Healing Racism Resources
Anti-racism training requirements in the diocese
In March of 2022, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Diocese of California passed a resolution requiring Anti-racism training.
Learn more and take your training.
Resources for Addressing Racist Violence and Police Brutality
In this time of national upheaval, outrage, and fear, The Episcopal Church’s Department of Reconciliation, Justice and Creation Care and the Office of Government Relations have assembled resources to assist individuals, congregations and communities seeking to LEARN, PRAY and ACT. Please use and share these resources, and send your own resources and stories to reconciliation@episcopalchurch.org.
Click here to be taken to the resources page.
White Supremacy in the Age of Covid – A Call to Action | A Statement from the Episcopal Urban Caucus
As people of faith and members of the Episcopal Urban Caucus we write to decry the sin of White Supremacy. That these acts have been occurring in increasing numbers is undeniable. One need only watch the evening news for proof. While our country is attempting to curb the outbreak of a physical disease, we must, at the same time, defeat the unholy acts of racist terrorism occurring too frequently in our cities around the country. These acts have facilitated the inequalities that have permitted and enabled the disproportionate number of victims of Covid who are People of Color.
Everyday Native
A Resource for Teachers working with 4th to 12th grade students.
For Further Reading — a very brief and suggested list:
History of the African Diaspora and the Episcopal Church:
- Yet With A Steady Beat: The African American Struggle for Recognition in the Episcopal Church by The Rev. Dr. Harold T. Lewis
- Episcopalians and Race: Civil War to Civil Rights by Gardiner H. Shattuck Jr.
- The Church Awakens: African Americans and the Struggle for Justice
Black Church Experience and Theology:
- Jesus and the Disinherited by The Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman
- Where do we Go From Here by The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King
- The Cross and the Lynching Tree by The Rev. Dr. James H. Cone
- Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God by The Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas
An internet search will bring a selection of popular books, children’s books, and current non fiction which shares and informs the Black experience.
How to Support Indigenous People on Thanksgiving
Continuing the conversation from Diocesan Convention topic of Listening to Indigenous Voices: The Doctrine of Discovery (watch the panel discussion here), here are 11 ideas of what you can do on Thanksgiving to support indigenous people
This video is intended to inform people about the impact of the Doctrine of Discovery in an effort to respond to God’s direction; that we, the Episcopal Church, “act with justice and…do what is right” (Psalm 106:3, Book of Common Prayer), and about the unjust way the Americas were settled, and the on-going consequences of those events. Resources now available at episcopalchurch.org/indigenous-ministries
Resources in times of Mass Shootings and Gun Violence
From Bishop’s Against Gun Violence: Liturgical Resources in Times of Violence
From Textweek: Worship and Prayer Resources
Unitarian Universalist Sample Policies on Gun Violence
Give me your tired, your persecuted — A call to assist Central American refugees from the Episcopal Public Policy Network of California, signed by CA Bishops
In recent days, over 6,000 migrants have gathered at the California-Mexico border fence seeking appointments with American immigration officials to petition for asylum. With wait times projected to last for months, many are forced to live in shelters where food is scarce, and privacy is non-existent, and some become sick. Click here to read more
Presiding Bishop Curry Brings Revival to El Camino Real — Article and Video Resource
[Diocese of El Camino Real | January 19, 2017] “On Saturday, January 7, an electric crowd of about 800 Episcopalians, friends, and family experienced the amazing presence of the Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop and chief pastor of the Episcopal Church. His keynote address in Salinas energized, inspired, and entertained the enthusiastic crowd, explaining the origins of the Jesus Movement and urging Christians to share Jesus’ message of love with a world in need. Hosted by the Diocese of El Camino Real, the January 7 revival-style event also included an equally lively address from Canon Stephanie Spellers on 21st Century mission and ministry, plus panel discussions and audience Q&A. The day’s events were emceed by Joseph W. Heston, president of central coast television station KSBW-TV. Heston introduced Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves, who welcomed the crowd and brought out Bishop Curry for a “bishops’ selfie” before he began his address.”
Read more of article
Watch revival videos from Diocese of El Camino Real
Presiding Bishop Curry Brings Revival to El Camino Real — Article and Video Resource
The New Jim Crow Facilitation Guide
Looking for a way to have conversations about racism in the United States?
This is a helpful guide from the Urban Peace Collaboration that will guide you through the steps of organizing and facilitating a six-week reading and reflection group on The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.
A Letter to The Episcopal Church From the Presiding Bishop, President of the House of Deputies
Fifty Years Later: The State of Racism in America
Webcast video of all sessions from the November 2013 event at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Jackson, Miss.
Click here to view videos.
Three-year study on how slavery affected DioCal pre-War of Southern Aggression
A Racial Reconciliation Task Force Report to DioCal Convention
Brochure on The Rev. Peter Williams Casey and Annie Besent Cassey
Learn more about these local saints in the Diocese of California. The Rev. Peter Williams Casey was the first African American ordained west of the Mississippi, and his wife Annie was a co-founder for an early integrated school and a civil rights activist.
Click here to read.