Shorter Reads

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• Perspectives on Critical Race Theory and teaching about racial history:

  • Education Week (a source that is relatively neutral) - "What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack?”  

  • Op-Ed from Charlotte Observer - NC Bishops: Critical Race Theory bill sets NC on the wrong path

 

 

 

• Statement on the Death of George Floyd – Rev. Dr. Brian Blount (President, Union Theological Seminary)

 

• Four Myths About White Supremacy That Allow It To Continue

 

• Being Antiracist; types of racism – by the National Museum of African American History & Culture

 

• The Economic State of Black American in 2020; a report by the Joint Economic Committee (US Congress) – See first two pages 

 

• Glossary of Racial Equity Terms – from Princeton Theological Seminary

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Books

There are innumerable books on race today.  Below is a short list:

 

• Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debbie Irving -- this is a good early book to read on the advantages of being white. FPC used the book and a PCUSA guide book in 2017. 

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• Just Mercy, A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson – another early book to read by the famed lawyer, dealing with inequities in our criminal justice system.  It’s a story of how he got involved in this work.

 

• How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi – this is a fairly technical book on how to combat racism.  Kendi is the most recognized source for understanding the concept of antiracism.

 

• White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity by Robert P. Jones – another harder book to read, which makes the case that the white Christian Church has played the lead role in establishing and maintaining white supremacy and resisting black equality. 

 

• Members of the Antiracism Committee also liked the following books: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents and The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo, Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy by David Zucchino, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith.

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• A video message to white clergy by Rev. Carlton A Rhoden (6:25) (from National Black Presbyterian Caucus web site) 

 

• "The difference between being 'not racist'and anti-racist" (51:05) - Interview of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi about racism and antiracism by TED facilitators in May 2020.  

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• The Ezra Kline Show podcast,  "What's really behind the 1619 backlash?" An Interview with Nikole Hannah-Jones and Ta-Nehisi Coates (1:19:12).  These two Pulitzer Prize winning Black journalists are asked about many racial issues, including the "1619 Project" which was led by Hannah-Jones.

 

• Be Antiracist podcast with Ibram Kendi - Kendi interviews other experts

 

• From Wake to Woke, the Anti-Racist Journey podcast 

• Continue to educate yourself on racial history and current issues.  Ask yourself how being a Christian / Presbyterian supports these causes, and act based on this.

 

• Do the Racial Equity 21-day Challenge.   Each day you’ll receive an e-mail with links to sites where you will learn about facets of racial equity.   Many in FPC have completed this challenge. 

 

• Join an Advocacy Committee subcommittee (Homelessness and Housing, Anti-Racism, Equity in Education, Plowshares Book Read, Communications) (See contacts at the bottom of this page.)

 

• In the fall of 2021, the Anti-Racism committee will be offering a framework for groups in the church to use to work towards becoming antiracist

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A longer list of resources can be found on the Anti-Racism Formation pages of the Princeton Seminary website