Anti-Racism Resources
Church is the place we come to be equipped to live the love and justice of Jesus in the world. Below is a list of concrete actions and resources we can tap, as we work together to dismantle racism and build God’s Beloved Community.
Black Lives Matter Banner
As a public statement of our commitment to dismantling racism, we hung a Black Lives Matter banner on the front of the church. Read Pastor Alison’s letter to the congregation to learn more.
Educational Events
Open Yale Class: African American History: From Emancipation to the Present – This Yale College course, taught on campus twice per week for 50 minutes, was recorded for Open Yale Courses in Spring 2010. Download all course pages here.
Summer Reads
Summer is a great time to enjoy reading. This year, we invite you to explore works of fiction by Black and Brown Authors. Browse our list of recommendations curated by Editor and Saugatuck Church Member Susie Benton.
Books to Educate and Equip
How to Be an Anti-Racist, Ibram Kendi – An accessible and practical look at what it means, not just to be ‘not racist,’ but to be actively ‘anti-racist.
Stamped from the Beginning, Ibram Kendi – A comprehensive and readable history of racism in the Unites States
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World and Become a Good Ancestor, Layla Saad
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race, Beverly Daniel Tatum
White Fragility:Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, Robin DiAngelo
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning, by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi – Remixed for youth and young adults: “This is NOT a history book. This is a book about the here and now. A book to help us better understand why we are where we are. A book about race.”
So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo – a “hard-hitting but user-friendly examination of race in America.”
I Was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib is a graphic memoir that tells the story of her experience as a first-generation American of Filipino and Egyptian descent.
Talking With Children
Talking to children after racial incidents
Talking to Kids about Racial Violence
More on Talking to Kids about Racial Violence
Having ‘The Talk’: Expert Guidance On Preparing Kids For Police Interactions
How to Be an Anti-Racist Parent: Real-Life Parents Shae Real-Life Tips
Raising Race Conscious Children
Supporting Kids Of Color In the Wake Of Racialized Violence
7 Reminders for White Parents Talking to Their Kids About Police Killing Black People
Podcasts
Hidden Brain – Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.This podcast includes several relevant episodes. Check out:
“The Influence You Have: Why we fail to see our power over others,” February 24, 2020.
‘The Mind of The Village,” March 9, 2018.
“Thumbprint of the Culture: Implicity Bias and Police Shootings,” June 5, 2017
Brene Brown, Unlocking Us, June 3, 2020 episode: Brene with Ibram Kendi on how to be an anti-racist.
On Being: “Pursuing deep thinking and moral imagination, social courage and joy, to renew inner life, outer life, and life together.” Check out the OnBeing list of podcasts related to race and healing.
Code Switch: A podcast that tackles racism head-on, hosted by journalists of color who are fascinated by the overlapping themes of race, ethnicity and culture, how these things play out in our lives, and how all of this is shifting.
Economic Support for Communities of Color
A List of 100+ Black-Owned Restaurants in Connecticut
Buy your books from a Black-owned bookstore.
Seek out and support businesses owned by people of color. How to find them? Check out the smartphone app, BWS (Black Wall Street).