At the beginning of the Bible, the author of the first chapter of Genesis tells the story that God created the entire world, and the first humans, and called everything good. Jesus teaches that the greatest commandment is to love God, love neighbor and love self. The teachings of our tradition impel us to be involved in the work of racial justice.
This page will be updated with resources and opportunities to help the Westminster community engage in the work of anti-racism.
Racial Justice Summer 2024 Film Series
The Racial Justice Working Group’s summer 2024 film series has concluded. Stay tuned to this page for announcements about future films and events.
Racial Justice Audit
The Mission Institute submitted its Racial Justice Audit report to Westminster. The Audit Task Force presented the audit to Session on October 25, 2022, with its recommendations for follow up. Click here for a short summary and here for a copy of the full report.
Westminster’s Land Story
This video was created by our Reckoning with Racism team. We have instituted small-group house meetings to view and discuss this story and how it relates to our personal land stories.
Barbie’s Village
Westminster’s Sacred Organizing team is working with Native groups (Future Generations Collaborative, https://www.fgcpdx.org), the Presbytery of the Cascades, and the Leaven Land & Housing Coalition on the vision of moving toward developing transitional housing and a resource center for unhoused Native American women and children on the campus of the former Presbyterian Church in Laurelhurst. For more information about Barbie’s Village, you can e-mail Barbie’s Village, barbiesvillagepdx@gmail.com.
Black Lives Matter Vigil
Every Sunday and Wednesday, noon until 1 p.m., Northeast Broadway & 14th/15th.
Racial Justice Reading Suggestions
The Racial Justice Working Group would like to share a reading list with the congregation. You can find their book recommendations on our webpage. This is just the beginning. More recommendations will follow.
Below are additional options for learning:
The racial justice film series previously discussed Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s PBS series, Reconstruction After the Civil War, which is available on PBS’s website to view with OPB Passport membership, on Amazon Prime with a PBS Documentaries subscription, or for free on YouTube (Parts 1 & 2 are available here. Parts 3 & 4 are available here.)
Watch “Just Mercy.” Based on the memoir by the civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” is a 2019 legal drama that tells the story of Walter McMillian, a black man convicted of murder who appeals his conviction with the help of Stevenson. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, it stars Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx. It is available through Netflix and is 137 minutes long.
Watch “Birth of a White Nation,” a 2014 presentation in which Jacqueline Battalora explains the social and economic justifications for creating the foundational basis in law for whiteness in colonial America and what life was like before those laws got passed. Dr. Battalora, Ph.D. and J.D., is a former Chicago police officer and the author of “Birth of a White Nation: The Invention of White People and Its Relevance Today.” It is 36 minutes long and is available on YouTube.
Check out “Thirteenth,” the documentary by Ava DuVernay that explores the ways in which a loophole in the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery gave rise to mass incarceration of Black people in the South in the wake of Reconstruction. The film, which is one hour and forty minutes long, is available for free and can be found on Netflix and YouTube.
Watch “I Am Not Your Negro.” It is a 2016 documentary is based on notes, manuscripts, and film clips from the life of the writer James Baldwin (1924-1987). Directed by Raoul Peck and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, the film explores Baldwin’s reminiscences of civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X, as well his observations about American history. It is available on Netflix.
We invite you click here to watch this 22-minute “sermonic movie” by the Reverend Dr. Otis Moss III, Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
If you’re just getting started on the work of anti-racism, become a student of history. Research how the Black Lives Matter movement got started.
Recommended Fiction
Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Water Dancer. Hiram Walker was born into bondage, robbed of all memory of his mother, but gifted with her mysterious power. “The Water Dancer is a bracingly original vision of the world of slavery, written with the narrative force of a great adventure.” It uses the inner life of Hiram to place us into his childhood and adult. Brings a powerful spiritual understanding of the life of the enslaved. Here is a link for watching Coates and Ibram Kendi in an engaging interview about the book.
Recommended Books for Children and Teens
https://www.bookbub.com/blog/kids-books-about-race
https://www.todaysparent.com/family/books/kids-books-that-talk-about-racism/
Doyin Richards, What’s the Difference? bright pictures and engaging language,. For ages 3–5.
Ibram X. Kendi, Antiracist Baby. “introduces the youngest readers and the grown-ups in their lives to the concept and power of antiracism. Providing the language necessary to begin critical conversations at the earliest age, toddlers and older.
Jacqueline Woodson, The Day You Begin. Ways we may feel different… and the beauty in having a conversation about it. For ages 5–8. [Anything by Jacqueline Woodson—up through Young Adult]
Lisa Moore Ramée, A Good Kind of Trouble. Can she break the rules to do what’s right? For young readers who are not quite old enough for The Hate U Give. For ages 8–12.
Jason Reynolds, Ghost. Ghost is chosen to join his elite middle school track team…. But he and his teammates couldn’t be more different, and they can’t stop clashing on and off the track. National Book Award finalist is a good discussion starter for parents and middle schoolers. For ages 10–13. [Anything by Jason Reynolds for Pre-Teens and YA]
Tiffany Jewell, This Book Is Anti-Racist. A “clear, compelling” guide with nearly 300 five-star ratings on Goodreads: This book helps teens better understand themselves and the world around them — and provides empowering tools for combating racism. Teens