Why Black Lives Matter Educational Series

In June 2020, after the murder of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers, CTK parishioners met on Zoom for a three week series entitled “Why Black Lives Matter.” In this series, folks discussed the difference between individual and systemic racism and used this distinction to better understand the death of George Floyd, the ongoing prevalence of white supremacy, and the protests erupting around the country. 

Read more about these sessions here
 

First Anti-Racism Forum (Summer 2020)

Second Anti-Racism Forum (Spring 2021)

Working Group Reports

We spent the first part of the forum hearing from our different active working groups. Each group reported having plenty of work to do going forward, and all were open to new collaboraters. In particular, the St. Vincent DePaul / CTK Group voiced a need for new participants who are interested in building a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship between our two parishes.

Breakout Sessions

Splitting into smaller groups, we spent the second part of the forum discussing the list of potential anti-racism projects. This space allowed folks in the group to reflect on what they've learned and experienced with respect to anti-racism over the past six months. Each group was asked to work together to prioritize the list based on the project's feasibility and relevance.

Large Group Evaluation

After each group shared its prioritized list, the results were compiled and a clear priority emerged: building relationships with other predominantly BIPOC (Black, Indigienous, Persons of Color) churches in the area.

Other projects had scattered support, particularly death penalty and incarceration reform.

Moreover, there appears to sufficient interest in the parish to justify adopting Just Faith's Faith and Racial Equity program this summer, likely in partnership with St. Henry's parish.

Welcoming New Collaboraters

Forum participants who were not currently part of an active working group were then invited to express their interest in joining one of the current groups or forming a group focused on building relationships with neighboring churches. A number of people committed to getting involved in the St. Vincent / CTK and Personal Testimonies groups. However, despite the forum's consensus that the next important new project should focus on building relationships with neighboring churches, there were insufficient numbers to form a new working group.
 

Forum Outcomes And Reflections

The primary goal of this forum was to provide an opportunity for current anti-racism groups to report on their work thus far and to solicit involvement from other parishioners. Each group had inspiring successes and valuable lessons to share. All the working groups expressed a common commitment to see our parish become a community of people committed to racial justice in our own lives, in the sacramental and social life of the parish, and in the wider Nashville area. Their efforts, in their own particular way, were clearly contributing to this transformation. The group that reported needing the most support, the St. Vincent/CTK group, increased its number of participants. The forum accomplished its primary goal.

A secondary goal, based on the interest and commitment levels of those not currently involved in an ongoing project, was to create new working groups that would focus on the most relevant potential projects. However, folks not otherwise committed to a project preferred to get involved in an ongoing working group rather than facilitate the creation of a new project.

Upon reflection, this isn't an unfortunate outcome. As one of the members of the oversight committee noted, building relationships with other communities is difficult work. It requires intelligent planning, insight into the relational and power dynamics at play, and a deft touch. Since one of the active working groups is already engaged in building a relationship with a predominantly BIPOC Catholic parish, our efforts are likely better spent learning how to do this well before we attempt it with other non-Catholic communities.

Anti-Racism Ministry Committee

To help oversee all of our ongoing antiracist initiatives, we have established Christ the King's Antiracism Committee, comprised of Jim Bryan, Mary Anne Collins, Janine Christiano, and Jon Stotts. This committee, a subsidiary of the parish's Peace Through Justice ministry, will meet monthly to consult with those who are involved in current projects and to provide direction for future initiatives, beginning in September. This committee will also host regular forums and town hall meetings to solicit involvement and guidance from the wider parish community.

Anti-Racism Parish Education Working Group

This working group hosted a very successful fall and spring education series. Talks on social justice in Catholic practice and in the Scriptures given by Fr. Steve Wolfe and Fr. John Donahue, respectively, offered us a theological foundation for the conversations that followed. Msgr. Owen Campion provided a historical overview of the careers of two bishops who were dedicated, in their own way, to anti-racist efforts in this diocese. And Mrs. Linda Wynn from the Tennessee Historical Commission offered us a detailed account of how the construction of I-40 decimated the vibrant black community in North Nashville. And, as someone who grew up attending St. Vincent de Paul school and playing basketball against the white kids at Christ the King, Mrs. Wynn issued a bracing challenge: we need to have brutally honest conversations if we hope to work toward racial justice in this community.

