DISMANTLING RACISM Resources

St. Titus’, along with the entire Episcopal Church, is committed to ending the sin of racism. We believe we all have a part to play in this work. This page includes a number of resources that you may find helpful.

Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. – Prayer for the Oppressed (Book of Common Prayer, p. 826)

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. – Prayer for the Human Family (Book of Common Prayer, p. 815)

St. Titus‘

Solidarity Statement

Solidarity Litany

Pauli Murray Service

A service commemorating the life and witness of Blessed Pauli Murray, a saint on the Episcopal Church calendar. Murray was the first African American female priest ordained in the Episcopal Church. The service is held annually on or soon after July 1, Murray’s commemoration date on the Episcopal Church calendar.

Diocese of North Carolina

The Racial Justice and Reconciliation Committee (RJRC) is the body responsible for identifying the needs and potential solutions pertaining to racial inequities and white supremacy in the Diocese and in our churches. Some of their recommended programs are highlighted below.

BECOMING AN ANTI-RACIST CHURCH CURRICULUM

“Becoming an Anti-Racist Church” is a new mini-course designed to give participants a chance to review and unpack the concepts and vocabulary introduced in the two-day Racial Equity Institute (REI) Phase I anti-racism workshop. It has also been modified to allow participation from those who have not attended the REI training. The curriculum was developed and is offered by Episcopalians United Against Racism, a collaborative partnership that includes the diocesan Bishop’s Committee for Racial Justice and Reconciliation.

RACIAL EQUITY TRAINING

Racial Equity Institute (REI) Training provides an analysis of race and racism from a systems perspective. That is, it addresses racism not only from the standpoint of individual bias, but also by examining the historical roots of racism as it affects institutions—the church, education, health care, criminal justice, etc., and what effect that has on the opportunities that white people and people of color have. Although this is a secular training, people of faith are well-represented in each training, and conversations during the training address religious issues.

DIOCESAN ANTI-RACISM TRAINING

The RJRC recently updated, redesigned and renamed “Seeing the Face of God,” the previous diocesan anti-racism training program. A partnership among diocesan staff, the Racial Justice and Reconciliation Committee and notable consultants such as Dr. Catherine Meeks of the Absalom Jones Center in Atlanta, the new “Dismantling Racism: Reclaiming Our Baptismal Promise” is an interactive workshop designed to deepen spiritual commitment to dismantling racism as participants in the Jesus Movement. Through presentations, prayer, story sharing, videos and small group discussion, participants explore how the sin of racism impacts all lives.

The Racial Justice and Reconciliation Committee (RJRC) of the Diocese encourages each parish to have one or more members—clergy or lay—attend this training as a way to “seed” an understanding of racism from this perspective, and to have a common vocabulary and approach throughout the Diocese. To help defray the cost of the training, the Diocese, through the RJRC is offering subsidies to parishioners to attend.

Episcopalians United Against Racism (EUAR)

Episcopalians United Against Racism (EUAR) is an independent alliance of anti-racist Episcopalians from parishes primarily based in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. We are part of a growing movement of community members and people of faith who have devoted ourselves to the long-term, transformative work of creating racially equitable systems and organizations. Learn more here: https://www.euarofnc.org/

Here’s a link to the Racial Justice and Reconciliation page on the Diocesan website: https://www.episdionc.org/racial-justice-reconciliation/

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

The Episcopal Church has made a long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation and justice. The Church’s Becoming Beloved Community vision frames a path for Episcopalians to address racial injustice and grow as a community of reconcilers, justice-makers, and healers who share a passion for the dream of God. More information is available here: https://episcopalchurch.org/beloved-community

A comprehensive list of resources is available here: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/ministries/racial-reconciliation/

A Select List of Anti-Racism/Dismantling Racism Training Programs is available here: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/ministries/racial-reconciliation/resources/

BEYOND THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Articles

John Lewis: “Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/john-lewis-civil-rights-america.html?referringSource=articleShare

Journals and Magazines

Sojourners https://www.sojo.net

Racial Equity Resource Guide https://www.racialequityresourceguide.org

Yes! Magazine https://www.yesmagazine.org

Websites

Black Lives Matter. https://www.blacklivesmatter.com

Color of Change colorofchange.org

ColorLines https://www.colorlines.com

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) https://www.naacp.org

Southern Poverty Law Center. https://www.splcenter.org

Equal Justice Initiative. https://www.eji.org

Voices for Racial Justice. https://www.voicesforracialjustice.org

Books

Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo

Song in a Weary Throat by Pauli Murray

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

My Vanishing Country by Bakari Sellers

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

Having Our Say by Sara L. and A. Elizabeth Delany

The Rage of a Privileged Class by Ellis Cose

The Tears We Cannot Stop by Michael Eric Dyson

Between the World and Me by Ta-Neshi Coates

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Race Matters by Cornel West

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois

Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby by Stephen L. Carter

The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon

Black Power by Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) & Charles Hamilton

Why We Can” t Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Autobiography of Malcom X: As Told to Alex Haley

Roots By Alex Haley

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman

From Here to Equality: The Case for Reparations by Sandy Darity and Kirsten Mullen

Yet With a Steady Beat by Harold Lewis

Episcopalians & Race by Gardiner Shattuck

Race and Prayer by Malcolm Boyd and Chester Talton

America’s Original Sin by Jim Wallis

Our Time is Now by Stacey Abrams

Movies or Videos

Crash (2004)

Best of Enemies (2019)

Do the Right Thing (1989)

Selma (2014)

Amistad (1997)

Fruitvale Station (2013)

To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)

A Time to Kill (1996)

Just Mercy (2019)

The Hate U Give (2018)

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

12 Years A Slave (2013)

The Learning Tree (1969)

Dear White People (2014)

Moonlight (2016)

The Butler (2013)

A Raisin in the Sun (1961)

Imitation Of Life (1959)

In the Heat of the Night (1967)

The Birth of a Nation (2016)

One Night in Miami (2020)

Malcolm X (1992)

Documentaries

I Am Not Your Negro (2016)

13th (2016)

The Central Park Five (2012)

When They See Us (2019)

Scottsboro: An American Tragedy (2001)

Whose Streets? (2017)

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross (2013), (6 part series)

Reconstruction: America After the Civil War (2019) (4 part series)

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)

Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise (2018)

All In: The Fight for Democracy (2020)