ANTI-RACISM RESOURCES
Peggy Hahn’s anti-racism reading list:
- *Strength to Love, by Martin Luther King Jr.
- *The Color of Compromise, by Jemar Tisby
- *White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo
- *How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi
- *The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander
- *The Cross and the Lynching Tree, by James Cone
- White Awake, by Daniel Hill
- Racing to Justice, by John A. Powell
- Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson
- Church Forsaken, by Jonathan Brooks
- Love Big, by Rozella Haydée White
- Dear Church, by Lenny Duncan
- Radical Reconciliation, by Allan Aubrey Boesak and Curtiss Paul DeYoung
- Faith-Rooted Organizing, by Alexia Salvatierra and Peter Heltzel
- Here, Now, With You, by Gregg Louis Taylor
- Neighborhood Church, by Krin Van Tatenhove and Rob Mueller
- Everything Belongs, by Richard Rohr
- Theatre of the Oppressed, by Augusto Boal
- Justice, by Michael J. Sandel
- The True Believer, by Eric Hoffer
- The Book of Joy, by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu
*Not sure where to start? These are Peggy’s top 6.
Anti-racism resources
Videos
- The Work of the People (search racism)
Young adult fiction
- All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
- The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas
Supporting black-owned or local bookstores
I am a witness.
A video message from Peggy Hahn, Executive Director
“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. –John 12:27
I am a witness.
I am a witness.
by Peggy Hahn
Even if you are TIRED…
Be a witness.
Say it out loud.
White leaders, this is for us. Don’t opt out. Don’t say you are too weary.
Now is the time for us to push through our COVID-19 grief and
Listen to the uprising.
Hear the pain of people who have been abused for too long.
Recognize this truth:
There is no room in the Christian faith for racism.
We cannot opt out.
We are called to be a witness to the God who loves all people equally.
We are called to stand with the black community.
LEAD is standing with these beloved people.
Friends, we cannot say we love God with our whole hearts and love our neighbors as ourselves unless we mean it.
Black lives matter.
Don’t opt out saying, “all lives matter.” That is not enough. It leaves out the most vulnerable.
Ask yourself, “Why does saying this make me uncomfortable?”
That, my friends, is your witness.
Own your own growth. This is a good thing.
Our LEAD staff made this list of what it means to be a witness:
Uncomfortable. Humble. Truth-telling. Courageous.
Waiting on the Lord. Grace filled. Loving.
Empathy. Being in relationship.
Accountability.
Confessing complicity.
Now is the time.
Be a witness. Right now. Take out your cell phone and be a witness in the world:
I, ____________, am a witness to the God who loves all people. Black lives matter.
I have been complicit because of things I have done and things I have left undone.
(…add your thoughts here.)
I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbor as myself. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me. Forgive me, renew me, and lead me, so that I may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your holy name.
We stand in the place Jesus stood when he said:
“Right now I am storm-tossed. And what am I going to say? ‘Father, get me out of this’? No, this is why I came in the first place. I’ll say, ‘Father, put your glory on display.’” – John 12:27-28 (MSG)