In support of our vision for ELPC to live into its designation of being a Matthew 25 Church, the Facing Systemic Racism team recognizes that we cannot achieve this vision absent all of us being better informed about issues related to race, and, specifically African Americans in the United States. There are many resources available, so we will suggest a few options each week. Whether you chose from this list or have other books, films, etc., on this topic, please consider making time for this important faith work this summer. The FSR team challenges us to as a congregation read, watch, or listen to 1,000 books, TV programs, webinars, podcasts, or articles by Labor Day, September 7, 2020.
Below are resources for the upcoming week. Let us know what you and our family have watched, read, or listened to in the comment section!
Read
White Fragility is Everywhere. But Does Antiracism Training Work? by Robin DiAngelo
New York Times Magazine interview with the “White Fragility” author considers how the scope of impact a rise in interest in antiracist training is having now, and whether it will lead to real change.
Watch
The Cross and the Lynching Tree: A Requiem for Ahmaud Arbery by Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III
Pastor Moss delivers a sermon for a time such as this as he delivers a sermonic movie, preaching a requiem for Ahmaud Arbery – “A young man just shy of his 26th birthday stepped out into the sun and ran for the final time upon this earth . . .”
Listen
The Mind of the Village: Implicit Bias from NPR
This Hidden Brain podcast explores the science behind implicit bias, and how we can recognize and work against it
For Young Adults
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
This novel explores one teenager’s experience moving between her fancy suburban prep school and the poor neighborhood where she lives, and how her careful balance is shifted when an unarmed black friend is shot and killed by police. Also available as a movie (PG-13).
The Freedom House Ambulance Service in the Hill District of Pittsburgh was the forerunner of paramedic services across the US and the world. Systemic Racism was behind its establishment as well as its dismantling.This podcast is a personal accounting of both.
http://rssr.link/1jATx
I attended 3 sessions of the 2020 Pitt Diversity Forum Advancing Social Justice:A Call to Action (July 28-30).
The Hate U Give provides an in depth and multi-faceted look at the life of a Black family which is struggling to provide their children with a quality education at a predominantly White private school, while maintaining their connection to and involvement in the Black community which is home. The story is told from the perspective of Starr, the teenage daughter who has witnessed deaths of best friends due to gun violence. Once a gang drive-by, the second time, murder by a policeman