Racial Issues Resource Page

Here you will find some links that the Washington Conference, NAD and our church have sent out in the last weeks about the racial issues and tension our country is experiencing right now. We hope you find these links insightful, inspiring, and helpful.

The Danger of a Single Story: Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. Check out this dynamic 19-minute TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

Banking While Black: “A 911 call, a racial slur, a refusal to cash a check. This is what it’s like for some Black bank customers.” https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/02/us/banking-while-black-racism-trnd/index.html

A Conversation on Justice and Race: Isabel Knudsen and Tristinn Williams, two of our Bellevue Church elders, accepted Shelley’s and my invitation to have a conversation on justice on race, the last part of which we played during the June 27, 2020 Sabbath worship service. During this heartfelt , sometimes light-hearted, sometimes tearful discussion, they talk about hurts and misunderstandings people of color often experience, but end on a note of hope and prayer that the Creator’s love will triumph in the end. Thank you, Isabel and Tristinn, for opening your hearts to us. Thank you, Shelley Schurch, for coming up with the idea of this conversation. And thanks to our audio-visual expert Patrick Phelps for fine-tuning the audio (and painstakingly uploading the video twice) for the best possible listening experience. -Pastor Maylan. Watch the conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrEsisvB5HY 

“WE MUST SPEAK UP NOW”, says a retired female Presbyterian pastor. Growing up in the South, she has vivid memories about discrimination. Read her opinion piece here: https://www.cnn/com/2020/06/23/opinions/white-southerners-must-speak-about-racism-adams/index.html

NAD Panel on Racism and Social Justice: Here you will find an interesting video panel with Daniel Jackson (NAD President), G. Alexander Bryant (NAD Executive Secretary) and Randy Robinson (NAD Treasurer) with Mylon Medley (NAD News Writer and News Producer) on discussing racial and social justice issues and how it relates to our church. Below the video, there are also a lot of good resources about race that are worth checking out. https://www.nadadventist.org/resources-racial-justice

Six-Minute Healthy “Squirm”: No, it’s NOT a video about snakes. But it’s an extremely important video experiment produced by ABC. As I watched it, I re-learned a very important lesson about perception and bias. Got six minutes? Click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti5ZFmglzV4

Would you mind taking a couple minutes to read the story at the link below? This morning I was looking at news on my iPad and came across this story. I think it’s important for two reasons–it’s a warm-hearted “good news” story, and it opens a window into the challenges faced by African-American men, especially if they’re tall and have a large build. This is something people like me have never had to think about. It’s a quick read, with photos. Check it out — Maylan https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/black-man-calls-police-alert-job-happened-71218058

#ChurchIsAVerb “Black people don’t need a white superhero but white allies, so I appreciate those who came out,” Hanz Jouissance (pictured above), the new lead pastor for the Breath of Life and 24-Seven Ministry Center churches, told Q13 Fox at a prayer vigil in Seattle. Watch and Read here:https://q13fox.com/2020/06/01/prayer-vigil-at-seattle-church-promotes-peace-not-violence/?utm_source=Washington+Conference+E-Updates&utm_campaign=0a0afa264f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_17_11_00_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_298fca523c-0a0afa264f-244686345

John Freedman, formerly president of the Washington Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and now president of the North Pacific Union, has written a thoughtful article in the Gleaner. The Adventist church has normally been cautious about stepping over the line into issues like that surrounding the murder of George Floyd, but he–along with the North American Division–is urging us to be more active in addressing this and similar issues.Why not read it now? The article isn’t long, but is very important. Here’s the link:https://gleanernow.com/news/2020/06/call-for-change?utm_source=Northwest+Adventists&utm_campaign=f15669b433-NWAdventists_20200604&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8f9cae1547-f15669b433-68364261&mc_cid=f15669b433&mc_eid=37e199bf9d

North American Division president Dan Jackson released a very powerful statement on what Adventists need to do in response to issues about racial tensions. Always an eloquent communicator, Elder Jackson is very frank about our church’s need to change, and to get involved. I thoroughly agree with everything he says.To go directly to his message (which includes both text and 8-minute video of his statement), click the link below. — Maylan
https://www.nadadventist.org/news/nad-president-addresses-racial-tensions-us

Washington Conference instructional coach Sheri Crooker has dug deep in her personal search to learn and grow, and from that quest offers equity resources recommendations. Follow the link to read on: https://www.washingtonconference.org/about/growing-leaders/an-abundance-of-opportunities