Last week, our local school hosted a series of conversations about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Two things struck me: it seemed that every person in attendance had an earnest desire to learn more and put their learning into practice. And that most people also felt afraid and ill-equipped to do so.
Today is the last day of Black History Month, but the learning, and the (slow, messy, local) process of putting that learning into practice, can continue throughout the year and throughout our lives.
For me, having a child with a disability brought issues of privilege and marginalization to the center of my consciousness. I wanted to understand racism and ableism and all the other ways our society is structured that exclude some groups of people and elevate others to our mutual harm. I looked back to my childhood in eastern North Carolina and my adolescence in Connecticut, including the African American Studies courses I took in college, and I learned and thought and began that slow, messy, local work of putting that learning into practice.
If you, like me, want to be taking steps (even small steps) toward justice and belonging, here are a few resources from my own journey that might help you along the way:
- White Picket Fences: Turning towards love in a world divided by privilege
- Head Heart Hands: An Action Guide
- A 3-Day Civil Rights Tour Itinerary for Families
- Recommended Books, Podcasts, and Films about Race and Privilege
- Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast episodes:
- How a Mystery Series Tells Black History
- How to Cultivate Racial Healing
- The Beauty of Life Together
- The Beauty and Wounding of This Here Flesh
- Racism: Can Learning History Bring Healing?
- How Do We Fight Racism?
- How Kids Can Fight Racism
- Dear White Peacemakers
- Black Jesus, White Spaces, and Sacred Beauty
- What’s So Controversial About Critical Race Theory?
- God Has Something to Say About Privilege
- Reparations: Imagining Ways to Repair and Restore
- The White Church, Segregation, and Discipleship
- Choosing Courage in a World Divided
- Are Christians Afraid to Talk About Racism?
- Loving Our Enemies in a Nation Divided
- What Is Unjust About the Criminal Justice System
- The Black Church’s Gift to Christianity
- Now Is the Time for Justice
- Challenging Comfort, Acknowledging Power, and Using Privilege
- Our Different Stories Divide Us
- Waking Up to Privilege
