History of Racism in Boston: A Resource List

History of Racism in Boston: A Resource List

By the RCCI Team, with contributions from Pastor Calvin Fergins

Recent realities, like COVID-19, the heightened publicity of racial violence, and economic downturn, have highlighted racial disparities in our communities. While these pandemics are deepening the chasms of differences in power and opportunity, they did not create them. On the contrary, our current crises highlight inequalities that have been present since before the founding of our nation. 

Boston has a long and complicated racial history. On the one hand, it tells stories of resilience, transformation, and victory. On the other, it reveals deplorable atrocities, subtle power moves, contemporary hate crimes, and well-intended actions that have a racist impact, giving us a veneer of progress while maintaining the status quo. 

As we find ourselves in a time of crisis and opportunity, we have the responsibility to work toward a new Boston, more just and equitable than before. To ensure a better future, we must look to our past. We must understand our history and learn from the mistakes, victories, and examples of those who have come before. RCCI invites you to explore the resources on this list to better understand our collective past so, together, we can move into a more just and equitable future. 

PS: Click here to see a downloadable bibliography of resources that goes well beyond these highlighted titles. 

Resource Write Ups  

Ten Hills Farm: The Forgotten History of Slavery in the North

Did you know that there was a Northern plantation in Medford, Massachusetts? You can still visit it, known as the Royall House & Slave Quarters museum, today. Ten Hills Farm tells the story of five generations of enslavers connected to this labor camp and how it was tied into the larger Transatlantic slave trade.

A People's History of the New Boston

The 1960s and 1970s represented a critical season of rebuilding for Boston following the impact of WWII. While wealthy, White men are often given credit for this transformation, this book tells the story of unsung influencers who, through grass-roots demonstrations, sit-ins, picket lines, boycotts, and contentious negotiations shaped Boston into the city we know today.

The New Bostonians: How Immigrants Have Transformed the Metro Area Since the 1960s

Between 1970 and 2010, the percentage of foreign-born, Boston residents more than doubled due to immigration from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The New Bostonians explores these immigrant communities' invaluable contributions and their crucial role in nurturing Boston's prosperity - the fruits of which have not been equally shared.

Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston

Shut Out is the compelling story of Boston's racial divide viewed through one of the city's most renowned institutions: the Boston Red Sox. This story is told from the perspective of Boston native and noted sportswriter Howard Bryant.

Busing at 50

The Boston Busing Crisis of the mid 1970s garnered national attention as the city experienced mass protests and violence after the Boston Public School system attempted to implement school integration. Sadly, 50 years later, the Boston public education system is still unequal and still segregated. Explore this Boston Globe Series Broken Promises, Unfulfilled Hope that reflects 50 years after the Boston Busing Crisis.

Sarah's Long Walk: The Free Blacks of Boston and How Their Struggle for Equality Changed America 

In 1847, a five-year-old African American girl named Sarah Roberts was forced to walk past five white schools to attend the poor and densely crowded all-black Abiel Smith School on Boston's Beacon Hill. Incensed that his daughter had been turned away at each white school, her father, Benjamin, sued the city of Boston on her behalf. The historic case that followed set the stage for over a century of struggle, culminating in 1954 with the unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage and Reckoning

In 1989, Charles Stuart reported that his white wife had been murdered by a Black man. Boston’s deeply seated racism tainted the investigation and worked the city into a frenzy, before it was revealed that Stuart killed his wife by his own hand. Learn more about the Charles Stuart case - and the long-standing racial tension that shaped it - by watching this three-part docuseries or going deep through Boston Globe podcasts.

Holding Ground: The Rebirth of Dudley Street

Explore how, in 1985, the Dudley Street Neighborhood of Roxbury worked together to overcome barriers of systemic racism and rebuild the fabric of their neighborhood. This community movement gained national attention, set legal precedent, and models how residents, community activists, and city officials can organize for change.

Forever Struggle: Activism, Identity, and Survival in Boston's Chinatown, 1880-2018

Chinatown has a long history in Boston. In writing about Boston Chinatown's long history, Michael Liu, a lifelong activist and scholar of the community, charts its journey and efforts for survival. Liu depicts its people, organizations, internal battles, and varied and complex strategies against land-taking by outside institutions and public authorities. Chinatown is a powerful example of neighborhood agency, the power of organizing, and the prospects of such neighborhoods in rapidly growing and changing cities.

Black Bostonians: Family Life and Community Struggle in the Antebellum North

When published in 1979, Black Bostonians was the first comprehensive social history of an antebellum northern black community. The Hortons challenged the then widely held view that African Americans in the antebellum urban north were all trapped in "a culture of poverty." Exploring life in black Boston from the 18th century to the Civil War, they combined quantitative and traditional historical methods to reveal the rich fabric of a thriving society, where people from all walks of life organized for mutual aid, survival, and social action, and which was a center of the antislavery movement.

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Local Historical Sites

Explore local historical sites that honor the journeys of different groups.

•  A plaque and developing memorial highlighting the Native American internment camp that was held on Deer Island, one of the Boston Harbor Islands. Tours of Deer Island briefly acknowledge this injustice.

• Middle Passage Port Marker on Long Wharf. The Boston Middle Passage Marker looks two ways: Out to Boston Harbor, where enslaved Africans and enslaved Indigenous people arrived and departed, and also inward, down State Street, where these enslaved people and their descendants lived, worked, and fought for freedom.

• The Royall House and Slave Quarters in Medford.

• The Black Heritage Trail, African Meeting House, and African American History Museum in Boston.

• A variety of cultural sites in Chinatown highlighted in videos from the Boston Chinatown Heritage Project, created by teens in partnership with the Chinese Historical Society of New England and others.

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Author’s Note: Resource descriptions are based on language from their respective promotional websites and have been paraphrased for the purposes of RCCI.

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Starter Resources on Race for White Evangelicals

Starter Resources on Race for White Evangelicals

by Megan Lietz

Biblical and Theological Foundations

As with all matters, it’s important that we root our understanding in God’s word. Explore the following resources to better understand the biblical and theological foundation of continuing God’s redemptive work across racial lines.

A Theology of Racial Healing:  Though the word “racism” is not used in the Bible, scripture tells the story of God reconciling all people to himself and one another. In this resource, RCCI suggests a Biblically-grounded theology on Christ's redemptive work in the area of race relations.

The Sin of Racism: Though racism is often not named as a sin from the White evangelical pulpit, this article by Tim Keller explains from a biblical perspective how racism is a sin and that it manifests individually and corporately. Though there is disagreement around how to respond to racism, as Christians, we cannot leave this sin unaddressed. 

Ethnic Identity: Bringing Your Full Self to God: God gave each one of us ethnic identities that reflect the character and image of God. Explore what the Bible has to say about ethnicity and culture in this self-led Bible study for groups and individuals. It reveals how God sees our ethnic identity and uses it as a part of his redemptive plan.

Race & Racial Hierarchy as the Product of Broken Humanity

While our ethnicities were given to us by God, the social classification of race and the racial hierarchy it serves was a product of a broken humanity. To learn more about how the concept of race developed and was shaped by socio-historical realities, not God’s will, explore the following resources.

Race: The Power of Illusion: This is a three-part PBS documentary that explores the origins of race and how it is not a genetic reality, but a relatively new social construct. Though somewhat dated, the foundation laid here is important to understanding the concept of race. If only one episode is watched, it is recommended to watch Part 2: The Story We Tell. It can be rented on vimeo or is available via Kanopy subscription service, that may be available through a local library.

