Sacred Ground

Racial justice is an issue that permeates every aspect of our society. How does our faith inform and guide us as we learn and take action for racial justice? This fall, we will explore the United States' history of race and racism, through the lens of Christian faith.

Sacred Ground is part of Becoming Beloved Community, The Episcopal Church’s long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation, and justice in our personal lives, our ministries, and our society. This series is open to all, and especially designed to help white people discuss amongst themselves. Participants are invited to peel away the layers that have contributed to the challenges and divides of the present day – all while grounded in our call to faith, hope and love.

Sacred Ground takes place on alternate Wednesdays from 6:30 PM to 8 PM, from September 7 to January 4.

On campus, we will meet in Cay's Room.

Zoom ID: 834 7327 0214
Passcode: 3341

RESOURCES

Syllabus
Sacred Ground: Getting Started

To prepare for the session on SEPTEMBER:

Documentary: American Creed
"Black History is Everyone's History" by Leonard Pitts, Jr.
Exerpt from "Not Somewhere Else, But Here" by the Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker
Exerpt from "Healing our Broken Humanity" by Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Graham Hill
Selection from "America's Original Sin" by Jim Wallis
"Key Distinctions for Understanding Race and Racism" by Katrina Browne and James Perry

To prepare for the session on OCTOBER 5:

Short Video: The Myth of Race, Debunked in 3 Minutes - Vox
Short Video: Decoded: Are Cracker, White Trash, & Redneck Racist? - MTV News
"Roots Deeper than Whiteness" by David Dean
"A Geography Lesson for the Tea Party" by Colin Woodard
Selections from "White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism" by Robin DiAngelo
"On the Five Stages and White People Waking Up to Racism" by Tad Hargrave
"On White Tears" by Tad Hargrave
Excerpts from Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving - Introduction and Chapters 2-3

To prepare for the session on OCTOBER 19:

PBS Series: We Shall Remain, Episode 1: "After the Mayflower"
Short Video: The Episcopal Church Exposes the Doctrine of Discovery
"The Map of Native American Tribes You've Never Seen Before" by Hansi Lo Wang
Interactive Native Land Map
"Unshackled by Visions and Values" by Martin Brokenleg
Excerpt from Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman - Forward and Preface
Excerpts from Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving - Chapters 1, 4-6, and 30

To prepare for the session on NOVEMBER 2:

PBS Series: The African Americans, Episode 1: "The Black Atlantic, 1500-1800"
Short Videos: Truth and Reconciliation Pilgrimage to Ghana, The Episcopal Church
"New England's Hidden History" by Francie Latour, The Boston Globe
"The White Man's Guilt" by James Baldwin, Ebony Magazine
Excerpt from Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman - First part of Chapter 1
Excerpt from Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving - Chapter 11

To prepare for the session on NOVEMBER 16:

PBS Series: Latino Americans, Episode 1: "Foreigners in Their Own Land"
Short Video: What Afro-Latinos Want You To Know
Short Video: Guns, Germs, and Steel: How Europeans Came to Dominate the World, in 7 Minutes
"A history of anti-Hispanic bigotry in the United States" by Marie Arana, The Washington Post
"Who is Hispanic?" by Mark Hugo Lopez, Jens Manuel Krogstad, and Jeffrey S. Passel, Pew Research Center
"Recovering the concept of sin for the labyrinth walk of antiracism" by the Rev. Stephen H. Phelps
Excerpt from Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman - Second Part of Chapter 1
Excerpt from Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving - Chapter 13

To prepare for the session on NOVEMBER 30:

• Watch Asian-Americans Episode 1: "Breaking Ground", available on the Sacred Ground website
• Read “The real reasons the U.S. became less racist toward Asian Americans” by Jeff Guo, in conversation with Ellen Wu about her book, The Color of Success
• Read “Asian Americans speak out against a decades-old ‘model minority’ myth” by Yanan Wang in the Washington Post
• Read this excerpt from Healing Our Broken Humanity: Practices for Revitalizing the Church and Renewing the World by Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Graham Hill
• Read this excerpt from Jesus and the Disinherited
• Read chapters 14 and 16 from Waking Up White

To prepare for the session on DECEMBER 14:

• Watch Slavery By Another Name, link and passcode available on the Sacred Ground website
• Watch Race: The Power of an Illusion, Episode 3: "The House We Live In", available on the Sacred Ground website (scroll down)
• Read An Interview with Noel Ignatiev (the first four pages)
• Read Sundown Towns by James W. Loewen, then visit the Sundown Town website to research whether where you live now and where you grew up were historically sundown towns.
• Read this excerpt from Jesus and the Disinherited
• Read chapters 7, 17-18, and 23 from Waking Up White
• Review or research your family’s 19th- and 20th-century history in connection to the relevant racial history covered in this session’s films and readings

To prepare for the session on JANUARY 4:

• Watch America Inside Out with Katie Couric, Episode 4: "White Anxiety", video available on the Sacred Ground website
• Read “What So Many People Don’t Get About the U.S. Working Class” by Joan Williams
• Read excerpts from Beyond the Messy Truth by Van Jones
• Read this excerpt from Jesus and the Disinherited
• Read the first three pages of chapter 35 from Waking Up White

To prepare for the session on JANUARY 18:

• Watch Healing Justice by Shakti Butler, video available on the Sacred Ground website
• Watch Native Voices: Speaking to the Church and the World, video available on the Sacred Ground website
• Read “Indigenous leaders lament intergenerational trauma inflicted by boarding schools, some with Episcopal ties” by David Paulsen for the Episcopal News Service
• Read “Presiding Bishop, House of Deputies President issue statement on Indigenous boarding schools“ by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and President of the House of Deputies the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings
• Read this excerpt from Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Joy DeGruy (pp. 8-10 of paperback edition)
• Read “Ghosts of the Masters: Descendants of Slaveholders Reckon with History” by the Rev. David Pettee and Susan Hutchison
• Read chapter 4 from Jesus and the Disinherited (link coming soon)
• Read chapters 26-27 and revisit page 175 from Waking Up White (link coming soon)