At our January Administrative Council meeting we reviewed an article from Jim Wallis entitled 15 Things a Church Needs to Do in 2015. Number 6 on that list was “Have honest conversations about race.” It’s no secret to any of us that Milwaukee is the most segregated city in our country and that is reflected within our own congregation by the fact we are 99% White…this despite the fact that our zip code is only 86% White.
Recent events here in our city and around our nation have once again brought the issue of race to the forefront. Wallis suggests that “how the church responds to the issue of race in the 21st century will be extremely important.”
Beginning February 23rd we’ll have an opportunity to respond ourselves as Pastor Rob Odum (Central UMC), Pastor Afi Dobbins (Solomon Community Temple UMC) and I join forces to co-lead a 6-week Lenten study. We will be reading the groundbreaking 2010 book The New Jim Crow, Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander.
This book looks at how the so-called “War on Drugs” has resulted in unbelievably disproportionate differences in the arrests and especially in the sentencing of African-American males as opposed to White males. It also addresses the private prison system which in this country translates to big business…a business which is dependent on an ever-increasing supply of prisoners.
This will not be an easy book for most Whites to read as it forces us to confront some ugly truths. Are you willing? Are you willing to begin a conversation that will most certainly challenge you but might also help us understand better the struggles our brothers and sisters in the Black community face each and every day? I hope you will join me.
This class will take place at Central United Methodist Church, 639 N. 25th Street, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm, beginning Monday, Feb. 23rd and ending on Monday, March 30th. Carpooling is recommended for ease of parking. I have books available for purchase ($16). See me to get yours.
Who will go with me?
Blessings,
Pastor Andy