Racial and ethnic hostility is one of the most pervasive problems the church faces. What should our response be in a work torn apart by prejudice, hatred, and fear? In this book, Brenda Salter McNeil and Rick Richardson provide a model of racial reconciliation, social justice, and spiritual healing that creates both individual and communal transformation.
Fire in the Heart uncovers the dynamic processes through which some white Americans become activists for racial justice. The book reports powerful accounts of the development of racial awareness drawn from in-depth interviews with fifty white activists in the fields of community organizing, education, and criminal justice reform. Drawing extensively on the rich interview material, Mark Warren shows how white Americans can develop a commitment to racial justice, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because they embrace the cause as their own. Contrary to much contemporary thinking on racial issues focused on altruism or interests, Warren finds that cognitive and rational processes alone do little to move whites to action. Rather, the motivation to take and sustain action for racial justice is profoundly moral and relational. Warren shows how white activists come to find common cause with people of color when their core values are engaged, as they build relationships with people of color that lead to caring, and when they develop a vision of a racially just future that they understand to benefit everyone--themselves, other whites, and people of color. Warren also considers the complex dynamics and dilemmas white people face in working in multiracial organizations committed to systemic change in America's racial order, and provides a deeper understanding and appreciation of the role that white people can play in efforts to promote racial justice. The first study of its kind, Fire in the Heart brings to light the perspectives of white people who are working day-to-day to build not a post-racial America but the foundations for a truly multiracial America rooted in a caring, human community with equity and justice at its core.
For Christians, pursuing racial justice and reconciliation begins with following Scripture and the voice of the Holy Spirit, asking God to give us new eyes and hearts. In this five-session Bible study, readers will learn how the early church engaged with issues of reconciliation, and how we too can commit ourselves to discipleship, prayer, community, and witness in alignment with God's call.
“Illuminates the very heart of social justice and how it might be approached and nurtured through mindfulness practices in community and through the discernment and new degrees of freedom these practices entrain.” --from the foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn In a society where unconscious bias, microaggressions, institutionalized racism, and systemic injustices are so deeply ingrained, healing is an ongoing process. When conflict and division are everyday realities, our instincts tell us to close ranks, to find the safety of those like us, and to blame others. This book profoundly shows that in order to have the difficult conversations required for working toward racial justice, inner work is essential. Through the practice of embodied mindfulness--paying attention to our thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations in an open, nonjudgmental way--we increase our emotional resilience, recognize our own biases, and become less reactive when triggered. As Sharon Salzberg, New York Times-bestselling author of Real Happiness writes, “Rhonda Magee is a significant new voice I've wanted to hear for a long time—a voice both unabashedly powerful and deeply loving in looking at race and racism.” Magee shows that embodied mindfulness calms our fears and helps us to exercise self-compassion. These practices help us to slow down and reflect on microaggressions--to hold them with some objectivity and distance--rather than bury unpleasant experiences so they have a cumulative effect over time. Magee helps us develop the capacity to address the fears and anxieties that would otherwise lead us to re-create patterns of separation and division. It is only by healing from injustices and dissolving our personal barriers to connection that we develop the ability to view others with compassion and to live in community with people of vastly different backgrounds and viewpoints. Incorporating mindfulness exercises, research, and Magee's hard-won insights, The Inner Work of Racial Justice offers a road map to a more peaceful world.
Foreword INDIES 2020 Book of the Year Award (BRONZE Winner for Religion) "[A] powerful work. . . . Provides a road map for any Christian seeking greater racial justice."--Publishers Weekly Reconciliation is not true reconciliation without justice! Brenda Salter McNeil has come to this conviction as she has led the church in pursuing reconciliation efforts over the past three decades. McNeil calls the church to repair the old reconciliation paradigm by moving beyond individual racism to address systemic injustice, both historical and present. It's time for the church to go beyond individual reconciliation and "heart change" and to boldly mature in its response to racial division. Looking through the lens of the biblical narrative of Esther, McNeil challenges Christian reconcilers to recognize the particular pain in our world so they can work together to repair what is broken while maintaining a deep hope in God's ongoing work for justice. This book provides education and prophetic inspiration for every person who wants to take reconciliation seriously. Becoming Brave offers a distinctly Christian framework for addressing systemic injustice. It challenges Christians to be everyday activists who become brave enough to break the silence and work with others to dismantle systems of injustice and inequality.
Examines the history of racism in the United States from the Civil War to the twenty-first century and discusses the teaching efforts of the Catholic Church to put a stop to racism and promote reconciliation and justice.
