Racial Justice Articles

Below is a selection of articles chosen and annotated by Jennifer Brown and Michele Sigg, members of St. John’s and co-leaders, along with Shancia Jarrett, of the 4-week ZOOM seminar Seeking Racial Justice, Part 1: Christians Listening. Specifically Christian content is marked with ***. The content is provided to encourage and support a better awareness of the effects of systemic racism at the interpersonal and institutional level in our society.

Articles by Subject

Healthcare Disparities

Roeder, Amy. “America Is Failing Its Black Mothers.” Harvard Public Health Magazine, Winter 2019. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/magazine/magazine_article/america-is-failing-its-black-mothers/.

Sabin, Janice A. “How We Fail Black Patients in Pain.” AAMC, January 6, 2020. https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/how-we-fail-black-patients-pain.

Housing Discrimination

Feagin, Joe. (1999). Excluding Blacks and Others from Housing: The Foundation of White Racism. Cityscapes: A Journal of Policy Development and Research. 4(3), 79-91. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/Periodicals/CITYSCPE/VOL4NUM3/feagin.pdf

Holland, Patrick, and Will Poff-Webster. “Opinion: Housing Policy Key to Desegregation.” New Haven Independent , July 9, 2020. http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/affordable_housing2/.

Nir, Sarah Maslin. “A Racist Attack on Children Was Taped in 1975. We Found Them.” The New York Times, June 21, 2020, sec. New York. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/nyregion/racist-video-rosedale-queens.html.

Quick, Kimberly, and Richard D. Kahlenberg. “Attacking the Black–White Opportunity Gap That Comes from Residential Segregation.” The Century Foundation, June 25, 2019. https://tcf.org/content/report/attacking-black-white-opportunity-gap-comes-residential-segregation/.

Seaberry, Camille. “CT Data Story: Housing Segregation in Greater New Haven.” DataHaven, May 5, 2018. https://www.ctdatahaven.org/reports/ct-data-story-housing-segregation-greater-new-haven.

Personal Stories

Ali, Mohamed Abdulkadir. “Trey’s Rage: An African’s Education in Being Black in America.” The New York Review of Books (blog), June 18, 2020. https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2020/06/18/treys-rage-an-africans-education-in-being-black-in-america/.

Cadogan, Garnette. “Walking While Black.” Literary Hub (blog), July 8, 2016. https://lithub.com/walking-while-black/.

Cooper, Helene. “African-Americans Are Highly Visible in the Military, but Almost Invisible at the Top.” The New York Times, May 25, 2020, sec. U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/25/us/politics/military-minorities-leadership.html.

Eddo-Lodge, Reni. “Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race.” Reni Eddo-Lodge (blog), February 22, 2014. http://renieddolodge.co.uk/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-white-people-about-race/.

Fiske, Angelique. “Patriots Share Candid, Personal Stories about Racism on Upcoming ‘All Access’ Special,” June 25, 2020. https://www.patriots.com/news/patriots-share-candid-personal-stories-about-racism-on-upcoming-all-access-speci.

Hinchliffe, Emma. “Black Women Detail Their Experiences with Racism in the Workplace.” Fortune, July 5, 2020. https://fortune.com/2020/07/05/black-women-racism-at-work/.

Martin, Nina, and Renee Montagne. “Black Mothers Keep Dying After Giving Birth. Shalon Irving’s Story Explains Why.” NPR.org, December 7, 2017. https://www.npr.org/2017/12/07/568948782/black-mothers-keep-dying-after-giving-birth-shalon-irvings-story-explains-why.

Spears, Tianna. “I Was a U.S. Diplomat. Customs and Border Protection Only Cared That I Was Black.” POLITICO, August 30, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/30/black-us-diplomat-customs-border-protection-cbp-detained-harassed-325676.

Policing

Abate, Tom. “A ‘Veil of Darkness’ Reduces Racial Bias in Traffic Stops.” Stanford News, May 5, 2020. https://news.stanford.edu/2020/05/05/veil-darkness-reduces-racial-bias-traffic-stops/.

Alter, C. (2020, June 5). Black Lives Matter activists want to end police violence. But they disagree on how to do it. Time. https://time.com/5848318/black-lives-matter-activists-tactics/

Childress, Sarah. “The Problem with ‘Broken Windows’ Policing.” FRONTLINE, June 28, 2016. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-problem-with-broken-windows-policing/.

North, A. (2020, June 6). How racist policing took over American cities, explained by a historian. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2020/6/6/21280643/police-brutality-violence-protests-racism-khalil-muhammad

Racial Divide

Best, Ryan, and Kaleigh Rogers. “Do You Know How Divided White and Black Americans Are on Racism?” FiveThirtyEight, June 10, 2020. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/racism-polls/.

***Burke, Daniel. “Why Black Christians Are Bracing for a ‘Whitelash.’” CNN, July 21, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/10/us/white-black-christians-racism-burke/index.html.

