Dismantling Racism
A United Methodist Insight Column
On the day commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, United Methodist Church leaders will unveil an action plan for church members and others to stand against racism in the wake of nationwide protests of the police killing of George Floyd. Titled “Dismantling Racism: Pressing on to Freedom,” the multi-level campaign will “initiate a sustained and coordinated effort to dismantle racism and promote collective action to work toward racial justice.” Information about the initiative is being posted on the denominational website.
A press release states: “The church-wide effort will kick off on June 19, 2020, to coincide with Juneteenth, the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. An announcement from members of the United Methodist Council of Bishops will be broadcast at 11 am CDT on UMC.org/EndRacism and Facebook.
The Juneteenth kickoff will be followed by a Service of Lament on Wednesday, June 24 at 1 pm EDT (12 noon CDT, 11 am MDT, 10 am PDT). The service will focus on prayer and lament for racism. “We will also hear God's call to join in the work of dismantling racism and pressing on to freedom for all,” says the announcement on UMC.org.
Videos of both events will be posted on the UMC.org page, United Against Racism.
Harrowing letters from a historian
Historian Heather Cox Richardson, a professor at Boston College, is proving to be a valuable documentarian of the events taking place around America these days. The first paragraphs of her June 16 post on her “Letters from an American” blog tell a harrowing tale:
“On May 25, the casual murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis as police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck, captured on film by a witness, led to protests against police brutality and the white supremacy that underpins it. The protests have lasted until today and show every sign of continuing. What has stood out about the protests is that it is the police who have been most conspicuously rioting. Their attacks on protesters with tear gas, pepper spray, flash-bangs, rubber bullets, clubs, and so on have led Americans to demand police reform."
What many United Methodists don’t know – or have consciously ignored – is that some church leaders have been calling out the assaults against Black Americans for decades. For the past three years, the Ebony Bishops, a support and interest group for Black United Methodist bishops, have issued statements to the entire Council of Bishops decrying racists attacks against Black Americans, as well as the institutional racism within The United Methodist Church. Here are some references to their previous statements.
Bishops Sound Alarm About Surge in Racism
Bishops ... Issue Statements on Immigration, Racism
United Methodist Bishops Condemn Charlottesville Violence
Ebony Bishops Demand Voice in Discussions on UMC's Future
A half-century of confronting racism
Once again, many United Methodists also may be ignorant of the existence and work of the General Commission on Religion and Race. The watchdog agency was founded in 1972 as a way for the newly formed United Methodist Church – which abolished the racially segregated Central Jurisdiction – to monitor its progress toward overcoming racism in both church and society (yes, the UMC has been working officially on anti-racism efforts all this time, although on-the-ground results have been agonizingly slow).
The current GCORR has developed a slew of new resources to help congregations talk about race in America. Among them:
GCORR Real Talk: This weekly discussion program features church leaders discussing how racism affects all aspects of the church. This week GCORR Real Talk featured Dawn Gibson and Esther Choi talking about how COVID-19 has impacted the lives of people in the disability community. The discussion runs on Facebook Live Tuesdays at 3 p.m. EDT.
For LGBTQ Pride Month, GCORR has a presentation, “Journey to Finding a Church Home,” “about Shameka and Ciera's journey to finding a church home that honors their most authentic
selves and their intersecting identities as black queer women.”
From the Pulpit: Sermons Preaching Against Racism offers a new resource for preachers seeking to bring sermons that address racism and white supremacy. The video and text resource features sermons to help preachers “find inspiration and courage to speak out on systemic racism from the pulpit.”
Why now, white people?
Gene Demby, host of NPR’s podcast “Code Switch,” wanted to know why white people are now joining in demonstrations across the country, even in historically all-white communities. So Mr. Demby asked his listeners to respond, and he got some surprisingly frank and embarrassed answers.
“Code Switch” is one of the newsletters that United Methodist Insight readers to keep informed on developments about racial issues in the United States. In addition, we subscribe to newsletters such as the New York Times’ “Race/Related," the Washington Post’s “About Us,” Andre Henry “Hope & Hard Pills,” and theGrio.com. The best way to become anti-racist is to hear the stories of black people, and these are among hundred of available resources.
Killing the messenger
Like all publications, the reach of United Methodist Insight rises and falls. Lately, however, subscriptions to our weekly e-mail newsletter have dropped for a discouraging reason: some readers have said they think it's wrong for The United Methodist Church to be involved in demonstrations protesting the killing of George Floyd and other instances of police brutality. One response even went so far as to say that racial differences are God's will and that people of color are inferior to white people. No kidding.
As a Christian communicator, I'm filled with an incalculable sadness to read these kinds of responses. As a white woman, I'm embarrassed to know that the writers of these notes are (presumably) church-going people, and I'm doubly embarrassed that my own comfortable white privilege has made me heretofore blind to the existence of such prejudice inside the church.
Nonetheless, I have no intention of slackening off any coverage of racism in both the UMC and in American society. We may well lose many more email subscribers as the new "Dismantling Racism" initiative gathers steam, simply because our reporting such news makes us an easy target for racist anger. Subscriber losses will be a small sacrifice compared to the blood already shed by our Black sisters and brothers. We unequivocally affirm that Black Lives Matter, and that United Methodists have a vital role to play in eradicating the evil of racial prejudice.
In the timeless words of reformer Martin Luther: Here we stand; we can do no other.
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.