In this spiritual memoir, a white woman in an interracial marriage and mixed-race family paints a beautiful path from white privilege toward racial healing, from ignorance toward seeing the image of God in everyone she meets. Author and speaker Cara Meredith grew up in a colorless world. From childhood, she didn't think issues of race had anything to do with her, and she was ignorant of many of the racial realities (including individual and systemic racism) in America today. A colorblind rhetoric had been stamped across her education, world view, and Christian theology. Then as an adult, Cara's life took on new, colorful hues. She realized that white people in her generation, seeking to move beyond ancestral racism, had swung so far in believing a colorblind rhetoric that they tried to act as if they didn't see race at all. When Cara met and fell in love with the son of black icon, James Meredith, the power of love helped her see color. She began to notice the shades of life already present in the world around her, while also learning to listen in new ways to black voices of the past. After she married and their little family grew to include two mixed-race sons, Cara knew she would never see the world through a colorless lens again. Cara Meredith's journey will serve as an invitation into conversations of justice, race, and privilege, asking key questions, such as: What does it mean to navigate ongoing and desperately needed conversations of race and justice? What does it mean for white people to listen and learn from the realities our black and brown brothers and sisters face every day? What does it mean to teach the next generation a theology of justice, reconciliation, and love? What does it mean to dig into the stories of our past, both historically and theologically, to see the imago Dei in everyone? Plus, Cara offers an extensive Notes and Recommended Reading section at the end of the book, so you can continue learning, listening, and engaging in this important conversation.
We can see the injustice and inequality in our lives and in the world. But how, exactly, does one reconcile? Based on her extensive work with churches and organizations, Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil has created a roadmap to show us the way. This revised and expanded edition shows us how to take the next step into unity, wholeness, and justice.
Miles McPherson, founder of The Rock Church in San Diego, presents “a discussion about race that we desperately need...a must read” (Bishop T.D. Jakes, Senior Pastor, The Potter’s House) and argues that we must learn to see people not by the color of their skin, but as God sees them—humans created in the image of God. Pastor Miles McPherson, senior pastor of The Rock Church in San Diego, addresses racial division, a topic many have shied away from, for fear of asking the wrong question or saying the wrong thing. Some are oblivious to the impact racism has, while others pretend it doesn’t exist. Even the church has been affected by racial division, with Sunday now being the most segregated day of each week. Christians, who are called to love and honor their neighbors, have fallen into culture’s trap by siding with one group against another: us vs. them. Cops vs. protestors. Blacks vs. whites. Racists vs. the “woke.” The lure of choosing one option over another threatens God’s plan for unity among His people. Instead of going along with the culture, Pastor Miles directs us to choose the Third Option: honoring the priceless value of God’s image in every person we meet. He exposes common misconceptions that keep people from engaging with those of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, and identifies the privileges and pitfalls that we all face. The Third Option challenges us to fully embrace God’s creativity and beauty, as expressed in the diversity of His people. By following the steps and praying the prayers outlined in his book, Pastor Miles teaches us how we can all become leaders in unifying our communities, our churches, and the nation.
In 2008 the United States elected its first black president, and recent polls show that only twenty-two percent of white people in the United States believe that racism is a major societal problem. On the surface, it may seem to be in decline. However, the evidence of discrimination persists throughout our society. Segregation and inequalities in education, housing, health care, and the job market continue to be the norm. Post 9/11, increased insecurity and fear have led to an epidemic of the scapegoating and harassment of people of color. Uprooting Racism offers a framework for understanding institutional racism. It provides practical suggestions, tools, examples, and advice on how white people can intervene in interpersonal and organizational situations to work as allies for racial justice. Completely revised and updated, this expanded third edition directly engages the reader through questions, exercises, and suggestions for action, and takes a detailed look at current issues such as affirmative action, immigration, and health care. It also includes a wealth of information about specific cultural groups such as Muslims, people with mixed-heritage, Native Americans, Jews, recent immigrants, Asian Americans, and Latinos. Previous editions of Uprooting Racism have sold more than fifty thousand copies. Accessible, personal, supportive, and practical, this book is ideal for students, community activists, teachers, youth workers, and anyone interested in issues of diversity, multiculturalism, and social justice. Paul Kivel is an award-winning author and an accomplished trainer and speaker. He has been a social justice activist, a nationally and internationally recognized anti-racism educator, and an innovative leader in violence prevention for over forty years.
