Anti-Racism
The Stuart Center recognizes that racism permeates all sectors of our society and world, in both overt and subtle ways. It is a part of our own national history that requires recognition and reconciliation. We condemn racism in all forms, and stand against all rhetoric and actions that perpetuate unjust systems and erode the fabric of a civil, just and peaceful society. Furthermore, we embrace our sisters and brothers of all races, creeds, and origins as members of the human family of God. While differences among us may challenge us, we firmly believe that it is these same differences that can enrich and strengthen us all even more deeply. In the heart of Christ there is room for all and we, too, must create this same loving space among us.
Our annual writing course for D.C. area K-12 teachers has found a wonderful home at the Stuart Center. The setting offers a peaceful retreat in the midst of the city, the staff is incredibly helpful and responsive, and the rates are reasonable. We highly recommend the Conference Center at the Stuart Center for meetings, workshops, and retreats.
–Deborah Menkart, executive director, Teaching for Change
RELATED RESOURCES
Our Sacred Heart Story with the Potawatomi People in Kansas
Our Sacred Heart Story with the Potawatomi People in Kansas, 1841-1879 was a four session online presentation and discussion originally presented in February-March 2022 by the Stuart Center for Mission. The program featured Stuart Center staff, RSCJ and Associates, invited Indigenous speakers and Maureen Chicoine, RSCJ, author of the book Grave on the Prairie: Seven…
What is the Doctrine of Discovery? Oren Lyons
Iroquois tell their story as they strive to uphold the traditions and the legacy of their people while also protecting the central tenants of their people and their relationship and care for the Earth. Lyons, 87, is a member of the Onondaga Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy. As a Faithkeeper, he upholds the history and…
Land Back: Environmental Justice
Discussion of the issue of Indigenous land repatriation in the Bay Area, specifically addressing the issues around the challenges of returning stolen land.
Divesting the Mind of Colonialism
Divesting the Mind of Colonialism: Land-Based Ethics and Settler Solidarity in a Time of Carona and Revolution Author: Natalie Avalos Author offers an articulation of the colonialist mindset that objectifies, reduces, and exploits other beings along with the lands and waters of this Earth
Poor People’s Campaign: Indigenous Peoples First Nations Fact Sheet
Learn the facts about the experience of the Indigenous Peoples/First Nations and the relationship to the Principles of the Poor Peoples Campaign Poor People’s Campaign: Indigenous Peoples/First Nations Fact Sheet
15 Calls to Action that Honor Indigenous Rights
An initial list of issues of importance to Native communities in the United States for attention by the Biden-Harris Administration 15 Calls to Action that Honor Indigenous Rights
Enslaved: Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation
The Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation is a digital academic journal that publishes datasets and accompanying data articles about the lives of enslaved Africans and their descendants from the fifteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Learn More
Black History Month 2021 Calendar
Featuring Amanda Gorman, Wilton Daniel Gregory, Laverne Cox, Jacob Lawrence, Katherine Johnson, Bryan Massingale, Ida B. Wells, Louis Armstrong, Marie Van Brittan Brown, John Lewis, Wilma Rudolph, Thurgood Marshall, Marian Anderson, Colin Kaepernick, Bessie Coleman, Marsha P. Johnson, George Floyd, Shirley Chisholm, Alexander Miles, Henrietta Lacks, Chadwick Boseman, Audre Lorde, Spike Lee, Harriet Tubman, Alexa…
Fr. Bryan Massingale’s Publications
Racial Justice and the Catholic Church (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2010), Fr. Bryan Massingale. Here you can find a complete list of Fr. Massingale’s publications
US Conference of Catholic Bishops
The USCCB page on combatting racism contains all the US bishops’ statements and pastoral letters on racism, as well as prayers, discussion guides, videos, and activities for all ages.
Pax Christi USA Anti-Racism Resources
A List of books, movies, articles, and webpages.
Intercommunity Justice & Peace Center Racism and Diversity Resources
Contains reflections produced by the IJPC, as well as a list of websites, workbooks, lesson plans, article and books. Downloadable PDF of resources for Black History Month. Downloadable PDF of resources for Native American Heritage Month. Additional Resources on racism and white privilege.
Native American Heritage Month – Resources
November celebrates Native American Heritage Month. With the rich and diverse cultures, traditions and histories of Native people, this month acknowledges the contributions that continue to be made by Native peoples. It is also an opportunity to educate ourselves on the oppression of native tribes and the systematic plundering of their lands and culture since the…
Seeing White (Scene on Radio podcast series)
John Biewen, regular guest Dr. Chenjerai Kumanyika, and a variety of outside voices weave together a podcast series that examines the concept of “whiteness.” Often discussions of race end up focusing on non-white people in a way that assumes whiteness as normative, and many assumptions go unchecked. The series covers expansive ground, from the pseudo-science…
White Fragility Reader’s Guide
About White Fragility (from publisher Beacon Press): “The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality. In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows…
Reclaiming Power and Place
The final report of the national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in Canada.
