The congregation supports racial justice and has an ongoing exploration into white supremacy, white fragility, and racial justice as a part of individual and community work towards creating a more racially just society. The resources below were included in congregational programs, and are offered here as resources for personal exploration.

Race Matters Book Group – September 2018 through May 2019

Rev. Linda Hart led a Racial Justice/White Fragility book discussion group that met monthly from September 2018 through May 2019. Everyone was invited to take part in reading and exploring, though it was particularly focused on understanding white experiences and coming to terms with white supremacy culture.

Books the group read and discussed included:

• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson
• Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper
• Revisiting the Empowerment Controversy: Black Power and Unitarian Universalism by Mark Morrison-Reed

Other resources explored included:

• Scene on Radio Podcast: Season 2 “Seeing White”
• Serial Podcast Season 3: Explores the justice system in Cleveland

Race Matters Discussion Group – September through December 2020

The Social Justice Committee organized and facilitated the Race Matters Discussion Group: Thinking Critically About Racism + Whiteness. The group met monthly, and focused on four areas: Racism 101, White Privilege, White Supremacy Culture, and White Feminism. Wherever a participant was on their anti-racist journey, they were invited to participate in a four-session discussion group to deepen understanding of anti-racism in action through guided readings, podcasts, and videos. Preparation for each session required 2-3 hours, and resources for each topic are listed below.

Racism 101: Race Matters Discussion Group #1

Readings:

Racism 101: Understanding Race and Racism : SURJ: Standing Up for Racial Justice – curriculum

Definitions: Racial Equity Tools Glossary

“Racial Micro-aggressions: examples and phrases for productive dialog” CNN, Kristen Rogers, June 6, 2020

“Honor the biracial/multiracial experience” Anti-Racism Daily, July 7, 2020

Videos:

“What it takes to be racially literate” TEDTalk by Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo, November 2017

“How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time” TED Talk by Baratunde Thurston, April 2019

“Race Matters: America in Crisis” PBS News Hour Special Report, June 6, 2020

Podcasts:

“Milliken v. Bradley” NPR Throughline podcast, July 25, 2019

“The Invention of Race”  WYNC Radio, June 23, 2020, Summary of Scene on Radio’s “Seeing White” Podcast Series

“Seeing White” Scene on Radio, Season 2, 14 Episode Podcast Series, Season 2, 2017

White Privilege: Race Matters Discussion Group #2

White Privilege Defined:

https://www.racialequitytools.org/glossary#white-privilege

https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/white-privilege.html

https://mneep.org/word/#post-4482

Sources:

“White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women Studies” Peggy McIntosh, 1988

Transforming White Privilege: A 21st Century Leadership Capacity, CAPD, MP Associates, World Trust Educational Services, 2012

Readings:

“White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” Peggy McIntosh, 1989

“The Dehumanizing Condescension of White Fragility” John McWhorter, The Atlantic, July 15, 2020

“Explaining White privilege to a Broke White Person” Gina Crosley-Corcoran

“The Assumptions of white privilege and what we can do about it” Bryan N. Massingale

Videos:

“How to recognize your white privilege – and use it to fight inequality” TED Talk by Peggy McIntosh, October 2012

“Racisms and Affluence: Tim Wise” October 13, 2015

Podcasts/Audio:

“What Can We Do About the White Savior Complex?” October 26, 2018

Reflections:

Take the “Privilege Points Questionnaire”

If you read Robin D’Angelo’s “White Fragility” or have heard about it, journal about your reaction to its criticism from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)

How do “white savior complex” and “white privilege” intersect?

White Supremacy Culture: Race Matters Discussion Group #3

Videos:

“The racial politics of time” Brittney Cooper, TED Talk

“The Same Old White Supremacy” Johnny Eric Williams, TED Talk

“English Class is Silencing Students of Color” Jamila Lyiscott, TEDxTheBenjaminSchool

Readings:

“White Supremacy Culture” SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice)

“The Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture” from Dismantling Racism: A Workbook for Social Change Groups by Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun, ChangeWork, 2001 

White Feminism: Race Matters Discussion Group #4

As you review the source materials, please select one quote or fact that either led to a personal “a-ha moment” or ties directly to a story from your past. Did something you learned change the way you think about that story or change how you tell that story?

Podcasts:

“Intersectional Feminism: What It Is and Why It Matters” Dear White Women Podcast

“How to Not Be a Karen” Unladylike Podcast with guest Mikki Kendall

Readings:

“When Feminism Is White Supremacy in Heels” by Rachel Elizabeth Cargle

“Indigenous feminism without apology” Andrea Smith, excerpted from Unsettling Ourselves: Reflections and Resources for Deconstructing Colonial Mentality

“How White Feminists Oppress Black Women: When Feminism Functions as White Supremacy” Monnica T. Williams

Additional Resources:

“Interrupting White Feminism” Multiple articles, SURJ (Showing Up For Racial Justice)

Videos:

“White feminism, white supremacy & the silencing of black women” Layla F. Saad

“City Planning’s Role in Black Maternal Mortality” Gabriella Nelson, TEDxPhiladelphia Talk

“Black Feminist” Poem by Jillian Christmas