Ahmaud Arbery Justice Conversation. 

A conversation…Are we doing justice?

On Monday, May 18,  Sr. Pastor Edrin Williams and a group of Sanctuary and community leaders convened a conversation in the wake of the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery & Breona Taylor. Together, they discussed race, trauma, faith, and our hopes for the future.

Participants were:

  • Rev. Edrin Williams
  • Rev. Rose Lee-Norman
  • Leah Fulton
  • Attorney Nadine Graves
  • Marcus Owens
  • Ginny Olson
View the video

SCC Racial Righteousness Resources (a working document**)

Racial righteousness is connected to the heart of God. The scriptures tell us that God loves justice and we see Jesus gravitate toward the people on the margins in his life and ministry. What is important to recognize is that this process is both personal and systemic. We each have a role to play in our personal lives and scope of influence as well as the systems that we are a part of. The resources below are guides to help you identify where you are seeking to make an impact and where you may need to start or continue in your own learning, growth, and development. 

The context of Sanctuary Covenant is in a historically Black community, founded by a Black pastor, committed to Black leadership. As a result, these resources largely center Black life, history, and experience. We also understand that racism is not a binary, but a caste system that also oppresses people of Asian, Latino/a, and Indigenous backgrounds. Use this resource guide as a starting point- not as a finish line.

** “Working Document” means that we’re looking to add to this list. If you have suggestions of podcasts, websites, etc., please email: RacialRighteousness@sanctuarycov.org

“You said God loves justice. Show me where it’s written.”

  • Book | The Cross and the Lynching Tree* by James Cone
  • Book| Rescuing the Gospel from the Cowboys by Richard Twiss
  • Book| Right Color, Wrong Culture by Bryan Loritts
  • Book | Might from the Margins by Dennis Edwards (pre-order your copy today!)
  • Book| The Brown Church by Robert Chao Romero
  • Book| Prophetic Lament by Soong Chan Rah

“I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

  • Book | My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem 
  • Book | The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van de Kolk
  • Book| I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
  • Book| Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Joy DeGruy
  • Book | “I am Not Your Negro Tour Guide: Truths in Black and White” Kathy Y. Wilson

“This is new to me. Where do I start?”

  • Book| Talking to Strangers – Malcolm Gladwell
  • Book| Toxic Charity by Robert Lupton
  • Book| Divided by Faith* by Christian Smith and Michael Emerson
  • Book | White Awake by Daniel Hill*
  • Book| Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart by Christena Cleveland
  • Book | Enter the River:  Healing Steps from White Privilege Toward Racial Reconciliation by Jodi Miller Shearer

“My family doesn’t understand why I care?”

  • Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent and How to Speak Up, by Kathy Khang
  • Book | Myths American Lives By: White Supremacy and the Stories that Give Us Meaning by Richard Hughes (second edition only)
  • Book | Following Jesus Without Dishonoring Your Parents, by Jeanette Yep, Peter Cha, et. al.

“I don’t know how to use my privilege.”

  • Book| Beyond Colorblind by Sarah Shin
  • Book| So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
  • Book| White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo  
  • Book | Rediscipling the White Church: From Cheap Diversity to True Solidarity by David Swanson 

“What’s wrong with waiting for the facts?”

  • Book | The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby *
  • Book| Unsettling Truths: the ongoing, dehumanizing legacy of the doctrine of discovery by Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah*
  • Book|Welcoming the Stranger by Matthew Sorenson & Jenny Yang

“I’m at Sanctuary. What more do I need to do?” or “I ran with Ahmuad. Now what?”

  • Book | How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi*
  • Podcast | Scene on Radio: Seeing White (series)*
  • Article| “Race Tests”: Racial Boundary Maintenance in White Evangelical Churches by Glenn E. Bracey II  Wendy Leo Moore
  • Book|Becoming Like Creoles: Living and Leading at the Intersections of Injustice, Culture, and Religion edited by Curtiss DeYoung
  • Book | Church Forsaken: practicing presence in neglected neighborhoods by Jonathan Brooks
  • Book | I Bring the Voices of My People: A Womanist Vision for Racial Reconciliation by Chanequa Walker-Barnes

“How do we change the systems?”

  • Book| White Awake by Daniel Hill
  • Book| The Racial Contract by Charles Mills 
  • Book | Rethinking Incarceration by Dominique Gilliard
  • Book | Becoming Brave: Finding the Courage to Pursue Racial Injustice Now by Brenda Salter-McNeil

“How come we’re not allowed to Never Forget?”

  • Book | The Black Church in the African American Experience by C. Eric Lincoln 
  • Book | Stamped from the Beginning by Ibrahim Kendi 
  • Book | Without Sanctuary by James Allen
  • Book| Katie’s Canon by Katie Cannon
  • Book| Beyond Roots: In Search of Black in the Bible by Dwight McKissic

Podcasts 

  • What is the Black Church? – https://www.nae.net/alexanderpodcast – This interview with Bishop Claude Alexander of Charlotte, NC gives a good historical description of the Black Church, explaining why aspects of the Black Christian experience has been proven effective in combating white supremacy, thus suggesting a way forward for some multiethnic churches
  • Scene on Radio: Seeing White (series)
  • Truth’s Table 
  • Code Switch 
  • The Front Porch 
  • The Liturgist – Episode 34 – Black and White: Racism in America

Experiences 

 

* These resources fit into more than one category.