“No one is born racist or antiracist; these result from the choices we make. Being antiracist results from a conscious decision to make frequent, consistent, equitable choices daily. These choices require ongoing self-awareness and self-reflection as we move through life. In the absence of making antiracist choices, we (un)consciously uphold aspects of white supremacy, white-dominant culture, and unequal institutions and society. Being racist or antiracist is not about who you are; it is about what you do.” from Talking About Race, Being Antiracist, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture: http://tinyurl.com/DHPCAntiracist

This month is the 98th year that Black History Month has been around in one form or another. It began in 1926 as Negro History Week, situated in the second week of February, along with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The original intention was to “encourage coordinated teachings of Black History in America’s public schools.” Fifty years later, Black History Month was finally officially recognized under the Ford administration in 1976.

Today, America as a society is still arguing over whether the truth about Black history should be taught in our schools. In fact, whether America has ever been a racist country has recently become a political campaign initiative. It has never been more important to intentionally educate ourselves about the history of Black Americans and whether the impacts and experience of systemic racism continues to be real.

For more information on Black History Month and a myriad of intriguing options for how to learn evenmore, visit https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/how-to-celebrate-black-history-month.

Monday, January 15 is the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year, instead of merely using the day off to scratch things off your to do list, use it to reflect on Dr. King’s life, which was committed to working for racial equity, economic justice, and nonviolent conflict resolution. In addition, commit to taking at least one action to honor Dr. King’s life and work. Consider making a financial gift to an organization aligned with Dr. King’s work, volunteering with a justice-oriented organization, visiting a museum to explore the work of civil rights leaders, watching a documentary to learn more about Dr. King (examples can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/MLKDocumentaries), or, if you were alive during Dr. King’s time, write down your memories and share them with someone. The opportunities are endless and as Dr. King himself said, “Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?”

Advent waiting and combating racism may seem like unrelated concepts at first, but upon closer examination, there is a connection between the two. Advent is a period of anticipation and preparation for the coming of Christ. This waiting is a time of reflection and self-examination, where individuals are encouraged to examine their own beliefs and actions.

Similarly, combating racism requires individuals to engage in self-reflection and examine their own biases and prejudices. It requires acknowledging and challenging the systemic racism that exists in society. Just as Advent is a time of waiting for the arrival of Christ, combating racism requires patience and perseverance. It is not a quick fix, but a continuous process that requires ongoing effort and commitment.

Both Advent waiting and combating racism involve hope and the belief in a better future. Advent is a time of hope and anticipation for the coming of Christ, while combating racism is driven by the hope for a more inclusive and equitable society. Both require individuals to have faith in the possibility of change, to actively work towards that change, and to have hope for a better future.

This month’s celebration of Thanksgiving coincides with Native American History Month. As we come together to spend time with family and friends, the occasion can serve as a reminder of the importance of honoring the impacts that the rich and diverse cultures of indigenous communities have had on our lives.

A Google search will yield many opportunities to learn more, including places to visit and activities to share. For example, the area that became Atlanta was originally inhabited by Creek and Cherokee peoples. The space where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee was originally a Native village named Pakanahuili, a Creek word meaning “Standing Peach Tree.” The area is now a park in Buckhead called Standing Peachtree.

This Thanksgiving may our celebrations emphasize gratitude not only for the bountiful harvest but also for the enduring resilience and contributions of Native Americans. May we learn more so we can fully appreciate the cultures and sacrifices of the people who lived here for thousands of years before us.

Intersectionality is “the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.” The term was coined over 30 years ago by Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw, a professor at the UCLA School of Law and Columbia Law School. This concept can be useful in understanding that, to combat racism, it is important to combat systemic issues such as the gender wage gap, inequitable school funding, and unjust policing systems, that contribute to the lives of a variety of marginalized communities. For example, a black woman does not live in poverty because she is a Black female, but because of the long history of social systems that have marginalized her as a Black person and as a woman. By understanding this, we can begin to get at the roots of systemic racism by helping to fight joblessness, poor education, and hunger in underprivileged communities.

Recently, Pastor Elizabeth shared the opening prayer for the “Great March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” held on August 28, 1963, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the March. While the Great March is best known for MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech and its historic impact on the Civil Rights movement, what is often lost in the remembrance of the March is that it wasn’t just a call for racial equality but also a demand for economic justice.

Just four days after the Great March, on Monday, September 2, 1963, our country celebrated Labor Day as a federal holiday for the 69th year. The impetus behind Labor Day forged the US labor movement which, influenced by labor and trade organizations, led to improvements in working conditions. These included the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established a wage floor and limits on hours, and the Wagner Act, which protected workers’ right to organize, both essentially actions to further the cause of economic justice.

A key organizer of the Great March was A. Philip Randolph, who declared in his speech that the “crisis is born of the twin evils of racism and economic deprivation.” …And, that “They rob all people, [Black] and white, of dignity, self-respect, and freedom.” If Jesus had been a speaker at the Great March, what would he have said?

For more perspective on how lack of economic justice marginalizes all and a reference for what the Bible says about visit Anti-Racism Daily, the Dept. of Labor, or Union Presbyterian Seminary.