Our Experience and Identity as White People

In order to engage effectively as white people in issues of race we need to understand how our experiences and perspectives may be different from those of people of color. An important part of this is understanding the racial privilege and power we have as White people because of the color of our skin. For some perspective, check out the following resources.

If you’re looking for a primer on how aspects of our identity like race and gender grant us measures of privilege and how they can impact our lived experience check out Allan Johnson’s book, Privilege, Power, and Difference.

Waking Up White is a memoir by Debby Irving, a white woman who grew up in a predominantly white, wealthy suburb of Boston, about how she came to see and respond to her whiteness. Her journey can offer insights and encouragement for your own.

In, White Awake: An Honest Look at White It Means to Be White, Daniel Hill leads readers through phases of White identity development and offers biblical tools to navigate these seasons of growth. He also offers strong chapters on markers of racial awareness and action steps you can take to progress in your racial awareness journey.

Peggy McIntosh’s article, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, is a brief and classic work that gives examples of how white people may experience privilege in their daily life. Simply becoming aware of what privilege looks like and how it can manifest in our lives is a crucial step!

 

Engaging Issues of Race

As we explore our identity as white people, we need to consider how this shapes our role in engaging issues of race and develop a toolkit for effective action.

Woke Church, by Eric Mason, explores the biblical call to justice that is for all believers and how the Church can regain its prophetic voice and practice to confront racism in the United States.

How to Be Last: A Practical Theology for Privileged People is a blog post by Christena Cleveland that lays a theological foundation for the posture that white people should take as they follow people of color into the work of racial reconciliation.

Soong Chan Rah’s book, Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church, explores what Christians need to know and do to engage across racial lines in ways that are loving and respectful.

Mark Kramer’s article, Unpacking White Privilege: Feeling Guilty about Racial Injustice Isn’t the Point; the Point Is Doing Something About It complements Peggy’s McIntosh’s article by offering suggestions for how to respond to some of the privileges she identifies.

For additional resources, check out Next Step Resources for White Evangelicals.

Take ACTION

Contact Megan Lietz

Contact Megan Lietz

Megan Lietz, M.Div., STM, helps White evangelicals engage respectfully and responsible with issues of race. She is the director of EGC’s Race & Christian Community Initiative.

5 Mind-Blowing Realities About Race (That White People May Not Know)

5 Mind-Blowing Realities About Race (That White People May Not Know)

by Megan Lietz

Megan Lietz, MDiv, STM, directs Racism Education for White Evangelicals (ReWe), a program of EGC’s Race & Christian Community Initiative. The intended audience of ReWe ministry and writing is White Evangelicals (find out why). 

Race is a complicated subject. We’re all at various points of understanding race issues and their impact. I want to share five realities White people may not know that I believe can transform our perspectives about race.

Reality #1. Society—not biology—defines race.

Differences in skin color have existed throughout history. But the meaning we in the U.S. ascribe to skin color is an artificial social construction that emerged in the 17th century—and has changed over time.

No genes are shared by all members of a given race that determine qualities by racial classification. Our experience as racialized beings isn’t defined by our biology, but by our society.

Racial classifications have shifted over time based on the interests and influence of people in power. In the 20th century, Irish, Italian, Greek, Jewish, and Eastern European people were all considered “non-White,” and they experienced discrimination because they were not considered a part of the dominant racial group.

These groups gained privilege only when those in power expanded the definition of Whiteness to include their nationality. Similarly, people of color who petitioned for “White” status were denied it, based on changing—and, at times, contradictory—legal interpretations that allowed White people to define racial classification.

To learn more about how the concept of race is rooted in society, not biology explore this interactive website or this article from National Geographic.

To learn more about how the social construct of race developed over time, click here.

Because society has ascribed meaning to race, inequality is both created and dismantled by working towards societal change.

Reality #2. Racism Goes Beyond Interpersonal Interactions

What first comes to mind when you hear the word “racism”? You may picture personal biases or racist interactions between people. While this is one form of racism, organizations and social systems can also take actions that uphold the reality of racism.

Internalized

Race-based beliefs and feelings within individuals.

E.g., consistently believing that your way of doing things is better than that of your colleagues of color.

Interpersonal

Bigotry and biases shown between individuals through word and action.

E.g., leaders exclude people of color from a team because they “just aren’t a good fit with the team dynamic.”

Institutional

Discriminatory policies and practices within organizations and institutions.

E.g., resumes that have Black-sounding names are 50% less likely to get called for an interview compared to people with White-sounding names.

Systemic

Ongoing racial inequalities maintained by society.

E.g., in 2015, the median net worth for White families in the Boston area ($247,500) towered over that of Hispanic ($3,020 for Puerto Ricans, $2,700 for other Hispanics) and Black families ($12,000 for “Caribbean Blacks” and $8 for “U.S. Blacks”). Additionally, in 2014, Asian American individuals in Boston were more than two times as likely to find themselves in poverty compared to their White counterparts.

Total Assets and Net Worth By Race in the Boston Area

Data from Federal Reserve Bank, March 25, 2015, https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/one-time-pubs/color-of-wealth.aspx

Because racism exists on many levels, racism can be at work in dynamics that don’t seem obviously racist. So we can contribute to racism without awareness or intention to do so.

Reality #3. Individuals can have an unintentional racist impact.

There’s false binary thinking in many people’s minds about racism that sounds like this: “Good people aren’t racist, racist people are bad people.” But well-intentioned people can have a racist impact without knowing it. Below are some realities that contribute to unintentional racist impacts.

Systemic racism

As larger social systems perpetuate racism (see Reality #2), people don’t have to be ill-intentioned, or even aware that they are helping these systems to do so. By supporting organizations and systems that contribute to racial injustice, we are complicit in their racist impacts.  

Implicit biases

Unconscious personal biases and stereotypes shape how we see and respond to situations. We all have biases that don’t match our explicit beliefs. We may believe God created all people in his image and we should show no favoritism. But our unconscious reactions may not uphold this belief.

For example, we may think that we don’t see Black men any differently than anyone else. But when we’re walking down the street at night, if we find ourselves holding on to our belongings a little tighter when we pass by a Black man, that’s a flag for us that we’re conditioned to see Black men as more dangerous than others.

This one-pager clarifies common misunderstandings about implicit bias—how it operates, and what we can do about it.

This test that can help reveal some of your own implicit biases.

Intent vs. Impact

What we say or do can have a different impact than what we mean. Even if we act with the best of intentions, by the time our action is translated through a history of overt discrimination, we may hurt another person in ways we didn’t anticipate.

Example

A Christian leader who lives in a largely White area of the suburbs is motivated to partner with city leaders for broader ministry impact. She enters a gathering with urban leaders who are mostly people of color and proceeds to “school” the city leaders about the importance of collaboration. She is assuming God wasn’t already working in the city in those ways, reinforcing historically degrading narratives about leadership capacity and the gifts of God among people of color. Such assumptions can be offensive to urban leaders of color and have a counterproductive impact, in race relations and beyond.

We are broken people in a broken world. Because we contribute to the problem, we bear a measure of responsibility in helping make things right.

Reality #4. Racism is a daily stressor to people of color.

A Day in the Life: How Racism Impacts Families of Color. Click on the infographic to expand.

