To further our Lenten theme, Love At The Center, we invite you on a journey toward racial justice. Each week we will provide readings, videos, and prayers to help you explore your feelings, understandings and knowledge about your role in moving toward racial justice in our church community and beyond. All of these devotionals and resources were shared during our three Racial Justice Workshops. It is our hope that those who were unable to attend these workshops will find these resources helpful. Please choose which resources you feel are most helpful to you. Each devotional begins with "Words to Ponder" and ends with a prayer. We hope each weekly reflection provides a depth of rich resources for you to choose from.
Today’s Words to Ponder:
"I am white. I have spent years studying what it means to be white in a society that proclaims race meaningless, yet is deeply divided by race. This is what I have learned: Any white person living in the United States will develop opinions about race simply by swimming in the water of our culture. But mainstream sources — schools, textbooks, media — don’t provide us with the multiple perspectives we need. Yes, we will develop strong emotionally laden opinions, but they will not be informed opinions. Our socialization renders us racially illiterate. When you add a lack of humility to that illiteracy (because we don’t know what we don’t know), you get the break-down we so often see when trying to engage white people in meaningful conversations about race."
~Dr. Robin DiAngelo, Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism
Meaningful conversations about race depend upon understanding the responsibilities of those who possess “power” and “privilege.” Dr. Ken Hardy, a Professor of Family Therapy at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Director of the Eikenberg Institute for Relationships in New York, New York, addresses the tasks of the privileged in this clip. He also offers suggestions on how we can have conversations about race, with each member of the group maintaining their dignity.
To understand how our friends of color can feel as though their sense of self has been assaulted and how their dignity has been punctured during discussion and interactions, checkout this clip from Dr. Hardy. Of particular interest is his analogy of the board, the nail and the holes.
Our Daily Prayer:
God, in our search for racial justice and equality, help us listen to everyone with an open heart. Let us walk beside our brothers and sisters of color as they learn their true identity among friends and fellow Christians.
Amen.
