kendi, the author of How To Be An Antiracist and Director of the Antiracism Center
Be The Bridge, a racial literacy organization – you can also join their Racial Unity FB Group
Black Coffee with White Friends
Osheta Moore, author of Shalom Sistas
Andre Henry, Writer, speaker, singer-songwriter
Margaret Brunson, local leader and speaker
Lisa Yebuah, Pastor, Southeast Raleigh Table
Nikkolas Smith, artist
MOVIES/DOCUMENTARIES
Just Mercy, a film based on civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson’s work on death row in Alabama
Race – The Power of Illusion, three episodes
The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, PBS series
Selma, a film that chronicles the marches of the Civil Rights Movement
The 1965 debate between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley
Let It Fall, a documentary looking at racial tensions in Los Angeles and the riots over Rodney King’s death
When They See Us, a Netflix miniseries from Ava DuVernay about the Central Park Five
13th, a Netflix documentary exposing racial inequality within the criminal justice system
I Am Not Your Negro, a documentary envisioning the book James Baldwin was never able to finish
The Hate U Give, a film based on the YA novel offering an intimate portrait of race in America
Becoming, a Netflix documentary following Michelle Obama on her book tour
Hidden Figures, a film about the brilliant African American women of NASA
Oberlin: A Village Rooted in Freedom
ACT
Get to know and support black-owned businesses and restaurants in our community and/or research the positions of business where you spend your dollars.
Explore Raleigh’s Black main street with new murals. Take a walking tour of Black main street and historic African American churches.
Support organizations doing racial justice work by donating your time, money, and other resources. Search and find ones that resonate with you.
WORKSHOPS/EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Brownicity – What Lies Between Us
African American History: From Emancipation to the Present, 2010 Yale University Class (free)
ANTI-RACISM RESOURCES FROM UNITED METHODIST GENERAL AGENCIES