Racism doesn’t just exist when people of color experience occasional, blatant, intentional racism. Racism profoundly impacts people’s daily experiences, both in everyday interactions and in ongoing disparities.

Subtle Racist Jabs are Commonplace, Accepted

People of color endure slights, indignities, and insults on a regular basis. These may come from people who don’t mean harm, but who don’t have the cultural awareness to know that what they are saying or doing may be hurtful. These incidents are called microaggressions.

For example, asking a person of Asian descent, “Where are you from?” may seem innocent. But remember that they get asked this question—sometimes in hostility—more often than you. The question implies that they aren’t American born. If they are American, it can make them feel like they don’t belong in their homeland, or aren’t welcome. While each incident may seem minor, repeated experiences add up to a demoralizing impact over time. “Did you grow up around here?” is a less presumptuous way to ask the same question.

See this chart of a broad list of microaggressions, what they can subtly communicate, and why they are problematic.

Disparities in Daily Life

People of color endure systemic racial inequalities in their everyday life. For example, a national study reveals that a majority of those in Black communities feel that racism has a negative impact on their daily experiences of neighborhood safety (80%), access to quality public schools (73%), access to financially viable jobs (78%) and access to quality, affordable healthcare (74%).  

Take a look at this infographic for more examples and consider the way these realities might impact your life.

Microaggressions and systemic disparities have a demonstrated negative impact on the mental and physical well being of people of color. The stressors created by regular experiences of discrimination have been correlated with and are thought to cause both a measurable psychological burden and long-term adverse health outcomes.

While White people can choose how often to engage with issues related to race, racism is part of the daily experiences and stressors of people of color.

Reality #5. Racism Harms All of Us

Racism is one of the sins the enemy uses to separate people from God and one another.

God created humanity in right relationship with himself and each other. But when sin entered the scene, our relationships became broken, divorced from God’s design. Racism in America idolizes White physical features and White values as supreme over those of others, denying that all people are equally image bearers of God.

The negative impact of racism on White people doesn’t compare to its effects on people of color. But everyone is degraded by a culture sick with sin. Living in a society that elevates White values as supreme over others diminishes White people in the following ways.

As people of a dominant culture, White people may be more likely to do the following:

• Be unreflective and unquestioning about our cultural values and assumptions.

• Have a diminished capacity to persevere in the face of obstacles or discomfort.

• Experience fear, anxiety, guilt, or shame around issues of race, and react in broken ways as a result.

• Feel barriers to authentic and intimate relationships with people of color, as well as with White people who have different opinions on race.

• Hold an incomplete view of God, as our theology and faith traditions are shaped mostly (or exclusively) by a Euro-American perspective.

• Contribute to racial tension, hatred, and violence in our homes, communities, and world.

• Have more limited imagination and creativity due to complacency in the status quo.

• Have more limited exposure to the enriching cultures, perspectives, and assets of people of color.

• Struggle to work across racial lines in addressing shared concerns and contributing to an improved society.

Reflection Question

How have you been diminished by a society that assumes the supremacy of White values?

Share Your Examples With Us

Share Your Examples

Conclusion

Racism is one more reminder that we live in a fallen and hurting world—a world where the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy in ways we can and can’t see. But with God, there’s hope of redemption. God continues to call humanity back to himself, working to restore the right relationships God intended in creation.

We have much work yet to do. God, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, has redeemed and is redeeming us in our brokenness. God can heal us and make us agents of healing as we invite him to do transformative work in our lives.  

Pray with me

Lord, help me to see where I’m blind.

Help me to reflect on what you are showing me, even when it makes me uncomfortable.

Help me to open myself up to your work in me so that I can experience freedom, healing, and wholeness.

Help me to be a part of the restorative work you’re doing in the world. Amen. 

Take Action

Racism is complex and multi-layered. If simple answers were enough, racism would not persist as it does today. We believe that growing as an agent of racial healing happens best in a learning community. RCCI cohorts are White evangelicals learning together about race.

Join an RCCI Cohort

Join an RCCI Cohort

3 Movements Against Gender-Based Violence in the Church

3 Movements Against Gender-Based Violence in the Church

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

The #MeToo movement has brought unprecedented public awareness of the scope of sexual assault against women in the U.S. experience. These three additional movements bring to light sexual and gender-based violence in the Church.

#ChurchToo Movement

Image from #ChurchToo: A Conference on Responding to Professional Sexual Misconduct, Columbia Bible College, March 25-46, 2018.

A nod to the extremely popular #MeToo movement, Emily Joy and Hannah Paasch coined #ChurchToo to emphasize that sexual grooming and abuse happen in church too, and are often covered up or sometimes even rewarded by those in power.

Read about the origin of the Twitter #ChurchToo movement

Read a Sojourners reflection, "Listening To and Addressing the Reality of #ChurchToo," from December, 2017

#SilenceIsNotSpiritual

The #SilenceIsNotSpiritual Twitter movement “calls on evangelical congregations and leaders to speak up and act on behalf of victims of gender-based violence who fear their stories will end up ignored or marginalized.”

“This moment in history is ours to steward. We are calling churches, particularly those in our stream of the Christian faith [evangelical churches], to end the silence and stop all participation in violence against women,” the statement reads.

WeWillSpeakOut.US

WeWillSpeakOut.US is a movement of diverse faith groups from across the U.S. joining together with other leaders for action and advocacy to end the silence around sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). 

WeWillSpeakOut.US produces "One in Three: Preventing Sexual Violence in Our Communities. A Guide to Help Faith Leaders Educate Congregations and Communities about Sexual and Gender-Based Violence." It includes guides and ideas for three sermons.

What Are We Missing?

[Video] 2018 Trends in Youth Culture

[Video] 2018 Trends in Youth Culture 

What are the most pressing issues shaping youth culture today? From gun violence activism to cell phone addiction, these national trends call forth the need not only for new answers but, in some cases, a new set of questions.

Prof. Dean Borgman gives an overview of current issues, along with conversation starters and resources in this class at Gordon-Conwell Seminary’s Center for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME).

For parents, pastors, youth ministers,  youth workers, and all those interested in the development of the next generation.

Watch Video

Organizations Against Gender-Based Violence in the Church

Organizations Against Gender-Based Violence in the Church 

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

Do you feel called to help survivors of gender-based violence (domestic abuse, sexual assault, etc.)? See these recommended local and national organizations and see how you may be able to get involved.

Casa de Esperanza

This organization helps to develop effective responses to domestic violence and facilitates support systems in the lives of Latinas where they live.

Christian Coalition Against Domestic Abuse

This organization’s mission is to empower the community and its leadership by bringing awareness to the issue of domestic abuse so that through prayerful collaboration, education and intervention we end and prevent abusive behaviors.

Faith Trust Institute 

FaithTrust Institute is a national, multifaith, multicultural training and education organization with global reach working to end sexual and domestic violence. provides multifaith and religion-specific intervention and prevention training, consulting, and educational materials for national, state, and community faith-based and secular organizations in the following areas:

• Domestic and Sexual Violence

• Healthy Teen Relationships, Preventing Teen Dating Violence

• Child Abuse, Children and Youth Exposed to Domestic Violence

• Healthy Boundaries for Clergy and Spiritual Teachers, Responding to Clergy Misconduct

• Trafficking of Persons

FOCUS Ministries - Faith-Based Domestic Violence Help for Women and Families

The two purposes of Focus Ministries are (1) To help women and families who find themselves in these difficult circumstances. The organization offers counseling by phone, email, or in person; FOCUS support groups; educational material, including a website with resources.

