Members of the Sinsinawa and Springfield Anti-Racism Teams presented a webcast focusing on systemic racism. Sister Mary Ellen Gevelinger, OP, Sinsinawa prioress, welcomed those present in Sinsinawa as well as those joining via the Internet, noting that we cannot pretend that racism has gone away—that it is systemic within our institutions. She also echoed a challenge that this is the moment for Dominicans today to summon the transforming grace of our charism and to continue to preach for justice.
In introducing the presenters, Sister Tanya Williams, OP, recalled the two challenging questions of Antonio Montesinos: By what right do we still discriminate and disenfranchise persons and groups in our world? Are they not human?
The presenters included Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Joan Duerst, Sinsinawa Associate Barbara Johnson, Springfield Dominican Sister Marcelline Koch, and Springfield Associate Leroy Jordan. They engaged the audience in examining racism today, coming to a common definition, and understanding racism as a systemic issue. The evening concluded with a call to continue the conversation. The Resource Listing shares ideas that you can use.
Resources
Talk with others
1. Have conversations with your local community, family members, colleagues, and in social settings about the idea of systemic racism. Counter stereotypical thinking. This doesn’t dismantle the structure of racism but it does help to prepare for the dismantling to happen.
Deepen the analysis
2. When you hear about a current event, watch a movie, or read a book, ask: Who has the power, the privilege? Who is oppressed? How are all hurt in the process?
Study and learn
3. Dismantling Racism by Joseph Barndt, Augsberg Fortress, Minneapolis, MN, c1991
4. Racial Justice and the Catholic Church by Bryan Massingale , Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY c2010
5. Interrupting White Privilege: Catholic Theologians Break the Silence - edited by: Laurie M. Cassidy (Editor), Alexander Mikulich (Editor) Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY c2007
6. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander, The New Press, New York, c2010
7. Michelle Alexander at Riverside: New Jim Crow Convict Under-Caste http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BSwEYyFu2E a 53 minute presentation
8. The Danger of a Single Story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg , a 19 minute talk by the Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie.
9. An Era of Post-Racial Equality, a 60 minute presentation at the University of Illinois Springfield by Tim Wise, writer, lecturer and educator on racism http://webcast2.uis.edu/multimedia/Archive/2011/eccewise040611.html .
10. An interview with Dr. Camara Jones, Research Director on Social Determinants of Health and Equity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She describes systemic racism using a flower garden allegory (15 minute). http://www.citymatch.org/UR_tale.php
Connect with Organizations
11. Sinsinawa Dominican Anti-Racism Transformation Team
12. Springfield Dominican Anti-Racism Team
13. Crossroads Anti-Racism Training and Organizing: Dismantling Racism, Building Racial Justice in Institutions www.crossroadsantiracism.org
14. The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond: Undoing Racism www.pisab.org
15. National Black Catholic Congress www.nbccongress.org
16. Grand Rapids Area Center on Ecumenism: Racial Justice Institute www.graceoffice.org/rji
17. Center for the Healing of Racism www.centerhealingracism.org
You can also view it by visiting www.sinsinawa.org/live. (Click on the “On Demand” tab in upper right column, then click on the “WATCH” text next to the title “Dominicans Promote Racial Justice in the 21st Century.”) As of Nov. 16, the presentation has been viewed 130 times by individuals and groups around the globe.
By Sister Marcelline Koch, OP