Dismantling Racism, Youth Edition

The youth ministry department will offer Dismantling Racism to high school youth in our Diocese this fall. The curriculum will be offered as a hybrid in-person/online course beginning on Saturday, October 17. This curriculum comes from the Absalom Jones Center in Atlanta and is designed specifically for youth in Christian community.

Participants must plan to be at all sessions. There will be some flexibility in making up missed Zoom sessions, but each participant will need to be in touch with the youth missioners to schedule any missed content. If you are unable to be with us for the beginning and ending sessions in person, please wait until the next offering. A middle school offering will be held in spring 2021.

For our in-person gatherings on October 17 and November 7, we will meet in the Greensboro/High Point area. Our exact location is TBA. We will meet outside, under a shelter. We will observe strict social distancing guidelines, with masks being required during our time together. Participants will need to bring their own chair, lunch, snacks and any paper/pens/supplies that they might need. All will be required to wear masks for the entire time, except for lunch. Masks will be provided if one should arrive without a mask. Health screening questions will be asked upon arrival. Bathroom use will be limited to one person at a time.

The cost is $15/participant. (Scholarship assistance is available.)

Register

CURRICULUM

Lesson 1—Introduction and Covenant
Creating an agreement on how we will relate to God, each other and ourselves in discussing this subject and learning the stories of those who have already started to dismantle the effects of racism in their own lives

Lesson 2—God, The Artist
Witnessing the beautiful diversity of all God’s creation, including all of humanity, and
recognizing that every people, race, language, culture and ethnicity on earth bears God’s image, revealing something wonderful about who God is

Lesson 3—History of Racism in America: How we Got Here
Bringing to light the deep roots of systemic racism throughout our country’s history before we truly can understand the pain from racism we are seeing today, and what is needed to dismantle it

Lesson 4—White Privilege
Understanding how racist systems give advantages to certain groups (and disadvantage others), and how to respond when we find ourselves in a place of privilege

Lesson 5—Internalized Oppression
Understanding how racism negatively affects disadvantaged groups, particularly their understanding of their own identity, and beginning to choose God’s understanding of what makes people valuable

Lesson 6—Repentance, Healing and Reconciliation
Understanding that even though we didn’t create racism, we have a responsibility to dismantle it, and, learning from the example of the prophets, we will start to turn toward each other through naming racism in all its forms as sin, and resolving to turn away from (confession and repentance)

Download the event flyer.