(2) To educate and train churches, organizations, support group leaders, and concerned friends and family members about the dynamics of domestic violence and abusive relationships.

Futures Without Violence 

“Futures Without Violence is a health and social justice nonprofit with a simple mission: to heal those among us who are traumatized by violence today – and to create healthy families and communities free of violence tomorrow.

From domestic violence and child abuse, to bullying and sexual assault, the organization’s groundbreaking programs, policy development, and public action campaigns are designed to prevent and end violence against women and children around the world.”

The website contains a large number of resources including audio webinars, blog articles, and materials which can be ordered as free downloads or free plus shipping (see “Resources”).

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence 

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) is the voice of victims and survivors. We are the catalyst for changing society to have zero tolerance for domestic violence. We do this by affecting public policy, increasing understanding of the impact of domestic violence, and providing programs and education that drive that change.

National Domestic Violence Hotline- 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

The National Domestic Violence Hotline connects individuals to help in their area by using a nationwide database that includes detailed information about domestic violence shelters, other emergency shelters, legal advocacy and assistance programs, and social service programs.

The RAVE Project

RAVE is an initiative that seeks to bring knowledge and social action together to assist families of faith impacted by abuse. This website includes online training sections, links to resources including videos.

Restored 

Restored is an international Christian Alliance that aims to transform relationships and end violence against women (VAW) by working through and with the church and Christians worldwide. The website offers many free resources including the following:

Aune, Kristin, and Rebecca Barnes. In Churches Too: Church Responses to Domestic Abuse: A Case Study of Cumbria. Cumbria, Eng.: University of Cumbria, University of Leicester, 2018.   The research report, In Churches Too, provides a helpful literature review and reference list, along with conclusions and recommendations that can have general application.

Ending Domestic Abuse: A Pack for Churches. (By Restored. 2016.) Although this material has sections that are specific to the United Kingdom, some parts are equally relevant in other countries (available in seven languages including Spanish & French).

VAWNet 

For over two decades, the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence has operated VAWnet, an online network focused on violence against women and other forms of gender-based violence. VAWnet.org has long been identified as an unparalleled, comprehensive, go-to source of information and resources for anti-violence advocates, human service professionals, educators, faith leaders, and others interested in ending domestic and sexual violence.

What Are We Missing?

Boston Racism: Pathways for Spirit-Led Action

Boston Racism: Pathways for Spirit-Led Action

By Megan Lietz, Director of EGC’s ReWe Initiative

Megan Lietz, MDiv, STM, directs Racism Education for White Evangelicals (ReWe), a program of EGC’s Race & Christian Community Initiative. The intended audience of ReWe ministry and writing is White Evangelicals (find out why).

Black people in Boston are treated differently than White people to this day. The Boston Globe’s compelling December 2017 Spotlight on Boston racism examines how.

Church, Jesus calls us to a love that heals, restores, and sets free. To express Jesus' love in these times, we must take the time to understand the problem of racism in Boston. It negatively shapes the daily experiences and life paths of people of color, who make up more than half of the Boston community. But no one is exempt from its influence. Racism impacts people of all races—in heart, mind, spirit, and body.

If you haven't done so already, I urge you to prayerfully read the Boston Globe’s spotlight on racism, linked below. Following that, I also offer some pathways forward—questions for reflection and suggestions for Spirit-led action. May we engage what it means for us to bear Christ’s presence in our communities today. 

The GLOBE Spotlight on BOSTON RACISM

OVERVIEW

11 Takeaways

A quick overview of the Boston Globe's Spotlight Series on Race in Boston

 

Full Series

Boston. Racism. Image. Reality: The Spotlight Team takes on our hardest question

Though Boston is commonly perceived as a progressive city, many Black people feel unwelcome here.

A brand new Boston, even whiter than the old 

If people of color are not given genuine influence in city planning and development, existing channels of power will favor the status quo.

Color line persists, in sickness as in health

Black and White people are three and four times more likely to attend certain hospitals than others, thus shaping their access to medical care.

Lost on campus, as colleges look abroad

Highly-recruited international students are coming to Boston at the expense of serving the African-American community in our own backyard.

The bigot in the stands, and other stories

Our celebrated sports teams have revealed and contributed to the racist reputation we’d like to shake.

For blacks in Boston, a power outage

Though Boston is a “minority-majority” city, the power holders in politics, business, and law are overwhelmingly White.

A better Boston? The choice is ours

Seven suggestions for addressing racism in our city.

Responses ACROSS THE CITY

Don’t stop at reading the articles themselves—learn from readers' responses:

Boston Globe Race Series Not News To City’s Blacks, Shocks White Readers

An Editorial from the YW

Readers Offer Solutions After Globe’s Series on Race in Boston

Series about Race in City Sparking Dialogues

Pathways Forward

Prayerfully consider how you can contribute to God’s restorative work, and inspire others to do the same. Together, let’s nurture racial healing and justice in our city.

If Boston’s racism is news to you

• Let it sink in. Create space and take time just to mourn the loss of what you thought Boston was. Explore your thoughts, feelings, and questions with God in prayer.

• Consider sharing what you're learning with a trusted friend. Be mindful that this conversation can be emotionally taxing to friends of color.

• Explore further with me and other White Evangelicals in a race learning community.

• Throughout, listen for God’s invitations. What might God be asking you to learn more about? Who is God calling you to connect with or come alongside? How are you called to be further equipped?

If you’re aware of Boston’s racism, but not taking action

“Here in Boston, a city known as a liberal bastion, we have deluded ourselves into believing we’ve made more progress than we have. Racism is certainly not as loud and violent as it once was, and the city overall is a more tolerant place. But inequities of wealth and power persist, and racist attitudes remain powerful, even if in more subtle forms...Boston’s complacency with the status quo hobbles the city’s future.”

— Boston. Racism. Image. Reality: The Spotlight Team takes on our hardest question (Boston Globe Spotlight on Racism, December 2017)

• Connect with others already taking action. Many Christian leaders have been working to further racial justice in Boston for years, decades, generations. One starting point is to spend time learning about their work and ask how you might support them. 

• Beware that sometimes inaction can stem from comfort, callousness, or complicity with a racist status quo. Prayerfully consider if your current inaction is accompanied by a willingness to rationalize, minimize, accept, and ultimately contribute to the problem.

• Ask the Lord to increase your capacity for action. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you specific steps you can take in your family, church, community, or workplace to engage in racial healing and restoration.

• Reach out to me for recommendations, for people to connect with, resources to explore, or a race learning community to join.

If you’re actively addressing Boston racism

• Consider how God might be inviting you to refreshment or renewal in your work towards racial justice.

• Reflect: What assets (skills, resources, relationships) are available to you for continuing Christ’s restorative work? What further assets could be available through prayer? Collaboration?

• Join the Racism in Boston Facebook Group and share your ideas for how other parts of the Body could come alongside what God is already doing in racial healing in Boston. 

