Discipleship: The Art of Listening

Each week I am putting up a video on Wednesday on my congregation's Facebook page called

"Wednesday Words on Discipleship" as we try and navigate today's climate as true and authentic disciples of Christ. You can find these videos by clicking HERE. This week I acknowledge that here in rural Iowa it may seem like racism and/or white supremacy don't exist. We are privileged to live in such a place where we don't have to witness these things on a daily basis, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Just because a rich person lives in a rich neighborhood and never encounters poverty doesn't mean poverty doesn't exist. So it is with racism and white supremacy. These are things we might be able to say 'out of sight, out of mind.' or 'not my problem,' but in the age of mass media we can no longer claim ignorance. And as the body of Christ, we must acknowledge the interconnectedness of all things. We are ONE in Christ and if our body has a wound, we must join in the efforts towards healing. We cannot separate our experience from the experience of our siblings of color for we are ONE. We share one body. When one of us is crying out in pain, we all cry out in pain. If you are privileged enough to LEARN about racism and white supremacy rather than experiencing them, then I challenge you to learn the stories of your siblings who may not look like you, but share the same image of God.

LISTEN to your neighbors.

LISTEN to their stories through movies, TV, documentaries, Youtube videos, podcasts, etc.

HEAR their experiences by reading books, articles, and more.

Let's talk about what we learn.

What shocks you? What rubs against your skin like sandpaper? What makes you weep? What makes you angry? What inspires you to join in the march toward justice and peace? What connects with your identity in Christ?

This list of resources is an extension of the one found here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BRlF2_zhNe86SGgHa6-VlBO-QgirITwCTugSfKie5Fs/edit

WATCH

AMAZON PRIME

Fruitvale Station

I Am Not Your Negro (also on Netflix)

Just Mercy

Selma

The Color of Compromise

Loving

The BlacKkKlansman

Blindspotting

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975

Clemency

Detroit (also on Hulu)

Remember the Titans

NETFLIX

When They See Us (The Central Park Five)

13th

American Son

Dear White People

See You Yesterday

Teach Us All

Flint Town

Time – The Kalief Browder Story

Let it Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992

Moonlight

Freedom Writers (also on Hulu)

HULU

The Hate U Give

If Beale Street Could Talk

Emanuel

YOUTUBE (click for direct links)

Environmental Racism is the New Jim Crow (The Atlantic) (1:28)

The Look (Proctor & Gamble) (1:47)

Dear Child: When Black Parents have to give “The Talk” (3:06)

Clint Smith: The Danger of Silence (Ted Talk) (4:23)

Race and Redlining: Housing Segregation in Everything (NPR) (6:37)

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man (9:28) (multiple episodes)

Van Jones: The Economic Injustice of Plastic (Ted talk) (17:34)

"How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion" | Peggy McIntosh (Ted Talk) (18:26)

Megan Ming Francis: Let’s Get to the Root of Racial Injustice (Ted talk) (19:38)

Black Feminism & the Movement for Black Lives: Barbara Smith, Reina Gossett, Charlene Carruthers(50:48)

Dr. Robin DiAngelo discusses 'White Fragility' (1:23:30)

Eyes on the Prize (PBS) (50 mins) (multiple episodes)

READ

Books

• Dear Church by Lenny Duncan

• I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown

• Between The World and Me by Ta Nehisi Coates

• The Color of the Law by Richard Rothstein

• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum

• Be The Bridge by Latasha Morrison

• The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone

• Evicted by Matthew Desmond

• Rethinking Incarceration by Dominique DuBois Gillard

• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

• The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby

• March by John Lewis

• The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton

• Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi

• Reading While Black by Rev. Esau McCaulley

• One Person, No Vote by Carol Anderson

• Bread for the Resistance by Donna Barber

• Mindful of Race by Ruth King

• An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

• Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

• The Third Option by Miles McPherson

• White Fragility by Robin Diangelo

• Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins

• Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper

• Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

• How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

• Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color by Andrea J. Ritchie

• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

• Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

• Raising Our Hands by Jenna Arnold

• Redefining Realness by Janet Mock

• Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

• The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs

• The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

• This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Cherríe Moraga

• When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson

Articles & Other Resources (click for direct links)

• “America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer | Atlantic (May 8, 2020)

• Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement (Mentoring a New Generation of Activists)

• ”My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas | NYT Mag (June 22, 2011)

• The 1619 Project (all the articles) | The New York Times Magazine

• The Combahee River Collective Statement

• “The Intersectionality Wars” by Jane Coaston | Vox (May 28, 2019)

• Tips for Creating Effective White Caucus Groups developed by Craig Elliott PhD

• “Where do I donate? Why is the uprising violent? Should I go protest?” by Courtney Martin (June 1, 2020)

• ”White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Knapsack Peggy McIntosh

• “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | Atlantic (May 12, 2020)

• 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice

• Anti-Racism Project

• Jenna Arnold’s resources (books and people to follow)

• Rachel Ricketts’ anti-racism resources

• Resources for White People to Learn and Talk About Race and Racism

• Save the Tears: White Woman’s Guide by Tatiana Mac

• Showing Up For Racial Justice’s educational toolkits

• “Why is this happening?” — an introduction to police brutality from 100 Year Hoodie

• Zinn Education Project’s teaching materials

LISTEN (Podcasts)

• 1619 (New York Times)

• About Race

• Code Switch (NPR)

• Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw

• Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast

• Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights)

• Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)

• Seeing White

• The Diversity Gap

• Truth’s Table

• Reclaiming My Theology

Resources for white parents to raise anti-racist children: (click for direct links)

• Books:

• Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners: books for children and young adults

• 31 Children's books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance

• Podcasts:

• Parenting Forward podcast episode ‘Five Pandemic Parenting Lessons with Cindy Wang Brandt’

• Fare of the Free Child podcast

• Integrated Schools podcast episode “Raising White Kids with Jennifer Harvey”

• Articles:

• How White Parents Can Talk To Their Kids About Race | NPR

• Teaching Your Child About Black History Month | PBS

• Your Kids Aren't Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup from Pretty Good

• The Conscious Kid: follow them on Instagram and consider signing up for their Patreon

Organizations to follow on social media:

• Antiracism Center: Twitter

• Audre Lorde Project: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• Black Women’s Blueprint: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• Color Of Change: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• Colorlines: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• The Conscious Kid: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• Equal Justice Initiative (EJI): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | eji.org

• Families Belong Together: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• Justice League NYC: Twitter | Instagram + Gathering For Justice: Twitter | Instagram

• The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• The Movement For Black Lives (M4BL): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• MPowerChange: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• Muslim Girl: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• NAACP: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | naacp.org

• National Domestic Workers Alliance: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• RAICES: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• SisterSong: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• United We Dream: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• The Next Question: https://www.tnqshow.com/

• The Marshall Project: Instagram | themarshallproject.org

• Sojo / Sojourners: Instagram | sojo.net

• Black Lives Matter: Blacklivesmatter.com

• Southern Poverty Law Center: splcenter.org

• Campaign Zero: joincampaignzero.org

• Poor Peoples Campaign: Instagram | poorpeoplescampaign.org

• We Welcome Refugees: Instagram | wewelcomerefugees.com

• The Innocence Project: Instagram | innocenceproject.org

• Know Your Rights Camp: Instagram | knowyourrightscamp.com