21-Day Racial Equity Challenge

Dear Friends,

Many Americans are feeling racial tension, anger, and pain; many others feel bewilderment. The news has plenty of examples of racial injustice. Across the country and throughout this nation’s history, millions more who are not in the daily headlines know the pain and the fear of having routines of daily life curtailed by racism and injustice.

This is nothing new. If we’re honest we’ve lived with these events all our lives. The point of this study is to broaden the understanding of racism, and to realize that attitudes have been shaped by our personal experiences. We can do better. We hope the church wants to do better.

“To love him (God) with all you heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Mark 12:33)

Over the past weeks, the EPC Outreach Committee has searched for a means to help our congregation find a way to respond to racial injustice. We realize change is a slow process that requires perseverance. As an initial effort, we are encouraging you to commit to participating in “The 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge.” It is an opportunity to further your understanding of power, privilege, supremacy, oppression, and equity, as well as grace and the beloved community.

This 21 Day Challenge will by no means be the end of the work we need to do, instead it is a beginning on a long and important journey. The recent killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Raynard Brooks have only highlighted the immediacy and need of this work. The racial inequity that divides us is a part of our history as a people that we cannot hide from. To ignore inequities is to oppose the will of Christ which is “to unite all things in him” (Ephesians 1:10).

During this time of a global pandemic, when we find our lives and opportunity for social interaction to be unpredictable and continually changing, the Outreach Committee urges you to embark on a 21-Day Race Equity Challenge. This is a first step in moving toward justice. By participating, you will be exposed to voices and perspectives different than your own through articles, videos, and podcasts. You may be challenged to think in new ways. Each day you will choose one means to engage and reflect in a journal. During the challenge, we will provide opportunities to share our reflections using technology. We invite you to join us in committing to making time every day so we may emerge from this pandemic together as a united people.

Eastridge Presbyterian Church Outreach Committee
William Wehrbein, Chair; Noel DeKalb; Jo Bateman; Carol McClain; Christine Boone; Berna Stading

This is Us, Dr. Eddie Glaude explains why blaming current racial tensions on Donald Trump misses the point. (3 minutes)

Racism is Real, A split-screen video depicting the differential in the white and black lived experience. (3 minutes)

Confronting ‘intergroup anxiety’: Can you try too hard to be fair? Explores why we may get tongue tied and blunder when we encounter people from groups unfamiliar to us. (5 minutes)

CBS News Analysis: 50 states, 50 different ways of teaching America’s past, Ibram X. Kendi reviews current history curriculum production and use across the U.S. (5 minutes)

The Disturbing History of the Suburbs, An “Adam Ruins Everything” episode that quickly and humorously educates how redlining came to be. (6 minutes)

What Kind of Asian Are You? Humorous two minute YouTube video that illustrates the utter silliness of the way many white Americans interact with Asian Americans. (2 minutes)

Birth of a White Nation, Keynote speech by legal scholar Jacqueline Battalora, offers a blow-by-blow description of the moment the idea of, and word for, “white” people entered U.S. legal code. (36 minutes)

13th, Netflix documentary by Ava DuVernay about the connection between US Slavery and the present day mass incarceration system. (1 hour, 40 minutes)

How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them, TED Talk by Vernā Myers, encourages work vigorously to counter balance bias by connecting with and learning about and from the groups we fear. (19 minutes)

The danger of a single story, TED Talk by Chimamanda Adiche, offers insight to the phenomenon of using small bits of information to imagine who a person is. (18 minutes)

How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time, TED Talk by Baratunde Thurston that explores patterns revealing our racist framing, language, and behaviors. (10 minutes)

Indigenous People React to Indigenous Representation in Film And TV, Conversation with a diverse range of Indigenous people by FBE about media depictions of Indigenous people, Columbus day, and Indigenous identity. (15 minutes)

What Being Hispanic and Latinx Means in the United States, Fernanda Ponce shares what she’s learning about the misunderstanding and related mistreatment of the incredibly diverse ethnic category people in U.S. call Hispanic. (12 minutes)

Tyler Merrit Project: Before You Call (3 minutes)

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