Take Action

• Join a ReWe race learning community for White Evangelicals

• Discuss your ministry’s needs in addressing racism and how ReWe can support you

• Volunteer with the ReWe project

Connect

Connect with Megan Lietz

Not That Kind of Racism

Not That Kind of Racism

How Good People Can Be Racist Without Awareness or Intent

By Megan Lietz

Megan Lietz, MDiv, STM, directs Racism Education for White Evangelicals (ReWe), a program of EGC’s Race & Christian Community Initiative. The intended audience of ReWe ministry and writing is White Evangelicals (find out why).

In the tragedies of Charlottesville, VA, as a White person, it’s easy for me to see such hate and think, “How awful! That’s racist. Thank God I’m not a racist like that.” In doing so, I affirm my sense of being a good moral person and find comfort in the fact that I’m not like those I’m condemning.

In reality, White people cannot separate ourselves from the problem of racism. Even if we consciously reject racism, the biases and behaviors that contribute to and sustain injustice crop up in our actions. Racism persists not because of the hate of a few White supremacists, but because well-intentioned White people regularly contribute to racial inequity in ways that we may not be aware of or intend.

Expanding our View of Racism

Institutional and structural Racism

While interpersonal racism between people is still common, racism occurs as much if not more at the organizational and systemic level, which can be more difficult for White people to recognize.

For example, people with Black-sounding names are 50% less likely to get called for an interview compared to people with White-sounding names. This bias is one of many contributors to vast disparities between the median net worth of White people as compared with Black people or Hispanic people.

Implicit Bias

How we see and respond to situations is shaped by unconscious personal biases and stereotypes. We all have them, and they don’t necessarily align with our explicit beliefs. These can come out in casual interactions that can make people of color feel disrespected or devalued. They can also have a broader impact when shaping the decisions of policymakers, the prescriptions of doctors, or the actions of law enforcement agents.

To perpetuate racism, people don’t have to be ill-intentioned, or even aware they are contributing to injustice. By not actively resisting racist dynamics—and sometimes even by attempting to do so without proper understanding—we can contribute to a system that sustains inequality and racism.

Reflecting On Our Experiences

White people need education and reflection to see how we may be participating in injustice. We must look inward with openness, intentionality, and humility.

I’ve uncovered racism in my own life—how I’ve participated in it, benefited from it, and perpetuated it—which I share below. May my examples inspire your reflection, awareness, and action.

MY INSTITUTIONAL RACISM

Institutional racism is discriminatory rules, policies, and practices within organizations or institutions.

• I’ve supported businesses known to treat people of color in unfair ways because using their services was convenient for me.

• I’ve encouraged ways of thinking and doing that reflect my culture. For example, I feel that a meeting has gone well if we’ve followed my linear-thinking agenda, avoided conflict, and produced certain kinds of outputs. I tend to devalue people who don’t excel in the skill sets I value and prefer to work with people who think and act like me. If the leadership of my organization shares my lens on what “being effective” or having a good meeting looks like, I’ll thrive while people from other cultural experiences, who may have their own methods and practices for effectiveness that are just as valid, will be at a disadvantage.

My Structural Racism

Structural racism is persistent racial injustice worked into and maintained by society.

• Media and historical narratives that paint White people as dominant leaders and valuable assets have shaped my self-perception. I have assumed my presence and leadership is desired even in spaces where racially I am in the numerical minority. I’ve had to learn to be intentional about taking a support role.

• Because, historically, people of my skin color have had economic opportunities unavailable to people of color, my family and I had the financial resources to buy a home—one in a predominantly Black neighborhood. While we moved with the intent to learn from and invest in our community, we also contributed to gentrification and its associated displacement.

My Implicit Biases

Implicit biases are unconscious personal biases and stereotypes.

• White ideologies have shaped in me a pro-White view of how the world works. I grew up with the belief that people can succeed if they try. As a result, when I interact with people of color who are struggling, my initial reaction may be that they need to work harder, must be doing something wrong, or don’t have what it takes, rather than considering the impact of systemic racism.

• After hearing a Black man talking about the ways he loves and cares well for his daughter, I found myself being especially encouraged. Upon further reflection, I realized that I wouldn’t have had the same response to a White man because I would’ve expected him to be a good father. Sadly, my encouragement came from an expectation that men of color are less likely to be involved fathers.

• I spoke Spanish to a woman who appeared to be Hispanic/Latino, assuming it was her first language. Though this was my attempt to value her culture, she could’ve perceived it as reflecting a belief that people from her ethnic group don’t speak English, or must speak Spanish.

 

A Call to Self-Reflection

In acknowledging ways we’ve been perpetuating racism, we need not label ourselves as bad people. We need not declare we are “a racist,” in the sense that we often use that label—as a damning marker of our identity.

But we must admit that we can, and often do, perpetuate racism. We can have a racist impact, even without intent or awareness.

Acknowledging our potential for racist impacts is the first step in changing our thoughts and behavior. We can lead in our spheres of influence by first changing ourselves.

Exploring our racist tendencies isn’t an easy journey. But we can make real progress, one step at a time, empowered by God’s grace. I invite you to join me in self-reflection.

Reflection Questions

1. How do any of my life’s examples of institutional or structural racism resonate with your experiences?

2. As you discover any unjust attitudes or behaviors, how might you want to connect with God about it—in expressing lament or confession, in seeking wisdom, forgiveness, courage, or hope? What does the Gospel mean for you in this moment?

3. Do you notice attitudes or behaviors in your workplace, church, or other groups you participate in that contribute to racial disparity and division? With whom could you share your concerns?

Take Action

Connect with Megan Lietz

Connect with Megan Leitz

What Is Homelessness?

What Is Homelessness?

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

Life can be destabilizing for those who don’t have a permanent place to live.

To address local homelessness, we need a clear picture of whom we seek to help. You may be surprised by who qualifies as part of the homeless population. What follows is an overview of how homelessness is defined in the U.S.

Pine Street Inn, New England's largest homeless shelter in Boston

Who Defines Homelessness in the US?

Definitions of homelessness vary due to differing political and program purposes:

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has a somewhat narrow and precise definition aimed at determining eligibility for housing assistance.

• Advocates for homeless programs often have broader definitions to access more care resources.

• People and programs seeking to prevent homelessness among at-risk people include in their definition people who are in unstable or irregular housing. For example, some definitions include families who are doubled up or people sleeping on couches, both of whom are without permanent housing.

• Health centers most often use the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) definition in providing health services.

 

Homelessness in Detail

For a quick look at the practical realities, observe the precise way HUD defines a state of homelessness. The HUD definition includes four qualifying situations: 

1. “An individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” (including people who are sleeping in a car, a park, abandoned building, station, or who are sleeping in a shelter, transitional housing, or motel paid for by government or charitable organization).

2. “An individual or family imminently (within 14 days) losing (being evicted from) their primary nighttime residence with no subsequent residence identified and the household lacks the resources or support networks to obtain other permanent housing.”

3. “People, including unaccompanied youth or families with children and youth, with persistent housing instability evidenced by several characteristics.”

4. “Any individual or family who is fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other life-threatening conditions, and has no other residence or resources to obtain other permanent housing.”

Not all Homelessness is created equal

The experience of homelessness follows many paths and forms, and each person has a unique story. But Kuhn et al. have identified three main types of experiences in the US.

Shelter Guests by Life Situation

Data from Kuhn, R. and D.P. Culhane, Applying Cluster Analysis to Test a Typology of Homelessness by Pattern of Shelter Utilization: Results from the Analysis of Administrative Data. American Journal of Community Psychology, 1998. 26(2): p. 207-32.

