Anti-Racism Awareness
THE TIME FOR SILENCE IS OVER…
From Pastor Kappus:
It’s difficult to see something we’ve been blind to - realize something that has been hidden from us. I know that I’ve had struggles in my life, horrible difficult things to deal with, but not one of them has been because my skin was white. I don’t understand the struggle of those who are oppressed because their skin color isn’t the same as mine and, honestly, I’ve been content in my unawareness. I’ve now come to realize, for that very reason, I am part of the problem. If you can make the same admission, I invite you to join me on a journey of new self-enlightenment and a commitment to doing and being better.
As a note, you can find much lengthier lists all over the internet. What I have tried to do here is give a sampling of resources to get us started. Further note, as a person who believes that he has benefitted from a system set up to support his skin color, and as a pastor of a church denomination that acknowledges its own complicity in perpetuating that system, the resources you will see here will be obviously pointed toward addressing that system.
A final invitation … if you read or see something that you think will help move change forward, share it and we’ll add it to the list.
WHAT TO READ
Suggested by Central Lutheran Church members and friends:
Grace Will Lead Us Home by Jennifer Berry Hawes - This is about the shooting of Reverend Clementa Pinckney during Bible Study at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston (The ELCA has established a commemoration for the Emanuel 9 on June 17, the anniversary of their deaths). While the topic is difficult, the learnings and discussions with people from the church and community are inspiring. Also, it includes the full text of the eulogy given by then-President Obama.
Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr. - A classic.
One Coin Found: How God's Love Stretches to the Margins by Emmy Kegler - This is written by a Lutheran Pastor in the Minneapolis area who is a lesbian. She describes her journey to becoming a Lutheran Pastor. It is a great read with inspiring stories that makes one both proud and ashamed to be Lutheran.
Articles:
Good Housekeeping Magazine - What Black Lives Matter Means (and Why It's Problematic to Say "All Lives Matter") - Think of it this way: Jesus cared about the 99 sheep he left in the pen, too, but he went after the one because it was the one in danger.
The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning The 1619 Project is as important as ever. It is worth taking the time to read.
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh (also see TedTalk video below). McIntosh creates a list of the ways privilege appears in her daily life. Very thought provoking.
Books:
(Due to the global interest in the topic of racism, many books are sold out in print copies. Some e-books are available. If you have a copy of one of these you are willing to share after reading, let us know.)
Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US by Lenny Duncan, an ELCA pastor in Vancouver, Wash. Lenny Duncan is the unlikeliest of pastors. Formerly incarcerated, he is now a black preacher in the whitest denomination in the United States: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Shifting demographics and shrinking congregations make all the headlines, but Duncan sees something else at work--drawing a direct line between the church's lack of diversity and the church's lack of vitality. The problems the ELCA faces are theological, not sociological. But so are the answers.
The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone - The cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African-American community. In this powerful new work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black people.
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown - Austin’s first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man.
WHAT TO WATCH
TedTalk - “How to Recognize White Privilege and Use It to Fight Inequality” by Peggy McIntosh
YouTube - Privilege/Class/Social Inequalities Explained in a $100 Race, a “game” which shows how some of us get a “head start” in life
The Hate U Give, a film based on the Young Adult novel offering an intimate portrait of race in America
Just Mercy, a film based on civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson’s work on death row in Alabama (currently offered for free rental on several streaming services)
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