After Charlottesville and before they come to SF and Berkeley, CA

Thanks to all of those who came out for the Interfaith Peace Vigil in Walnut Creek Monday evening.

We estimated that 300 participated and we had enough to have people at all four corners of two intersections on Civic Dr. in downtown Walnut Creek.

After our Interfaith prayers and songs, we mentioned providing some links to help us all connect with the opportunities for future work and support for those in Charlottesville who need our help.

Donate to support the medical expenses of the protestors who were wounded: https://www.gofundme.com/medical-fund-for-comrades-in-cville

Here are national groups at the forefront of organizing around racial justice:

Movement for Black Lives: https://policy.m4bl.org
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org

Here is an important article that describes the place of Anti-Semitism among White Supremacists and why we need to address it along with the other forms of Ideological Violence:

Skin in the Game: How Antisemitism animates White Nationalism, by Eric K. Ward. http://www.politicalresearch.org/2017/06/29/skin-in-the-game-how-antisemitism-animates-white-nationalism/#sthash.mphMbdZ1.cS1Ysd0x.dpbs

Bring a conversation about racial justice to your congregation. The following are some great places to start:

The Campaign Nonviolence is being led by Pace e Bene at http://www.paceebene.org along with other initiatives. They also have a Nonviolent Cities Project
Not In Our Town is a movement to stop hate, address bullying, and build safe, inclusive communities for all and offers many different curriculums https://www.niot.org. Their facebook page has many resources as well
Rejecting Bigotry, Demanding Action: Communications to Direct our Outrage Toward Concrete, Lasting Change. A download with helpful tips on leading with your values, and framing your message to be heard
The Reverend Denise Anderson and the Reverend Jan Edmiston, Co‐Moderators of the 222nd General Assembly (2016) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), have invited their church to read and discuss the book, Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race, by Debby Irving. They have created a companion study guide for congregations published through the PCUSA
Newly updated Ten Ways to Fight Hate guide from the Southern Poverty Law Center: https://www.splcenter.org/news/2017/08/14/splc-releases-new-edition-ten-ways-fight-hate-guide-after-charlottesville-attack The SPLC is currently tracking 917 hate groups operating across America, including several that were involved in the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville. There are 79 in the Bay Area. See also their Teaching Tolerance page.
Share the statements from your faith tradition and use it as a basis for dialogue and conversation. Examples:

https://bbs.boingboing.net/t/overt-versus-covert-white-supremacy/83013

For white people, it is very important to do some internal work as we are engaging externally in our congregations or communities around racial justice. Here are a few great resources for those of us who are white:

This guide helps uncover and expose how white supremacy is maintained within our US culture. It is a great lens to help white folks recognize the subtle, and not so subtle ways we might be perpeutating that system: http://www.cwsworkshop.org/PARC_site_B/dr-culture.html
How to show up for racial justice as a white person: http://southernersonnewground.org/2015/03/white-people-movement-role/
A good primer on how to talk to your kids about race: https://medium.com/@realtalkwocandallies/white-parents-heres-how-to-start-talking-to-your-children-about-race-321eae4d1095

Just as we share during our Defusing Hatred Program, it’s good to know some best practices around using your phone to document hate crimes and ideological violence.