1. Transitional Homelessness — an individual spends a short time in a shelter before transitioning into permanent housing 

2. Episodic Homelessness — an individual who is frequently in and out of shelters and stays for a short time

3. Chronic Homelessness — an individual who has been homeless for 12 consecutive months or has had four or more episodes of homelessness totaling 12 months over three years and has a disability. In Boston, chronic shelter guests are even lower, only about 6%.  But the chronic homeless typically use half of all shelter days over the course of a year.

Take Action to End Homelessness

According to U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, ending homelessness is achieved when individuals who fall into homelessness experience it as a brief crisis and quickly move forward on a path to housing.

"We believe that better cooperation amongst churches and community organizations could better serve the current need," writes Rev. Cynthia Hymes-Bell of EGC's Starlight Ministry. "Our vision is that every church and Christian group in Greater Boston who wants to engage people affected by homelessness will be equipped to do so wisely." 

Volunteer / Intern with Starlight

Connect with Starlight Ministry

Connect with Starlight Ministries

Contact Starlight Ministries

Stopping Racism Starts Here: 5-Minute Entry Points

Stopping Racism Starts Here

Five-Minute Entry Points

by Megan Lietz, EGC Race & Christian Community Initiative

Busy? We get that. Troubled by racism? Good. Here are five resources you can explore in under five minutes about racism in America today.

The current face of racism

Some forms of racism—the legalized segregation in Jim Crow laws, for example—are thankfully behind us. But other forms of systemic racism—such as the mass incarceration of Black men—still create inequitable experiences for people of color to this day.

The Racism is Real video by Brave New Films explores some everyday ways racism creates different experiences for White and Black people today.

Racism is Real

April 29, 2015

 

How RacisT History Impacts Today

Do you live in a pretty homogeneous neighborhood? Most people in the US do. While we may like to think that where we call home is shaped by our personal preferences or “just the way things are," the racially segregated neighborhoods we live in today are the product of our history.

Play around on PBS’ Race: The Power of Illusion website to learn how housing policies in the 20th century have had a profound impact on today’s neighborhoods and the resources that are available to them.

Race: The Power of Illusion

Implicit Bias

No one likes to think they’re biased. The six brief Who, Me? Biased? videos from the New York Times explore how we have all been unconsciously shaped to have biases. When we recognize this, we can see that even good, well-intentioned people can contribute to inequality. We’re all part of the problem.

The good news is that, with education and exposure, we can all take steps to be less biased. We can take intentional action towards equality.

Who, Me? Biased?

 

Color-Blind

One thing that I often hear among White people is that they are “color-blind.” This is intended  as a positive comment, implying that they don’t treat people differently based on the color of their skin. While well-intentioned, this lens can be counterproductive. This article by Jon Greenberg explains why.

Greenberg, Jon. “7 Reasons Why ‘Colorblindness’ Contributes to Racism Instead of Solves It.” Everyday Feminism. N.p., 20 July 2016.

Microaggressions

Microaggressions are day-to-day things we may say or do that can hurt people of color, sometimes without our intending or realizing it. Check out this Buzzfeed photo journal for some examples of microaggressions.

21 Racial Microaggressions You Hear On a Daily Basis

To explore a broader list of microaggressions, what they can subtly communicate, and why they are problematic, check out this chart:

Microaggressions

What do you think is the next step in dismantling racism?

Tell us here

What do you think is the next step to eradicating racism?

Join the Conversation: Honor-Shame Culture in US Cities & Churches

Join the Conversation: Honor-Shame Culture in US Cities & Churches

By Jess Mason, Supervising Editor

Before I had the pleasure of meeting Sang-il Kim, a Ph.D. candidate at BU School of Theology, I thought honor-shame dynamics were limited to specific cultures of the Far East, Middle East, and Africa. I was wrong.

My limited personal experience with honor-shame culture comes from my brief journey to China with a team of pastors. There I witnessed our cross-cultural guide go to an ATM, withdraw a wad of cash, and present it to our Chinese host, after we had unknowingly offended our Chinese friends in some way. She had received our shame and made the culturally appropriate gesture to restore our honor in their eyes.

Last month, Mr. Kim opened my eyes to the surprising levels of honor-shame dynamics now present in US cities, including Boston. Notably, he said that the American face of honor-shame dynamics today goes far beyond immigrants from traditionally honor-shame cultures.

I was inspired to brainstorm with him what it could mean for Boston area pastors—what does it look like to shepherd well amidst this emerging dynamic of honor and shame?

Mr. Kim's full article (below) aims to raise the awareness of Boston Christian leaders to honor-shame culture in their congregations, communities, and theology. EGC invites you to join him for conversation, and consider with others how you might engage honor-shame dynamics to the glory of God. 

Join a Conversation

Thank you for your interest in honor-shame dynamics! I’d love to connect with you! - Sang-il Kim

Sang-il Kim is a doctoral candidate in Practical Theology and Religious Education at Boston University. His dissertation delves into the harmful effects of shame and how teaching and learning Christian doctrines can be an antidote to them. Sang-il plans to balance teaching and research on human emotion and Christian theology, with youth and adult Christian formation in view.

Getting Ahead of Boston's Homelessness Crisis: Starlight's Collaborative Approach

Getting Ahead of Boston's Homelessness Crisis: Starlight’s Collaborative Approach

by Rev. Cynthia Hymes Bell, MPH

The face of homelessness on Melnea Cass Boulevard in Boston has changed. When we think about homelessness in America, we tend to think of single adult males living in a shelter, in a car or under a bridge. They may have a mental illness, or drug or alcohol addiction.

However, increasingly the single adult male is no longer the dominant face of homelessness in the Melnea Cass Boulevard area of the city. While traveling through this neighborhood on my way to work or to the airport, I have observed that the faces of the individuals congregating on the Boulevard are now younger, Caucasian and increasingly women.  

As the Director of Starlight Ministries, I am constantly asking, what can be done—what is being done—by Christian leaders in this city to eradicate the problem? What is the Church’s response to this crisis?

THE CURRENT CRISIS

Just in the past three years, the face of homelessness on Melnea Cass Boulevard has changed completely. The Woods-Mullen women's shelter on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard in Boston’s South End serves women ages 18 years or older. Their 200 beds have not met the need of an increasing number of young women sleeping on the Boulevard and the streets of the city.  

Street involvement is becoming more prevalent and severe for both women and men. On any given night in the city of Boston, the first-come-first-served overnight shelter beds are usually full or beyond capacity, leaving those who cannot be served sleeping on the streets in bags, in makeshift houses or on corners of the city’s streets.

“Families have become the fastest growing segment of the homeless population.”

In January 2016, the annual City of Boston Homeless Census counted 7,549 men, women and children sleeping in shelters, treatment centers and on the streets of Boston. What is even more startling is a recent report published by the Boston Foundation which highlights that the number of individuals in families who are homeless in Massachusetts has more than doubled in nine years to 13,000, an increase that’s among the highest in the nation.

Historically, homelessness has meant individuals living on the streets. But families have become the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, comprising nearly 40 percent nationally, according to the National Center on Family Homelessness. Children make up 60% of those who are experiencing family homelessness on any given day in Massachusetts.  

