Discovery Place Resources: Studies Focused on Dismantling Racism

It was so great to see many of you at the Discovery Place Resource Center table at Annual Conference! I enjoyed meeting people I have corresponded with regularly and catching up with folks I hadn’t seen in a while. We also appreciated those who stopped by to pick up the books and resources we were giving away on Thursday. 

Right after Annual Conference about 40 of us from Susquehanna Conference embarked on a Civil Rights Journey to the deep south, in which we visited sites that were significant in the history of the Civil Rights Movement in America. We gained so much valuable information but also realized that we as a Conference have a long way to go in dismantling racism. As we live into the vision of Building the Beloved Community, I’d like to call your attention to several books and DVD studies that will be helpful to your church. The DVD studies can be borrowed for whatever length of time you need them to complete them. They are:

Vital Conversations: Racism and the U.S. Church – Subtitled “Vital Conversations on Race, Culture, and Justice,” this was published by the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) of the United Methodist Church. Those of you who stopped by our table received a free copy of this DVD and workbook. If you didn’t get one, contact me and we’ll be sure to send you a copy, or you can borrow a copy from Discovery Place. 

Holding Up Your Corner: Video Stories About Race – Accompanied by a book of the same title by F Willis Johnson, this study will equip churches to begin addressing issues of race and justice in their communities.

Truth and Wholeness: Replacing White Privilege with God’s Promise –This 17-minute DVD follows individuals and churches through their awakening to white privilege. Included is an in-depth leader’s guide.

In addition to these videos, we have several books that your small group or Sunday School Class may want to consider studying. Since we have very limited copies of each, these may be borrowed for a one-month preview:

  

• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin DiAngelo
• White Awake: An Honest Look at What It Means to Be White, by Daniel Hill
• How To Be an Anti-Racist, by Ibram X Kendi
• Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools, by Monique W Morris
• I’m Black. I’m Christian. I’m United Methodist., by Rudy Rasmus and 9 others
• Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson
• Rediscipling the White Church: From Cheap Diversity to True Solidarity, by David W Swanson
• Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism, by Drew G I Hart
• Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation, by Latasha Morrison
• I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, by Austin Channing Brown
• Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret, by Catherine Coleman Flower

 

 

If your group would like to study a book, copies may be purchased from Cokesbury (www.cokesbury.com). 

Full descriptions of each of these resources can be found in the online catalog on our website, www.discovery-place.org. (Search by title and click on the resource number.) Place an order directly from the online catalog, call 717-766-7968 (your voicemail will send me an email), or email discovery@susumc.org. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Serving Christ together,

Joni Robison