White people are still raised to be racially illiterate (Robin DiAngelo)
If we don’t recognize the system, our inaction will uphold it. The question is not whether I have been shaped by and participate in the forces of racism, it’s how I’ve been shaped by them.
JPIC Lenten Journey: Racism – Question, listen, act
Welcome to the third full week of Lent on our JPIC Lenten Journey. Today we share the materials for reflection on “Racism: Question, Listen, Act.” While racism was not a “named” theme from the Society of the Sacred Heart’s International JPIC meeting in November 2018 in the Philippines, the reality of racism around the world is…
What Is The Psychological Impact Of Racism?
Little research has been done on the psychological effects of racism, but data reveals that African-Americans experience PTSD at a prevalence rate of 9.1% versus 6.8% in non-Hispanic Whites. What is the link between racism and PTSD?
The myth of race, debunked in 3 minutes
You may know exactly what race you are, but how would you prove it if somebody disagreed with you? Jenée Desmond Harris explains.
Understanding My Privilege | Sue Borrego
University Chancellor, Susan E. Borrego, reflects on her life as an emancipated minor and dissects the emotionally charged conversation surrounding race relations in the United States. This raconteur uses her powerful first-person account of “White Privilege” and “Black Lives Matter” to underscore the responsibility each one of us has to bring about change.
Race: Race and Racist Institutions
In this Wireless Philosophy video, Eduardo Mendieta (Penn State University) asks “What are the consequences of race thinking and the institutional and legal forms of segregation if race is not real? Why do we categorize race as a real thing based on visual perception and how is such a category anti-democratic?”
The future of race in America: Michelle Alexander at TEDxColumbus
TED Talk from Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow.
The Enduring Myth of Black Criminality (Ta-Nehisi Coates)
Ta-Nehisi Coates explores how mass incarceration has affected African American families. “There’s a long history in this country of dealing with problems in the African American community through the criminal justice system,” he says in this animated interview. “The enduring view of African Americans in this country is as a race of people who are…
The west was built on racism. It’s time we faced that.
Dead white men are revered by many as responsible for the advancement of civilisation, says sociology professor Kehinde Andrews. But, he argues, this so-called progress came at the expense of millions of people of colour. Global inequality is not an accident, he argues – it is designed to keep the hierarchy of race intact.
Michelle Alexander in conversation: Racial justice, mass incarceration, and #BlackLivesMatter
“The New Jim Crow” author and Ford Foundation senior fellow Michelle Alexander in conversation with Ford Foundation president Darren Walker on racial justice, mass incarceration, and #BlackLivesMatter.
Why Racism Is A Public Health Issue (Tara Culp-Ressler)
Structures of racism and privilege continue to put a serious toll on the African American community’s health — and contribute to the fact that black Americans are still dying younger than white Americans…
Slavery to Mass Incarceration (EJI and Bryan Stevenson)
The myth of racial difference created to sustain American slavery persists today. Slavery did not end in 1865, it evolved.
Forget about ‘fixing’ black kids: What If we fixed white liberals instead? (Lynnell Mickelsen)
Great article on racism in public education system. “…add it all up and it’s a little weird that we progressives spend so much time talking about fixing brown people as opposed to the public institutions we’ve created for them and still control.”
Where the White People Live (Alana Semuels)
How self-segregation and concentrated affluence became normal in America
The Best Map Ever Made of America’s Racial Segregation
Last year, a pair of researchers from Duke University published a report with a bold title: “The End of the Segregated Century.” U.S. cities, the authors concluded, were less segregated in 2012 than they had been at any point since 1910. But less segregated does not necessarily mean integrated–something this incredible map makes clear in…
The Policies of White Resentment (Carol Anderson)
“…white resentment simply found a new target for its ire is no coincidence; white identity is often defined by its sense of being ever under attack, with the system stacked against it. That’s why Mr. Trump’s policies are not aimed at ameliorating white resentment, but deepening it.”
The Case for Reparations (Ta-Nehisi Coates)
Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America will never be whole.
Climbing the White Escalator
Short personal reflection on the specific privileges afforded to whites through the GI Bill and Homestead Act. Great read. My father had a legacy that he couldn’t see, a legacy he only got because he is white.
What is Systemic Racism? [8 part video series]
Eight-part short video series alludes to several of the numerous ways in which racialized disparity presents itself within institutions and society. The intro is posted below but click through to read more and watch the whole series.
Six minute primer on systemic racism
(by Laci Green)
What I Said When My White Friend Asked for My Black Opinion on White Privilege
Yesterday I was tagged in a post by an old high school friend, asking me and a few others a very public, direct question about white privilege and racism. I feel compelled not only to publish his query but also my response to it, as it may be a helpful discourse for more than just a handful of folks…
Racism Scale
Racism is a problem in the United States. Identify your own bias and help others explore theirs with this graduated scale.