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Chronic homelessness is a persistent and pervasive problem in the metro-Boston area, where limited shelter options, unemployment, and excessive rents are forcing more people onto the streets.  The housing crisis undermines the life and dignity of so many of our sisters and brothers who lack stable housing, employment and a permanent place to live.

“Christian leaders best address the homelessness crisis by building healthy community networks that relationally engage and support people affected by homelessness.”

Homelessness is a multifaceted problem—there is no one-size-fits-all solution.  I recognize that the current crisis in the city of Boston poses a particular challenge for church leaders who do not have the capacity, or do not feel well-equipped, to deal with the problem.

The “no loitering” signs that recently have been posted by the city of Boston along the fences on Melnea Cass Boulevard certainly are not the answer. These are our sisters and brothers—nameless faces of women and children and men sleeping on the city streets, outcast, turned down, closed out and invisible.

What is the church’s response to this crisis?  At Starlight, we believe Christian leaders best address the homelessness crisis by building healthy community networks that relationally engage and support people affected by homelessness. 

STARLIGHT’S COLLABORATIVE MODEL

“In a partnership, each church community can find their unique contribution, and no one church is overburdened. ”

This past year, we at EGC’s 27-year-old Starlight Ministries have honed our approach. We began a re-learning process, identifying 30 prospective church partners that currently have outreach ministries to people who are poor or marginalized.

We were disheartened to learn, after the first 12 meetings and interviews, that many of these ministries are using a model of service—the food pantry model—that is not effectively serving people dealing with homelessness. People without housing need ready-to-eat foods that do not require cooking or preparation.

We believe that better cooperation amongst churches and community organizations could better serve the current need. We are now developing church and community partnerships aimed at implementing holistic approaches, sharing resources, and coordinating services.

In a partnership, each church community can find their unique contribution, and no one church is overburdened. Partners will jointly address the physical, spiritual, and practical needs of people in their neighborhood to foster healthy community.

Our vision is that every church and Christian group in Greater Boston who wants to engage people affected by homelessness will be equipped to do so wisely. In turn, people affected by homelessness will have more opportunities to participate in “healthy, effective communities” that can support them in transitioning out of homelessness and achieving their full potential.

Rev. Cynthia Hymes Bell

Rev. Bell leads Starlight Ministries in its mission to build the capacity of Boston’s churches and leaders to create life-changing relationships with people affected by homelessness. She has a degree in mental health from Tufts University, a Master of Public Health from Yale, and a Master of Divinity from Harvard. From 2002 to 2008, Cynthia traveled to South Sudan with “My Sister’s Keeper,” where she participated in the redemption of more than 1,200 slaves. She is a licensed and ordained minister and serves on the ministry team of Morning Star Baptist Church in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston.

Boston Climate Dialogues: 3 Fall Events

Boston Climate Dialogues: 3 Fall Events

By Ruth Wong

EGC is excited to partner with Northeastern University and Vibrant Boston to promote practical dialogue on climate change and resilience in Boston communities.  We are opening three of our fall sessions to the public, to broaden community knowledge and collaboration with Christian leaders engaged in climate resilience work.

ABOUT OUR COLLABORATION

EGC is one of Northeastern University’s Service Learning Opportunity sites, and this fall we are learning alongside students in a Climate Change & Society class, taught by Sociology Professor Sharon Harlan. We are exploring together the possible impacts of climate change in a Boston neighborhood and how the community can become more resilient to environmental change.  

Northeastern also has interest in engaging youth and residents from a Boston neighborhood. With our existing collaboration with Vibrant Boston, EGC helped facilitate a three-way partnership for this class.

Vibrant Boston is a free drop-in program based in Boston’s Lenox-Camden neighborhood of the South End /Lower Roxbury area. They provide the youth and their families living in this well-documented high crime community with support, enrichment, and opportunities based in a Social and Emotional Learning approach. Vibrant Boston programming covers a broad spectrum of services, including homework help, sports activities, career exploration, job opportunities for both teens and adults, and therapeutic classes in the arts.

OUR GOALS

Our three-way collaboration seeks to:

• empower Vibrant Boston, and the residents of housing developments surrounding it, to learn about the potential impacts of climate change on urban communities, including their own

• become more informed about climate change and how we can support Christian leaders’ involvement with the city of Boston’s climate change initiatives

• promote a constructive dialogue about resilience within the community, with other communities, and with city government

• provide opportunities for Vibrant Boston youth to interact with Northeastern students for mutual learning and relationship-building that are beneficial to both groups.

• encourage Vibrant Boston youth’s aspirations for a university education

EGC staff and Vibrant Boston youth will attend eight sessions of the Northeastern Climate Change & Society class to learn and dialogue about climate change and its impact on urban communities.

“Decisions are being made now about climate mitigation and adaptation that affect how people will live in the future climate. There are significant social justice problems involving human capabilities and adaptive responses to climate change that must be addressed at local, national, and global scales. We will examine how communities are striving to adapt and prepare for the climate of the future. - excerpt from the Climate Change & Society course syllabus, Northeastern University

You're Invited!

Three guest speaker sessions are open to the public. We welcome residents from Boston and area churches to participate with us as we hear from key Boston leaders addressing this issue.

Learn with us! Join us in becoming more informed and ready to support local leaders doing important climate resilience work in our neighborhoods and city. Please mark your calendars for these fall events!

1. Is Boston’s Climate Changing?  Are We Prepared?

Mia Mansfield

City of Boston Office of Environment, Energy and Open Space

Reading Assignment: Climate Ready Boston Report

Monday, October 23 @ 3:15PM

2. Connections: Race and Climate Justice

Rev. Mariama White-Hammond

Bethel AME Church

Reading Assignment: Bridging Boston’s Racial Divide by Blanding

Monday, October 30 @ 3:15PM

3. Resilient Communities: East Boston Sets an Example

Gabriela Boscio & Melinda Vega

Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, East Boston

Wednesday, November 8 @ 3:15PM

Take Action

Contact

Climate Dialogues Contact Form

RUTH WONG

Ruth is passionate about creating learning communities for churches and leaders across racial, socio-economic, and denominational lines. Director of the Boston Education Collaborative, Ruth collaborates with the Boston Public Schools to foster partnerships between schools and faith-based institutions. Every summer, Ruth also teaches at an engineering program at MIT for high school students. 

How Are We Doing?

Refugee Employment & Entrepreneurship: Why It Matters to the Church

Refugee Employment & Entrepreneurship: Why It Matters to the Church

By Fargol Dyrud and Kylie Mean, Greater Boston Refugee Ministry

We are in one the biggest refugee crises in world history. Over 60 million people are currently displaced from their homes and separated from family. As Christians—called by Jesus to care for the stranger—we must contemplate our role in addressing this crisis.

In our work through the Greater Boston Refugee Ministry, we have learned that work is one of the most challenging issues for refugees rebuilding their lives in the US. Lack of prospects for work fosters unhealthy dependencies, stifled potential, and loneliness. Work provides dignity—it’s a path toward economic independence, an opportunity to build capacities, and a place to develop relationships.

“Figures at a glance.” The UN Refugee Agency. Accessed September 1, 2017. http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html

The geopolitical forces causing the refugee crisis don’t discriminate by occupation or education. Refugees come to the US with a broad range of skills and experience. Some are doctors, engineers, or other highly skilled professionals. Others come with little formal education, many having survived in refugee camps for significant portions of their lives. All arrive in the US with the same hope—that they will be able to live in safety and build their future.

