"To make rich people poorer, and poor people more comfortable"

I delivered an early version of these reflections at the Community Christian Church on December 26, 2020. 

***

One of the fascinating aspects of cultural traditions, including religious traditions, is how they have been used in both healing and harmful ways. If we return to an insight made by the feminist and liberation theologian Dorothee Solle in 1984, we can group our religious expressions into two main categories, what she called the “double function” of religion:

“as apology and legitimation of the status quo and its culture of injustice on the one hand, and as a means of protest, change, and liberation on the other hand.” (“The Christian-Marxist Debate of the 1960s,” Monthly Review, 36 (July-August): 20-26).

Antiracism in an Organizational Context: An Example Policy

During 2020, I've been working with a nonprofit on their organizational development, providing an organizational assessment, developing infrastructure, and writing policies. The following is an example of an antiracism policy that intends to support the organization's continued growth in the direction of equity and justice. It is edited to remove identifying details. 

***

Commitment to Racial Justice

Antiracism Policy, August 2020

__________ recognizes that commitment to and growth in antiracism is a vital part of fulfilling our organizational mission to “__________________.”

Our Anti-Harassment Policy includes a reference to race, color, national origin, ancestry, and citizenship. This document is meant to further clarify what this commitment means to and for our organization and community, including our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities.