Anti-Racism Resources
“Thank God people are in the streets, refusing to accept what has been seen as normal for far too long. What a shame it would be if this nation could watch a policeman murder another human being, then pose like a hunter with his prey while his colleagues looked on, and there not be protest, anguish, anger, outrage, and moral disruption.”
– Rev. Dr. William Barber & Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, Poor People’s Campaign
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From the Alliance of Baptist, ABHMS & BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz
(FAITH LEADERS: We invite you and your organizations to also sign onto this statement. Click here to sign on now.)
We have seen with dismay, pain and horror the destructive mark of racism on the soul of the U.S. Throughout our history, racism being the backbone of this nation’s development and unjust enrichment of many has become the choking source of Black communities and people of color affecting every aspect of our collective life. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed these racial inequities that hurt Black and brown communities by hindering their access to health but also their development, freedom, and pursuit of happiness. George Floyd’s words became prophetic for as a nation, we can’t breathe anymore. READ MORE
“As the world has been quiet because of quarantine, racism and state violence continue to wreak havoc on the oppressed. But you, O God, shout Black Lives Matter alongside protestors. And you, O Christ, understand State suffering and stand in solidarity with them.”
–Timothy Wotring, member of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship’s Activist Council-
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Minnesota FreedomFund
Your Local Bail Fund (Not familiar with bail funds? Learn more here.)
Communities United Against Police Brutality
Other Community Groups In Minnesota
An evolving list compiled by Reclaim the Block of community groups and people who need support
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CONGREGATIONAL ACTION TOOLKIT: TO STOP RELYING ON POLICE
from Showing Up for Racial Justice • SURJ-Faith has created this toolkit for white faith/spiritual leaders and congregations to examine our relationship to policing and police violence, and to #DefundPolice within our own congregational contexts. This project is an act of accountability to people of color who are asking white people to join them in imagining and taking action toward a world without policing. This project is also an act of love for all of us, because we know that policing does not work to keep any of us safe.
by Tema Okun, dRworks, www.dismantlingracism.org • This is a list of characteristics of white supremacy culture that show up in our organizations. Culture is powerful precisely because it is so present and at the same time so very difficult to name or identify. These characteristics are damaging because they are used as norms and standards without being proactively named or chosen by the group. They are damaging because they promote white supremacy thinking. Because we all live in a white supremacy culture, these characteristics show up in the attitudes and behaviors of all of us – people of color and white people. Therefore, these attitudes and behaviors can show up in any group or organization, whether it is white-led or predominantly white or people of color-led or predominantly people of color.
DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?: A CALL TO THE WORK OF ANTIRACISM
from the Alliance of Baptists • A conversation with James A. Forbes, Jr and Mahan Siler • This conversation took place on Dec 14 and was moderated by Christine Wiley and Nancy Hastings Sehested. • Read James A. Forbes Jr’s manifesto. • Read Mahan Siler’s manifesto.
THE END OF POLICING (FREE E-BOOK)
by Alex S. Vitale • “This book attempts to spark public discussion by revealing the tainted origins of modern policing as a tool of social control. It shows how the expansion of police authority is inconsistent with community empowerment, social justice—even public safety. Drawing on groundbreaking research from across the world, and covering virtually every area in the increasingly broad range of police work, Alex Vitale demonstrates how law enforcement has come to exacerbate the very problems it is supposed to solve. In contrast, there are places where the robust implementation of policing alternatives - such as legalization, restorative justice, and harm reduction - has led to a decrease in crime, spending, and injustice. The best solution to bad policing may be an end to policing.”
HOW I BECAME A POLICE ABOLITIONIST
by Derecka Purnell, human rights lawyer • from The Atlantic
RACIAL CAPITALISM: A READING LIST
from Haymarket Books • A reading list to understand WHY and HOW Black people experience anti-blackness.
POLICING IN THE USA: A TIMELINE FROM 1492-PRESENT
From Critical Resistance Oakland and Working Families
Mapping Police Violence is a research collaborative collecting comprehensive data on police killings in the United States to quantify the impact of police violence in communities. This information has been meticulously sourced from the three largest, most comprehensive and impartial crowdsourced databases on police killings in the country: FatalEncounters.org, the U.S. Police Shootings Database and KilledbyPolice.net. Additional extensive research has been done to further improve the quality and completeness of the data; searching social media, obituaries, criminal records databases, police reports and other sources to identify the race of 90 percent of all victims in the database.
