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Differentiating our observations from evaluations can help us recognize the fallibility of our own interpretive powers and acknowledge the racism in our own hearts and minds, writes the associate dean of diversity and cultural competency at Western Theological Seminary.
The Rev. Starsky Wilson, center, wearing stole, links arms with scholar and activist Cornel West as they participate in a direct action at the Thomas Eagleton Federal Court Building in downtown St. Louis on Aug. 10, 2015. Photo by Wiley Price/The St. Louis American
Part of the difficult witness for the privileged within the church is to renounce a bit of that privilege and work on behalf of the marginalized, says the co-chair of the Ferguson Commission.
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Jesus interrupts violence with peace, and hate with love. The director of Duke Youth Academy says she has been called into the work of interruption, leading conversations with young white people about race, police brutality and injustice.
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The best conversations about race happen among people who have something in common besides simply an interest in talking about it, says the executive director of the Colorado Council of Churches. He offers tips for black and white congregations to engage and strengthen their bonds.
Images courtesy of Chalice Press
In this excerpt from her new book, Leah Gunning Francis shares the stories of the eclectic group of faith leaders -- many of them young, most of them black women -- who have been leading the response to Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri.
People pray Aug. 15, 2014, at the site of a convenience store destroyed after Ferguson police released the name of the officer who shot Michael Brown.
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There was no single leader in Ferguson, Missouri, writes a seminary professor, activist and author of the book “Ferguson and Faith.” Instead, there were many leaders, who inspire hope for the future.
A young mother vows to make choices -- such as shopping in a different grocery store or taking her son to a less convenient playgroup -- that might allow her to develop relationships across racial lines.
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A writer considers biases that shape her as a white person in America and how she can reach out to her African-American neighbors as a means of racial healing.
A man in Ferguson, Missouri, holds on to a fence on August 15, 2014, at the site of a convenience store destroyed during rioting after the shooting death of Michael Brown by police.
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In an age of nonstop media that exposes us as never before to the world’s pain and brokenness, lamentation is an essential and even revolutionary act, one that the church needs desperately to reclaim, says a young pastor.
Photo courtesy of Natasha Gadson
The Charleston shooting presents more than just security challenges to church leaders, writes an AME minister. This moment demands honest language and an insistence that black bodies are the image of God.
Image courtesy of Peter Heltzel
The church is a Spirit-led movement for love and justice in the world, the co-author of "Faith-Rooted Organizing" says in an interview. We are called to go outside the church and into the community to share the love of God.