releasing Jan 17
White Supremacy Culture is sin.
It's everywhere.
It's largely invisible to White people.
It's killing us.
Let us repent.
White Supremacy has shaped European Descent societies for hundreds of years. It has a culture -- ways of doing and being that many people do not notice and/or accept as the norm. It’s just how things are done here. This culture -- White Supremacy Culture -- is "the belief that the ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions of white people are superior to People of Color and their ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions" (www.dismantlingracism.org). It is one of many things that upholds systemic racism, keeps BIPOC from what Jesus called “abundant life,” and harms white folk as well by creating invisible standards and expectations that are, generally, not helpful for anyone. White Supremacy culture shapes our organizations and institutions to keep out anyone who doesn’t fit into it, it keeps us stressed, separates us from the collective, and so much more. Because of internalized oppression and the need to fit in to survive, BIPOC can also find themselves perpetuating the invisible standards of White Supremacy Culture. If we want a world of equity, if we want abundant life for all, we all must address, confess and repent of the ways we embody the characteristics of White Supremacy Culture.
In order to do this, we have created Lenten liturgies (including Ash Wednesday and Holy Week) that directly address the characteristics of White Supremacy Culture (From Dismantling Racism: A Workbook for Social Change Groups, by Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun, ChangeWork, 2001):
* Perfectionism
* Sense of Urgency
* Defensiveness
* Quantity over Quality
* Worship of the Written Word
* Only One Right Way
* Paternalism
* Either/Or Thinking
* Power Hoarding
* Fear of Open Conflict
* Individualism
* Progress is Bigger/More
* Objectivity
* Right to Comfort
We encourage you to learn about White Supremacy Culture through DismantlingRacism.org and this list on the Showing Up for Racial Justice website and, if possible, to include it in your studies for Lent. This season will be challenging, but it will also produce change that will move us closer to the kin-dom.
This resource is being created by a team that includes people who are Black, Latine, White, LGBTQIA+, and disabled who work and live in a variety of ministry contexts.
In order to do this, we have created Lenten liturgies (including Ash Wednesday and Holy Week) that directly address the characteristics of White Supremacy Culture (From Dismantling Racism: A Workbook for Social Change Groups, by Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun, ChangeWork, 2001):
* Perfectionism
* Sense of Urgency
* Defensiveness
* Quantity over Quality
* Worship of the Written Word
* Only One Right Way
* Paternalism
* Either/Or Thinking
* Power Hoarding
* Fear of Open Conflict
* Individualism
* Progress is Bigger/More
* Objectivity
* Right to Comfort
We encourage you to learn about White Supremacy Culture through DismantlingRacism.org and this list on the Showing Up for Racial Justice website and, if possible, to include it in your studies for Lent. This season will be challenging, but it will also produce change that will move us closer to the kin-dom.
This resource is being created by a team that includes people who are Black, Latine, White, LGBTQIA+, and disabled who work and live in a variety of ministry contexts.