DEFUND POLICE: AN ANIMATED VIDEO
From Project Nia & Blue Seat Studios
This four-minute animated video is made with young people in mind but can be a useful introduction to basic #DefundPolice concepts for all ages. Please watch and share with educators, organizers, parents, friends. You can also dive deeper with this discussion guide.
THE SPIRITUAL WORK OF OVERCOMING RACISM
a collection of resources from The Upper Room
RESOURCES FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND ACTIONS FOR BLACK LIVES
from Black Lives Matter
from The Movement for Black Lives
ANTI-RACISM RESOURCES FOR WHITE PEOPLE
*ANTI-RACISM RESOURCES
from the Alliance of Baptists
DISMANTLING WHITE PRIVILEGE, POWER, AND SUPREMACY: READING LIST
from Boston University School of Theology
BLACK LIVES MATTER: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
A webinar bringing together leading Black theologians and partners to explore the impact and theological work needed to address the consistent killings of Black people.
WHITE RAGE: THE UNSPOKEN TRUTH OF OUR NATION'S DIVIDE (VIDEO)
Carol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler Professor and Chair of African American Studies, Emory University, April 9, 2018
I AM HUMAN, SO I MUST BE STEREOTYPED (VIDEO)
To start a conversation around stereotyping and prejudice
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“The systemic becomes personal. Racism kills. And we must root it out of our systems which infect individuals with consequences as deadly as the COVID-19. The killing of black people by police officers must stop. Our attention from this essential work must not be diverted by the rage that erupts from black communities when the deaths mount and tepid official responses ensure that no change will come. Black lives matter.”
–Rev. Michael Livingston, Pastor, The Riverside Church
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ACTIONS AND DEMANDS FROM M4BL WEEK OF ACTION
from The Movement for Black Lives
5 WAYS WHITE PEOPLE CAN TAKE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO WHITE AND STATE-SANCTIONED VIOLENCE
from Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
ADD YOUR NAME TO THE LIST OF SYSTEMIC DEMANDS TO END THE WAR ON BLACK PEOPLE
from Color of Change
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From Rev. Douglas Avilesbernal, Executive Minister of the ABC-USA Evergreen Association
A LETTER TO WHITE CHARLOTTEANS
By Rev. Dr. Benjamin Boswell, Myers Park Baptist Church & Revs. Greg and Helms Jarrell, QC Family Tree
Other contributors: Rev. LeDayne McLeese Polaski, MeckMin; Rabbi Asher Knight, Temple Beth El; Imam John Ederer, Muslim Community Center of Charlotte
(Note: While this letter is specifically directed to the white residents of Charlotte, North Carolina, the information included is applicable to white people everywhere and calls for a commitment from white people to do all they can to dismantle White Supremacy.)
By Rev. Elijah Zehyoue • Associate Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church • Washington, DC
PENTECOST: A CALL TO REPENTANCE
By Greg Jarrell • Co-founder of QC Family Tree • Charlotte, NC • from the "It Ends Now" rally/march in Charlotte on May 31, 2020
By Doris Garcia Rivera • Former Interim Executive Director of BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz
By Rev. LeDayne McLeese Polaski • Executive Director of Mecklenburg Ministries • Charlotte, NC
From Peace Community Church • Oberlin, OH
WHAT WE SHOULD DO TO HEAL FROM MR. GEORGE FLOYD’S MURDER AND ITS AFTERMATH
By Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr.• senior pastor of the First Institutional Baptist Church • Phoenix, AZ
JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD: WHAT WENT WRONG AND HOW TO MAKE IT RIGHT
By Rev. Wendell Griffen, posted on Baptist News Global
From Faith in Action
AN ACCOUNT FROM ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
From Rev. Gini Gerbasi • intro by Ray Schellinger
From the United National Antiwar Coalition
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*GOD OF WIND AND FIRE
By Greg Jarrell • Co-founder of QC Family Tree • Charlotte, NC
By Karen Bryant Shipp • Oakhurst Baptist Church • Decatur, GA USA
*THE SPIRIT THAT
By Rev. Kaeley McEvoy • from The Resistance Prays e-newsletter
*LET THE FLAMES OF JUSTICE ROAR
By Rev. Kaeley McEvoy • from The Resistance Prays e-newsletter
By Rev. Abby Mohaupt • from The Resistance Prays e-newsletter
