Anti-Racism Resources

Our mission statement at Holy Spirit reminds us that we are called to “proclaim and embody the compassionate, challenging, inclusive love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.” This mission is never done, never complete. The Holy Spirit is always rushing in, breathing new life, igniting the fires of justice. This means we will be made uncomfortable, because God is always doing something new; it also means we have courage and strength for the work ahead. To be compassionate, we need to truly hear the suffering and pain of our siblings without trying to defend ourselves. To be challenging, we need to engage the real questions and problems of this time without running away. To be inclusive, we need to ask ourselves why we remain such a homogenous community and be willing to change.

As we begin the work of intentional anti-racism in our community at Holy Spirit Lutheran, we offer these resources for your own learning, listening, and growth. Once we are able to gather in-person safely, we will offer opportunities for group conversation and learning. Until that time, we urge you to read, watch, listen, and enter into the lifelong process of dismantling the racist policies, systems, and structures of ourworld.

We thank the creators of these lists and have done our best to request their permission to reprint them here, and to compensate them whenever possible.

Children Resources

  • Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners: Each winter (either January or February), the Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The committee that selects the awards is part of the American Library Association. 

  • Talking Race with Your Children: An NPR Podcast episode that breaks down how you can start having conversations about race with your young children.

  • Raising White Kids' Author On How White Parents Can Talk About Race: NPR's Michel Martin talks to Jennifer Harvey, author of Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America, about how to talk with white kids about racially-charged events. You can either listen to the episode, or read a transcript.

  • 37 Children’s Books to help talk about Racism & Discrimination: “Colours of Us”, a website devoted to multicultural children’s books highlights their picks for children’s books to help talk about Racism and Discrimination.

  • Racial & Social Justice Books for Kids: This list of books on Racial and Social Justice for kids was put together by Social Justice Books, a project of Teaching for Change, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide teachers and parents with the tools to create schools where students learn to read, write and change the world.

  • CNN/Sesame Street Town Hall on Racism for Kids and Families: CNN's Van Jones and Erica Hill partner with "Sesame Street" for Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism, a town hall for kids and families. Watch the town hall with your children in its entirety.

  • PBS Article: Teaching your Child About Black history: Nefertiti Austin offers suggestions for how parents can teach their children about Black History.

Youth

General

  • Scaffolding Anti-Racism Resources: Looking for a place to start? The goal of this document is to facilitate growth for white folks to become allies, and eventually accomplices for anti-racist work. These resources have been ordered in an attempt to make them more accessible, and so you can track your anti-racism journey.

  • Dr. Robin DiAngelo, author of the book “White Fragility” among others. You can see her video, Deconstructing White Privilage, and then use this discussion guide created by The United Methodist Church.

  • 12 Movies from TIME to watch on Racism: Featured in TIME Magazine, Ashley Clark, Director of Film Programming at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and his colleague Jesse Trussell, BAM’s Repertory and Specialty Film Programmer, recommend, in their own words, a dozen feature films and documentaries that help contextualize the current moment.

  • 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice: This article was put together in 2017, but is continually updated to ensure items are up-to-date and needed today

  • Anti-Racism Resources for Asian Americans: This continually updated google doc has anti-racism resources that are designed
    Teaching Tolerance on White Privilege

  • “Race Matters” on PBS: The PBS News Hour special “Race Matters: America in Crisis,” turns to grassroots voices from around the country and hosts roundtable conversations of thought leaders, newsmakers and experts.

  • Save the Tears: White Woman’s Guide: If you're a white woman who is watching the world burn because of police murder against Black people, and you don't know what to do, Tatiana Mac wrote you a guide.

  • Code Switch Podcast:  It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for! Hosted by journalists of color, this podcast tackles the subject of race head-on. They explore how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and everything in between. This podcast makes ALL OF US part of the conversation — because we're all part of the story.

Books

MOVIES

  • 13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix

  • American Son (Kenny Leon) — Netflix

  • Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 — Available to rent

  • Blindspotting (Carlos López Estrada) — Hulu with Cinemax or available to rent

  • Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) — Available to rent

  • Dear White People (Justin Simien) — Netflix

  • Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) — Available to rent

  • I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) — Available to rent or on Kanopy

  • If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu

  • Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — Available to rent

  • King In The Wilderness  — HBO

  • See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix

  • Selma (Ava DuVernay) — Available to rent for free in June in the U.S.

  • The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution — Available to rent

  • The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Available to rent for free

  • When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix