The Timeless Call for Racial Harmony
Videos from Transform Ideas: The Timeless Call for Racial Harmony:
Dr. Charles Morgan
Latoya Taris-James
Russ Gregg
Dr. Danita Brown Young
Our History and Our Present Day Reality
In April we launched a series of forums called Transform Ideas; conversations to help Christians explore biblical perspectives on important cultural issues.
The theme for our first Transform Ideas forum was The Timeless Call for Racial Harmony held on April 27, 2017 at Hope Community Church. Four local speakers addressed 225 audience members with ideas relating to both our nation’s history of racism and our present day reality of racial disparities in the Twin Cities.
Dr. Charles Morgan, CEO of Union Gospel Mission discussed the historical truth and consequences of race in America. Dr. Morgan says actions not words are the key to actively working for repairment.
We need to come to a place of action. We can talk about racial reconciliation, equity and disparities all day long and not do a thing about it. We talk so much about stuff we think we are doing. We need to get to a place of doing, we are to be doers of the word not hearers of the word only.
Latoya Taris-James, program director at Urban Ventures talked about generational poverty, and the problem with believing we all have the same opportunities to succeed.
Not all of us started with the same advantages. We cannot disregard the inequities that exist between people of color and their white counterparts… The false perception that we have the same opportunities to reach the same successes, has allowed us to continue to ignore the driving force behind poverty that cycles through generations of people of color.
Russ Gregg, co-founder of Hope Academy discussed how the achievement gap between white students and students of color can be closed with hope in God, and by expecting great things from inner city families.
Low expectations are a cruel and unusual punishment. We must be vigilant to guard against the soft bigotry of low expectations.
Dr. Danita Brown Young, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean of Students at the University of Minnesota spoke on the best ways to empower today’s youth.
There is nothing a racist hates more than your resiliency. They want to see you knocked down, desperate, that you have given up, that you have succumbed to their pressure and power. We need to teach our students how to be resilient. That it’s going to be hard, but they must stay in the fight, and continue to persevere, and strive to make the world a better place.
The Timeless Call for Racial Harmony
Our hope for Transform Ideas The Timeless Call for Racial Harmony was to help Christians explore how they can pursue racial harmony, help rebuild, repair and find redemption from America’s sin of racism.
“I think Transform Ideas is a fantastic idea. I liked that the topic was focused on Minneapolis and for people in our community.
It was really encouraging to hear from our speakers, on how they step out and act. It gave me good ideas on how I can be more a part of the work of racial reconciliation,” said Billy, a participant.
“I really liked Dr. Brown Young’s message of empowerment and learning from history and how taking the victories of our successors can help shape how our society acts now and in the future,” said Katelyn, a participant.
The goal of Transform Ideas is to present distinct, local voices to share ideas that can inspire, inform and engage Christians as thoughtful citizens of the Kingdom of God, serving the common good.
