Decentering Whiteness: Our Journey Together
Understanding Decentering Whiteness
Our Program: Engaging Your Congregation
Level One: Introduction & Foundational Learning
Level Two: Engaging in Self-Reflection & Critical Dialogue
Level Three: Facing Hard Truths & Beginning to Engage More Directly
Taking Action: Practical Ways to Decenter Whiteness in Church
Reflection and Getting Started
Resource Hub: Tools for Your Journey
Here is an extensive collection of resources across various categories, offering congregations an array of tools to meet their needs at different stages of their journey toward decentering whiteness. Use these materials to guide discussions, study groups, book clubs, or personal research.
Note: Check www.archive.org - a free internet lending library.
Articles and Online Resources
“Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh
“What Is White Privilege, Really?” by Cory Collins (Learning for Justice/Teaching Tolerance)
Sacred Conversations to End Racism (UCC Resource) - [Link if available]
“What’s Wrong With Colorblind Christianity” by Joel A. Bowman Sr.
“Ten Ways to Fight Hate: A Community Response Guide” by Southern Poverty Law Center
The Guardian’s Racial Justice in Religion Series
UCC’s White Privilege: Let’s Talk Curriculum - [Link if available]
“The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates (The Atlantic)
“Dismantling Racism Works” (Workbook resource for racial justice training)
“Calling in and Calling Out Guide” from Harvard University
Podcasts (Search your favorite platform)
Code Switch by NPR
Seeing White by Scene on Radio
The Diversity Gap by Bethaney Wilkinson
Pod Save the People by DeRay Mckesson
The Anti-Racist Educator
Latinos Who Lunch
Black History Buff
1619 by The New York Times
Speaking of Racism
Decolonize Me
How to Fix Racism in the White Church with Dr. Jamar Tisby
Documentaries and Films (Note access methods: free, streaming, pay-per-view)
13th by Ava DuVernay (Netflix)
White Like Me by Tim Wise
Traces of the Trade by Katrina Browne
Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity by Shakti Butler
I Am Not Your Negro based on James Baldwin's writings
Slavery by Another Name by Sam Pollard (PBS)
Whose Streets? by Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis
Stamped From The Beginning (Netflix Documentary)
Ethnic Notions by Marlon Riggs
1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones (Hulu)
White Savior: Racism in the American Church
Books
Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US by Lenny Duncan
See Me, Believe Me: A Guide to Deepen Allyship with Congregational Leaders of Color by Yolanda Denson-Byers
Waking Up White by Debby Irving
The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation by Jennifer Harvey
America’s Unholy Ghosts by Joel Goza
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Becoming an Anti-Racist Church: Journeying Toward Wholeness by Joseph Barndt
Deep Denial: The Persistence of White Supremacy in United States History and Life by David Billings
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad.
Do Better: Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing from White Supremacy by Rachel Ricketts.
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee
Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization by Elaine Enns and Ched Myers
I Bring the Voices of My People: A Womanist Vision of Racial Reconciliation by Chanequa Walker-Barnes (Chapter: The Unbearable Whiteness of Being)
This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewel
The Hidden Wound by Wendell Berry
The History of White People by Nell Painter
Wait - Is this Racist?: A Guide to Becoming an Antiracist Church by Bryana Clover, Josh Riddick, and Kerry Conelly
The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy: and the Path to a Shared American Future by Robert P. Jones
White Too Long Robert P. Jones
Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
Workshops and Training Resources
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) workshops
Crossroads Antiracism Organizing & Training
The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond
Racial Equity Tools Training Modules
“Racism and Mental Health” Workshop by Mental Health America
“Exploring Implicit Bias” Training by the Kirwan Institute
Sojourners’ “Faith & Justice” webinars
UCC’s Sacred Conversations to End Racism - [Link if available]
White Fragility Discussion Group Kits
Anti-Racism Training by Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)
The Southwest Conference’s Anti-Racism Community of Practice
Bible Studies and Faith-Based Guides
A Journey Toward Racial Justice (UCC Resource) - [Link if available]
Acting on Faith: Stories of Courage in Action by the UUA
Liberating Love: 365 Love Notes from God by Sandhya Jha
God’s Justice: The Holy Bible (NIV Translation with commentary on justice themes)
Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann
Preaching Black Lives (Matter) edited by Gayle Fisher-Stewart
UCC’s “Prayers for Racial Justice” Series - [Link if available]
Youth and Children’s Resources
Shades of Black by Sandra L. Pinkney
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester
The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
Separate Is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh
The Colors of Us by Karen Katz
Something Happened in Our Town by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard
We’re Different, We’re the Same by Bobbi Kates
A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory
Interactive Tools and Reflection Guides
Harvard Implicit Bias Test
The Welcoming Diversity Inventory for Churches
“Building a Racial Justice Covenant” Templates (UCC Resource) - [Link if available]
Reflection Prompts: “Where Does Whiteness Show Up in Our Worship?”
“Seven Practices for Moving Beyond Implicit Bias” Guide
Intersectionality Mapping Exercise (based on Kimberlé Crenshaw’s work)
Visual Symbol Audit Worksheets for Churches