The education working group assembled a second series of talks for February 2021 in honor of Black History month, featuring Prof. Leathora Williams from TSU, Deacon Bill Hill, and Paige Courtney Barnes.

FROM DARK PAST TO PRESENT HOPE SERIES CONFRONTING THE EVILS OF RACISM SERIES Why Black Lives Matters Series

St. Vincent de Paul Working Group

This working group was tasked this summer with building a relationship between Christ the King and St. Vincent de Paul, the historically black Catholic parish in North Nashville. As will be unsurprising to anyone familiar with the history of the north side, St. Vincent’s community has more than its fair share of members who struggle to host a Thanksgiving feast for their families. Every year, the parish raises money to provide boxes of food from Second Harvest Food Bank, supplemented with other donations and purchased food goods. They welcomed Christ the King's support with open arms.  After some fruitful conversations with St. Vincent’s staff, this working group created three opportunities for CTK parishioners to join in St V's annual Thanksgiving drive.

First, thanks to the generosity of those involved in our initiative, the working group raised $5195 to contribute to the cost of the food boxes and supplemental items. Given that this fundraiser was internal to CTK's anti-racism group and not circulated to the wider parish, this was a very successful fundraiser. 

Second, CTK provided two teams of volunteers to assist with the drive, one to help pack the boxes, and the other to distribute them. Both the funds and the volunteers were very happily received, and we think these efforts have contributed to the growing relationship between St. Vincent’s and CTK.

Third, one very positive outcome of these efforts is that Christ the King’s annual angel tree ministry was able to join with St. Vincent de Paul to help those who were struggling to provide a happy Christmas for their family. 

Personal Testimonies of Racism Working Group

This group was initially formed to initiate conversations about racism at the parish and diocesan levels. After discernment and some inspiring conversations with Fr. Dexter earlier this fall, the group determined that any fruitful discussions about racism in our community must begin with honest self-reflection on the pervasive and ongoing role of racism in our own lives. Dubbing this work “Unburdening Our Hearts: Personal Testimonies of Racism,” the members of this group each crafted short essays reflecting on their experiences of racism from a variety of perspectives. These essays are published on the parish website.
For its next phase, the Personal Testimonies group is inviting all participants in CTK’s  anti-racism initiative to share their own encounters with the evils of racism by answering one (or more) of the following questions:

• When have I noticed that my race influenced a situation?
• Where have I found myself complicit with racism?
• How has engaging with antiracist work transformed me?
• Why has it been important for me to recognize the reality of structural/systemic racism? 

Parish Connection/Action Task Force

This group was formed to find opportunities for our parish to get involved in anti-racist projects within Nashville’s wider community. To get a sense of where folks in our parish are with respect to issues of racial justice, the Parish Connection/Action Task Force has begun hosting listening sessions with the members of various parish groups and ministries. These listening sessions are open-ended opportunities for parishioners to share their thoughts about racism, the Catholic response to it, and Christ the King’s role in the wider community with respect to issues of race. 

While the group expects to encounter a wide range of perspectives on these complicated issues, they hope that these conversations will contribute to a shared understanding of our parish’s commitment to justice. Then, with enough support from the wider parish, Christ the King might be able to fruitful join in the wider Nashville community’s anti-racism efforts.

Anti-Racism Reading Group

The reading group has tackled an impressive array of anti-racist literature over the past several months. Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist provided the rationale and working definitions that allow us to have productive conversations about race in this country. Richard Rothstein’s The Color of Law convincingly demonstrated that segregation in the United States came not from the work of private citizens but from overt and unconstitutional government policy at the state and federal levels. (This was corroborated by Mrs. Wynn’s presentation, mentioned above.) The voice of James Baldwin continues to be a startling reminder of how hard it is to be Black in this country -- his The Fire Next Time is a gut punching, inspiring read. Dorothy Robert’s Fatal Invention is a lengthy, scientific expose of the inherent racism in past and current attempts to group humans by racial background or heritage. It showed just how far we have to go before we recognize, in practice, that race is a political category, not a biological one. Finally, Jon Meacham’s biography of John Lewis, His Truth is Marching On provided a moving reflection on impact of John Lewis’s faith and non-violent vision on the Civil Rights movement. The next book on the list is Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste, a wide-ranging analysis of the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.

Anti-Racism Reading Group