White supremacy has become so subtle within Christianity that many white Christians cannot see that racism exists within their churches, Anthony Reddie said during a conference hosted by Baylor University’s George W. Truett Seminary. “The most egregious thing that we…
Being Christian and being anti-racist are the same thing, West declares
The Black church can teach the white church that being a Christian and being anti-racist are one and the same thing, Ralph Douglas West, pastor of the Church Without Walls in Houston, told participants in a Baylor University conference last…
Alliance of Baptists reports ‘growing pains’ as it focuses on anti-racist mission
The Alliance of Baptists is experiencing financial “growing pains” in response to becoming an anti-racist organization, Co-Director Elijah Zehyoue said. “As we have done this work, we have noticed there have been some changes and we invite you to notice…
A privileged white Southern dad reflects on racism and the legacy of MLK
“I was born a poor Black child.” So begins Steve Martin’s movie The Jerk — the first R-rated movie I saw. I was 13 and begged my college-professor father to take me. As we were leaving his office, he asked…
Dig deeper when looking for your church’s racist or anti-racist history, Gardner advises
A church may have a racist past even if its archives reveal no evidence of support of slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings, segregation or other racist structures, author and historian Andrew Gardner said during a recent webinar hosted by the Alliance…
Alliance of Baptists steps into anti-racism work
The coming year will be filled with the challenge of intense anti-slavery work for the Alliance of Baptists if its 2022 fall gathering was any indication. The session was held Nov. 10-12 in Montgomery, Ala., where about 150 participants attended…
BJC speaker asks: ‘What if anti-racism became an essential way of doing faith?’
Churches must boldly support racial, gender and LGBTQ equality in every aspect of ministry by accepting the inherently and radically political message of the gospel, Jacqui Lewis said during a June 18 virtual gathering hosted by Baptist Joint Committee for…
Why Critical Race Theory could be good news for ‘nice white people’
A bedrock theological concept of my formation as a white American evangelical was the idea, best articulated by Paul in Romans 14-20, that there is a war going on within all of us between those things that are good and…
‘Cultural humility’ fosters a lifelong self-examination of racism
The work of identifying racist attitudes and behaviors is not only uncomfortable, but also never-ending, said Kerri Fisher, a lecturer and diversity educator at Baylor University. Recognizing white privilege and oppressive social systems isn’t enough to sustain “cultural humility,” said…