Restoring the Beloved Community: A Conversation About Race (Session 2 Resources)
Session Two Resources
Watch Race: The Power of an Illusion (Documentary)
The division of the world's peoples into distinct groups - "red," "black," "white" or "yellow" peoples - has become so deeply embedded in our psyches, so widely accepted, many would promptly dismiss as crazy any suggestion of its falsity. Yet, that's exactly what this provocative series by California Newsreel claims.
Race - The Power of an Illusion questions the very idea of race as biology, suggesting that a belief in race is no more sound than believing that the sun revolves around the earth.
Yet race still matters. Just because race doesn't exist in biology doesn't mean it isn't very real, helping shape life chances and opportunities.
For Session Two, please watch Episode Two: The Story We Tell
The episode can be rented for 2.99 on Vimeo by clicking here.
There are three total episodes, but we will be watching them in future meetings.
You can find companion materials for the documentary series here.
Read at Least One of the Following Books
If you only read one, please watch the video or listen to the interview of the one you do not read.
I'm Still Here:
Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
Austin Channing Brown’s first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools and churches, Austin writes, “I had to learn what it means to love blackness,” a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America’s racial divide as a writer, speaker, and expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion.
In a time when nearly every institution (schools, churches, universities, businesses) claims to value diversity in its mission statement, Austin writes in breathtaking detail about her journey to self-worth and the pitfalls that kill our attempts at racial justice. Her stories bear witness to the complexity of America’s social fabric—from Black Cleveland neighborhoods to private schools in the middle-class suburbs, from prison walls to the boardrooms at majority-white organizations.
For readers who have engaged with America’s legacy on race through the writing of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Michael Eric Dyson, I’m Still Here is an illuminating look at how white, middle-class, Evangelicalism has participated in an era of rising racial hostility, inviting the reader to confront apathy, recognize God’s ongoing work in the world, and discover how blackness—if we let it—can save us all.
Here is a podcast interview with the author.
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race
Walk into any racially mixed high school and you will see Black, White, and Latino youth clustered in their own groups. Is this self-segregation a problem to address or a coping strategy? Beverly Daniel Tatum, a renowned authority on the psychology of racism, argues that straight talk about our racial identities is essential if we are serious about enabling communication across racial and ethnic divides. These topics have only become more urgent as the national conversation about race is increasingly acrimonious. This fully revised edition is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the dynamics of race in America.
To listen to an audio interview with the author click here.
If you have any questions about the above resources or need the church to purchase them for you, please contact Brian.
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