Building Bridges: Racial Reconciliation and Understanding
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Many of you have asked for tools to educate yourselves or your families. As Christians we must acknowledge pain and injustice when they exist. As realists we must acknowledge that any passionate topic can provoke partisan politics. How then should we respond to the request for resources?
On reflection, we need to seek the center, where all voices can be heard and where we can experience gracious open-minded dialogue. To do this well, we have to place our confidence in you. So we will. We believe in your compassion for those who suffer from racism, your desire to add understanding to your empathy and your motivation to promote racial equality where you can. This gives us confidence you can handle a resource list that includes cries of anguish, passionate appeals, personal points of view and well reasoned essays. If you are troubled by opinions expressed in a particular source, set it aside for now. Yet, keep this in mind, the critical skill learned by all superb therapists is to hear the pain, fear and anger of a client, even when it is amplified or distorted. Aspire to the interpersonal arts of the Holy Spirit. If we only listen to opinions we agree with, we will not grow. If we only value people like ourselves, we will neglect or reject some of God’s other children. We on senior staff don’t agree with every viewpoint expressed in the resources, yet we hope to hear and value each voice represented. More than some members, we are comfortable with strong disagreement between friends. Resources include books, essays, videos and movies. You can improve our resources by emailing your suggestion to our research team for racial equality issues. |
Join a Conversation
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We know that Amazon can be the easiest way to order books online…but would you consider order a book from a Black-owned bookstore? Here are two in California:
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Recommendations from Black Christian Leaders
AUSTIN CHANNING BROWN, AUTHOR OF I'M STILL HERE
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ELIZABETH WOODSON, MINISTER AND THEOLOGIAN
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LECRAE, CHRISTIAN HIP HOP RECORDING ARTIST, SONGWRITER, MUSIC EXECUTIVE, AND ACTOR
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For Children and Families
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Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners
A list of books that "demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values,” searchable by age, from 2 years to 13+. |
1000 Black Girl Books
A list of books with black girls as protagonists, curated by a 13-year-old Marley Dias. |
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Teacher Brittany Smither provides a twitter thread listing children's books that discuss race and racism.
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Visit our children's ministry page for more resources specifically designed for parents with elementary or younger children
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Other Voices Interpreting Culture
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City Journal Article: Mexifornia, Five Years Later
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TED TALKS, TABLE TALKS, AND PODCASTS
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FILMS/MINI-SERIES
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