Fawcett, Eliza. “Angry, Hostile Responses to the Resurgent Black Lives Matter Movement are Exposing the Intensity of Connecticut’s Racial Divide.” Hartford Courant, August 9, 2020, sec. Politics. https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-protests-counter-protests-ct-20200809-7yvechzvfnbw5dr3ssrnnn4jy4-story.html

Racial Trauma and Healing

Comas-Díaz, L., Hall, G. N., & Neville, H. A. (2019). Racial trauma: Theory, research, and healing: Introduction to the special issue. American Psychologist, 74(1), 1-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000442

Pahlke, E. (2020, June 1). The dangers of colorblind socialization. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/diverse-development/202006/the-dangers-colorblind-socialization
—Highlights the importance of White parents talking to their children about race and racism, rather than relying on colorblind socialization.

Reconciliation

***Barna Group. “Black Practicing Christians Are Twice as Likely as Their White Peers to See a Race Problem,” June 17, 2020. https://www.barna.com/research/problems-solutions-racism/.

***Brown, Kaylyn. “Blessed Are the Peacemakers (A Poem for Baltimore).” Multiethnic Matters (blog), May 14, 2015. https://mem.intervarsity.org/blog/blessed-are-peacemakers-poem-baltimore.

***Carney, Carolyn. “4 Steps White People Can Take Towards Racial Reconciliation.” Intervarsity Multiethnic Ministries Resource Library, May 20, 2011. https://mem.intervarsity.org/resources/4-steps-white-people-can-take-towards-racial-reconciliation.

***Crespo, Orlando. “4 Steps for Entering into The Work of Racial Justice on Campus.” Multiethnic Matters (blog), February 23, 2016. https://mem.intervarsity.org/blog/4-steps-entering-work-racial-justice-campus.

***Johnson, Jazzy. “It Is Not Our Job to Be Neutral or Impartial in the Face of Injustice.” Multiethnic Matters (blog), January 27, 2016. https://mem.intervarsity.org/blog/it-not-our-job-be-neutral-or-impartial-face-injustice.

***Jones, Robert P. “White Christian America Needs a Moral Awakening.” The Atlantic, July 28, 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/white-christian-america-needs-moral-awakening/614641/.

***Joiner, Kelly. “5 Lessons on Grief That Help Me Love My Black Friends.” Multiethnic Matters (blog), November 23, 2015. https://mem.intervarsity.org/blog/5-lessons-grief-help-me-love-my-black%C2%A0friends.

***Kim, Andy. “Racial Reconciliation Is Not an Optional Seminar.” Multiethnic Matters (blog), September 22, 2015. https://mem.intervarsity.org/blog/racial-reconciliation-not-optional-seminar.

***Kingston, J. (2020, June 3). A soul check for white Christians. Christianity Today. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/june-web-only/soul-check-for-white-christians.html

***McCaulley, Esau. “How God Identifies with Black Suffering.” RELEVANT Magazine (blog), August 18, 2020. https://relevantmagazine.com/current/how-god-identifies-with-black-suffering/.

***Robertson, Campbell. “A Quiet Exodus: Why Black Worshipers Are Leaving White Evangelical Churches.” The New York Times, March 9, 2018, sec. U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/09/us/blacks-evangelical-churches.html.

***Stewart, D. (2020, May 8). Ahmaud Arbery and the trauma of being a black runner. Christianity Today. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/may-web-only/ahmaud-arbery-black-runner-christian-pray-protest.html

***Tamayo, Steve. “Developing Meaningful Relationships with the Urban Poor Fuels Multiethnic Ministry.” Multiethnic Matters (blog), December 3, 2015. https://mem.intervarsity.org/blog/developing-meaningful-relationships-urban-poor-fuels-multiethnic-ministry.

Systemic Racism/Injustice

***Giboney, Justin. “The Absence of Injustice Is Not Justice.” ChristianityToday.Com, September 11, 2020. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/september-web-only/absence-of-injustice-is-not-justice.html.

Lieber, R., & Bernard, T. S. (2020, June 9). The stark racial inequity of personal finances in America. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/your-money/race-income-equality.html
—Explores the perpetuating cycle of economic inequality experienced by Black Americans across the lifespan.

Solly, Meilan. “158 Resources for Understanding Systemic Racism in America.” Smithsonian Magazine, June 4, 2020. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/158-resources-understanding-systemic-racism-america-180975029/.

Wilkerson, Isabel. “America’s ‘Untouchables’: The Silent Power of the Caste System.” The Guardian, July 28, 2020. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/28/untouchables-caste-system-us-race-martin-luther-king-india.

Voter Suppression

Jackson, Rev. Jesse L., and David Daley. “Voter Suppression Is Still One of the Greatest Obstacles to a More Just America.” Time, June 12, 2020. https://time.com/5852837/voter-suppression-obstacles-just-america/.

***Wallis, Jim, and Barbara Williams-Skinner. “Voter Suppression Is a Theological Issue.” Sojourners, May 14, 2020. https://sojo.net/articles/voter-suppression-theological-issue.