Read
The pen has always been a potent tool in shedding light on societal injustices. The resources under this section offer profound insights into the structural, systemic, and interpersonal manifestations of racism. From church policies to gripping articles and transformative books, each reading piece promises to deepen your understanding of race and privilege. The act of reading allows for reflection, a moment of pause to introspect and examine one’s beliefs, and the space to grow in empathy and knowledge.
Studies
Read the PC(USA) Belhar Confession and reflect on how your church is using and living into it. Notice the structures and practices in your church. Raise questions about how they help or hinder racial equity.
Articles
10 Ways Well-Meaning White Teachers Bring Racism Into Our Schools, by Jamie Utt
What I learned when I recreated the famous ‘doll test’ that looked at how Black kids see race by Toni Sturdivant
21 Racial Microaggressions You Hear on a Daily Basis, by Heben Nigatu
Climbing the White Escalator, by Betsy Leondar-Wright
Explaining White Privilege To A Broke White Person, by Gina Crosley-Corcoran
Guide to Allyship, Created by Amélie Lamont
It’s Not Just the South: Here’s How Everyone Can Resist White Supremacy, by Sarah van Gelder
Making America White Again, by Toni Morrison
What White Children Need to Know About Race, by Ali MIchael and Elenora Bartoli
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, by Peggy McIntosh
Presbytery of Charlotte letter from Antiracism Team
My President Was Black, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Caught Up In God, by Willie James Jennings
Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?, by Ibram X Kendi
Trouble the Narrative There is a common narrative that the civil rights movement succeeded through only non-violent protest. But we need to trouble that narrative. By Austin Channing Brown.
Statement by Union Presbyterian Seminary President Brian K. Blount on the death of George Floyd.
The American Nightmare To be black and conscious of anti-black racism is to stare into the mirror of your own extinction. By Ibram X. Kendi
Here’s Why It Hurts When People Say, “All Lives Matter” A national youth advocate and educator explains why mattering means so much to black Americans. By L-Mani S. Viney.
Books
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Waking up White by Debbie Irving
How the World is Passed by Clint Smith
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson