Reconciliation Resources
About this page
This page does not pretend to be an exhaustive resource. There are a lot of very good resources out there, we encourage you to explore further.
This page encourages us to consider viewpoints other than our own. Not all viewpoints expressed in these resources represent the opinions of the leadership of North Avenue.
We have an amazing opportunity for change at this time. The change we are looking for does not happen in a moment, it requires sustained, deliberate action. The two graphics below help to describe the process of change.
What can I do?
This is a question that is on many of our lips at this time. This page is designed to be a resource to help you to find ways that you can make a difference. There is a lot of information here, we do not want to overwhelm you. Take time to pray first and ask God to lead you into what He has for you to do.
Pray
Ask the Holy Spirit to convict you, embolden you, soften you, release compassion in you, and inspire you to take the action He has for you.
Pray for our leaders and our nation.
Pray for the Church to be an example. Pray for unity. Pray for action.
Pray for justice.
Pray for the youth of Atlanta.
Listen
Hear the stories of our brothers and sisters and how they have been impacted by the wrongs done to people of color.
Sometimes you just need to listen and not make it about you. Don’t explain a time you felt similar. Don’t ask your token marginalized friend what you should be doing to be a better ally. Listen. Research on your own time. Practice radical empathy. Do not ask questions that express doubt “Are you sure….” Do ask questions that show you want to know more “What situations make you feel…..” And then listen some more.
Engaging in racially mixed settings can trigger age-old power and privilege dynamics. The goal is to be a learner more than a knower, exactly the opposite of what dominant U.S. culture teaches us to be.
Here are some Engagement Tips to guide you:
- Enter conversations to learn and bridge your knowledge gaps.
- Stay engaged even when your mind and body start sending you signals to shrink or walk away.
- Ask clarifying questions.
- Acknowledge what you don’t know.
- Validate others by listening closely and believing the truth and importance of what they are sharing.
- Notice your biases and judgments as they arise. These are gold for you to excavate your subconscious!
- Notice when you are uncomfortable. Reflect on why you’re uncomfortable and think about what you can do to build more emotional stamina in this area.
- Honor confidentiality. Though you can share what you are learning in general terms, do not repeat stories in a way that can be traced back to the person who shared it.
Learn
Know and own our racial history as a country, as a Church, and as individuals. Be challenged by scripture to take action.
The videos below are a good starting place.
Bryan Stevenson ’85 | “We can’t recover from this history until we deal with it.”
Bryan Stevenson ’85 discusses the legacy of slavery and the vision behind creating the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and The Legacy Museum in Montgomery Alabama. Stevenson is the founder and Executive Director of Equal Justice Initiative, an organization that provides legal assistance to death row prisoners, prisoners facing unduly harsh sentences, and juveniles sentenced as adults.
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13TH | FULL FEATURE | Netflix
Combining archival footage with testimony from activists and scholars, director Ava DuVernay’s examination of the U.S. prison system looks at how the country’s history of racial inequality drives the high rate of incarceration in America.
Explained | Racial Wealth Gap | FULL EPISODE | Netflix
In partnership with Vox Media Studios and Vox, this enlightening explainer series will take viewers deep inside a wide range of culturally relevant topics, questions, and ideas. Each episode will explore current events and social trends pulled from the zeitgeist, touching topics across politics, science, history and pop culture — featuring interviews with some of the most authoritative experts in their respective fields.
The Inaugural Episode – Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
Following the death of George Floyd, Emmanuel Acho knew that he had to do something. So he did what he does best – talk to people. Acho sits down to have an “uncomfortable conversation” with white America, in order to educate and inform on racism, system racism, social injustice, rioting & the hurt Black people are feeling today.
Rev. Aisha Brooks-Lytle
Video #1 in the NEXT Church Race and the Church Video Series – Rev. Aisha Brooks-Lytle’s sermon from the 2016 National Gathering in Atlanta, GA.
Engage Civically
- ︎Call Your Senator: They say calling is the most effective way to influence your representative. It’s a great way to have your voice heard if you can aren’t physically able to attend an event.
- ︎Sign Petitions: If you don’t like interacting with folks on the streets with clipboards and a cause, there are plenty of ways to get involved online. One of the most popular is Change.org, where you can start your own petition or browse currently running petitions you can sign.
- ︎Vote
- Engage in local criminal justice elections (i.e. judges, prosecutors and sheriffs) and advocate for legislative criminal justice reform. We tend to focus our attention on federal elections, but local and state elections are very important as well. Christians can come together and weigh in on criminal justice issues by hosting panels and meeting with criminal justice candidates and elected officials, while holding electeds accountable to our Gospel imperatives.
Act
Though many people want to jump to action sooner instead of later, action without a vigorous self-education and self-reflection practice can unexpectedly reproduce the very power and privilege dynamics we seek to interrupt. Here are a few actions that you might consider:
- Prepare yourself to interrupt racial jokes.
- Interrupt the pattern of white silence by speaking openly with family, friends, and colleagues about what you’re doing to overcome your own prejudice.
- Find out if your school, workplace, or faith group has an Equity Committee. What can you learn from them? Are they open to new members? Join if you can. Support in other ways if you can’t.
- Find organizations such as The & Campaign, and other non-profits doing racial justice work and support them through donating your time, money, and other resources.
- When the status quo is racist, disrupt it. No matter how big or small put yourself out there to create change. No need to wait until you are comfortable disrupting; it may never get comfortable, though you will get better at managing discomfort! Examples include:
- Requiring administration to change the name of a dodgeball team from “The Cottonpickers”
- Improving the representation of books in the library by raising funds and purchasing hundreds of new books
- Conducting an equity audit within the organization
- Creating learning communities to set goals, objectives, and action plans
- Disrupting inappropriate language by offering alternative language you yourself are learning
- Speaking, emailing, and posting about articles, blogs, movies. Let people know you are not neutral!