Over the last two years, there has been a growing list of book bans and books written by Black and Brown authors have been targeted repeatedly. According to PEN America, 1,648 books were banned between July 2021 and June 2022. Of those books, 40% included protagonists or prominent secondary characters of color and 21% focused on issues of race and racism. While proponents of these book bans argue that the goal is to protect “innocent children” from sensitive topics, these acts are the latest form of educational oppression and an attempt to silence and exclude the voices and contributions of Black and Brown individuals.

Banning books by Black authors or ones that center on the voices of Black and Brown children is yet another barrier that Black students are forced to overcome. This only further perpetuates racism and anti-Blackness and tells Black students that individuals who share their lived experiences are not valued.

To learn how you can defend the right to read, visit the American Library Association’s Unite Against Book Bans page at uniteagainstbookbans.org. Also, support authors of color, particularly authors of banned books, by buying or checking these books out from your local library. A list of banned and challenged books can be found at www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/decade2019.

The founders of our American democracy crafted the Declaration of Independence proclaiming the “self-evident truth” “that all men are created equal, …endowed with certain unalienable Rights…” Even so, the document did not specify who would be eligible to vote when elections were held. That decision was left to the states. Presumably, “all men” would be included, but by the first presidential election in 1789, states had enacted restrictions that included requirements based on property ownership, religion, gender, and race. Almost all voters who qualified in that first election were white Protestant male landowners.

Voting rights in our country have a long, contentious history. Every group not initially included as eligible has had to fight long and hard for their right to vote. While voter eligibility is of course much more inclusive today, evidence exists in some jurisdictions that efforts to discourage voters or create barriers to voting access still remain, especially in historically racially diverse areas. As we celebrate our democracy and the many freedoms we enjoy this Fourth of July, let us also pledge to listen for truths in our history and in the current experiences of our neighbors. Let us vow to use our own right to vote to assure that justice for all remains the goal.

June 1 marked the beginning of Black Lives Matter Month, which is intended to celebrate the resilience and strength of the Black community. It also represents an opportunity for people of all backgrounds to join in. Several ways that non-Black allies can participate and show support include:
- Support organizations that are working for the cause of racial justice. For example, the Equal Justice Initiative, www.museumandmemorial.eji.org
- Attend events that celebrate BLM, such as Juneteenth events on June 19
- Support Black-owned businesses. A great local resource is www.secretatlanta.co/black-owned-businesses-atlanta.
- Educate yourself about the history of racism. For example, watch the PBS/Atlanta History Center documentary “Monument: The Untold Story of Stone Mountain” at www.atlantahistorycenter.com/monument.

One of the joys of May is seeing family and friends, from preschoolers to grad students, graduate! Many children, however, will never see their high school graduation or have the opportunity to attend college. This is particularly true for Black children (of all ages) who, despite there being no evidence that they exhibit higher rates of misbehavior, are almost four times more likely to be suspended and expelled for the same infractions as white students. This often leads to Black children being funneled into the “school to prison pipeline.”

The School to Prison Pipeline (STPP) is a very real outcome of laws addressing school behavior problems gone awry. Instead of getting the support and care needed when they act out, Black students receive harsher disciplinary consequences that lead to, at best, lost learning time and, at worst, an introduction to the juvenile justice system which serves as a runway to the adult correctional system.

To learn more about the STPP and on how to support better education opportunities for underprivileged children, visit www.momsrising.org or www.project2ndchancega.org.

Gun violence is a racial justice issue. Gun homicides (mass shootings, so-called “everyday” violence, and police-involved shootings) are a universal American threat. But Black Americans are 10 times more likely than white Americans to die from gun violence. And Black youth fare even worse. Black children and teens are 14 times more likely to die from gun homicide than their white counterparts. And yet, the U.S. largely ignores the external, systemic factors driving inequality and violence in Black neighborhoods. We must consider how these factors plus public policy have made it so that Black people are more likely to face conditions that facilitate gun violence. To learn more about the racial injustice inherent in gun violence and t0 work for a reduction in gun violence for all people, visit https://www.bradyunited.org/issue/gun-violence-is-a-racial-justice-issue.

Black women have always served on the front-line in the fight for equality. Although their contributions were sometimes overlooked in both the Civil Rights and Women’s Movements, their power, resilience, and courage cannot be overstated. Black women have a distinctive standpoint from which to understand the intersection of race and gender and their unique experience of oppression. Visit https://tinyurl.com/StruggleforEquality to learn the stories of Black women, such as Daisy Bates, Hallie Quinn Brown, and Modjeska Simkins, who are connected by an intricate network of activists that spans several generations. Through their stories – revealed in National Park Service parks and programs -- we gain a better understanding of what it takes to meet the promise of justice and equality for all.

We fixed racial discrimination in the ‘60s when the Civil Rights Act of 1965 was passed, didn’t we? Well, no, we didn’t. Laws may have been passed to protect Black citizens but long-standing biases against them have continued to prevail. These biases are at the heart of systemic racism and the poverty and oppression it creates. During Black History Month let us focus on opportunities to learn the truth and to better discern how we may each be called to make amends. As Pastor Betsy says, “When we know better, we do better.”

The Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) website is a valuable resource for learning about the historical role our denomination played in the slavery debate, as well as current Matthew 25 initiatives to dismantle systemic racism. Most recently, PMA has created the Presbyterian Center for Repair of Historical Harms, which will be led by Rev. Anthony Jermaine Ross-Allum, a former PC(USA) pastor for Social Justice. Here
is a good place to start learning more: https://tinyurl.com/pcusa-repairing-historic-harms