Studies have shown that refugees and immigrants contribute positively to local economies. In the Franklin County, Ohio, refugees contributed an estimated total $1.6 billion per year to the Columbus Metropolitan Area alone through the combined economic impact of the resettlement agencies, refugee workers, and refugee-owned businesses.

Despite their demonstrated benefit to local economies, refugees face systemic barriers to securing work. Some find employment that fits their gifts and experiences. But many are currently unable to realize their potential in employment or entrepreneurship—they struggle to find a job, remain underemployed, or face significant obstacles in opening a business.

REFUGEE VOICES

"Just think about the change from my previous experience to my current one! I was a UN Investment Specialist, with an office in the Ministry Authority. I had meetings and conferences at the highest levels of Government and with international entities. Here, it’s been so difficult to even find a job—to navigate the employment and recruiting system to get a rare interview, all to find that the only job I can get is a simple job, for little pay, requiring no skill." - Syrian male

Refugee employment/entrepreneurship matters to the church. Here’s why.

1. God has dignified work for all.

God has always intended—starting with the first man and woman—for humanity to steward His creation. Genesis 2:15 says “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” (NIV, emphasis added). As beings made in the image of God, we are designed to engage in fruitful work as a small reflection of God’s creative power.

While God later cursed the man with toilsome labor, work itself was not a curse. God first gave work to humankind in the Garden of Eden—before the Fall—as a blessing and a dignity.

Over time a broad tapestry of occupations has developed as societies have changed. What hasn’t changed is the God-given privilege and call to use the combination of gifts and capacities God has given each of us in regular labor.

Refugee Voices

"Everything is related, and by doing good work, I do the will of God by loving my work, my coworkers, my boss, and everyone I meet. Then when I’m on my way back home, while tired, I’m full of joy and happy to be alive." - Syrian male

2. Work builds dignity and purpose for refugees.

Even if our current job doesn’t match squarely with our talents, work can provide dignity through the opportunity to provide for our families. Earning a living and working towards self-sufficiency is healthy and empowering.

For the refugee, getting their first job in the US provides a family with critical momentum. Earning a solid wage can help provide a necessary boost to get a family out of survival mode. They can then get started on a career ladder or on a path to opening their own business.

As refugees gain the resources to provide for the basic needs of their family, they reclaim more energy to pursue less tangible needs, like connection and relationship. Once able to plan beyond the next month, a family also has space to dream about their own and their children’s future and access the many opportunities and resources this country has to offer.

When our work intersects well with how God has gifted us, we further feel deep satisfaction and joy from being useful, productive, and fully engaged. Frederick Buechner wrote, "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet." Refugees, too, look forward to a job that calls upon their skills, personality, and capacities.

Refugee Voices

"I love being an architect because I've been always interested in designing spaces where people live and socialize in the routine of daily life." - Syrian female

3. Refugees foster mutually transformative relationships in the workplace.

We spend a considerable number of waking hours at work. The work environment provides refugees significant opportunity to build language skills. At the same time, they learn about American culture and develop relationships with members of the community, including employers, coworkers, and customers.  

But workplace cultural learning doesn’t just flow one way. Refugees broaden Americans’ understanding of God’s diverse creation—employers and coworkers benefit from learning about different cultures and backgrounds. Teams with refugees can generate fresh ideas for business growth as they come to learn about a broader landscape of potential customers.

Refugee Voices

"Amidst all this I’ve experienced lots of struggles, and I’ve been humbled. But I’ve also experienced joy and great satisfaction just because I have a job and relationships with my coworkers—I’m happy to see them again every day." - Syrian male

Refugees also model character traits in the workplace that American-born workers rarely possess in the same capacity. The life experience of refugees has engraved into their DNA humbleness, resilience, loyalty, and sense of community that enriches their work relationships.

“Refugees will suddenly be [like], you're their brother, you’re their sister, you’re their family, instantaneously. If you help, if you give a little bit, you get back that much more," says Meggan Ward, Director of Operations and Training, Beautiful Day Rhode Island. 

In fact, we need the strength of character of refugees to remedy parts of our own damaged work cultures. We can all testify that we need more caring employers and work environments, more of a sense of community, and greater loyalty in our modern American workplace. 

Anyone who has worked with refugees has experienced in them a remarkable strength that transforms the workplace dynamic. 

Refugee Voices

"My job has a lot of physical movement, which is very good for my health. We can choose to see the positive side and make it more important than the negative one. This motivates me to do a good job, to do my duty at work the best way that I can." - Syrian male

4. Your Church Can Play a Key Role

We believe the Church is vital to supporting refugees to find sustainable employment or pursue entrepreneurial dreams that would enrich our city.

Any church has the potential to change a refugees’ trajectory on their employment and entrepreneurship journey. How? Your church can become a refugee family’s community network. The Church’s extensive social ties provide refugees with supportive connections that could otherwise take years for them to build in the US.

Each church has different skills they can leverage in addressing the issue of refugee employment and entrepreneurship. Communities of faith can offer (among many other things):

• access to critical resources and knowledge

• a sense of community and connection

• mentoring relationships

• a space for refugees to soundboard or test business ideas

If you’re interested in making a positive difference in the lives of refugees, pray with your church community about how God may be calling you to engage in refugee employment or entrepreneurship.
 

TAKE ACTION

CONNECT

Interested in refugee employment or entrepreneurship?

ABOUT THE AUTHORs

About Internships

Contact Us

Fargol Dyrud

Fargol was a 2017 GBRM research associate working in refugee employment/entrepreneurship and refugee housing as a part of her MBA. As an Iranian immigrant whose life has been affected by geopolitical forces, she empathizes with refugees and is passionate about serving them. Fargol leverages her fresh, insider perspective to push the boundaries of the refugee resettlement/recovery field. 

Kylie Mean

Kylie’s heart for social enterprise, intercultural ministry and hospitality fits well with her role with EGC’s Greater Boston Refugee Ministry. She helps GBRM leadership and ambassadors consider how they can empower refugees and their employers to create transformational employment opportunities.

HOW ARE WE DOING?

Beyond Church Walls: What Christian Leaders Can Learn from Movement Chaplains [Interview]

Beyond Church Walls: What Christian Leaders Can Learn from Movement Chaplains [Interview]

by Stacie Mickelson, Director of Applied Research & Consulting

People who profess no faith affiliation, often called "nones”—as in "none of the above"—comprise nearly 23% percent of the U.S.'s adult population. How do we develop meaningful connections with a generation that might never enter a church building? We sat down with anti-racism activist and spiritual director Tracy Bindel to discuss this question.

“How do we develop meaningful connections with a generation that might never enter a church building?”

SM: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself – what you do with your time?

TB: I spend a lot of time bolstering and equipping social justice activists in the Boston area and beyond. I do that through Lenten spiritual direction, and I also run Circles (supportive contemplation-action groups) mostly for young people—Millennials who are engaged in some sort of justice work in the world. 

SM: You use the term ‘Nones’. Can you explain what that is?

TB: It seems to be a word that is quite popular among faithful Millennials. There’s a group of people who are deeply spiritual and longing for deep and faithful community, and they aren’t willing to be affiliated with large institutional religions. 

SM: What is Movement Chaplaincy?

TB: It’s an emergent field. It’s somewhere at the intersection of the multi-faith chaplaincy that you would see in a university and the traditional chaplaincy like in hospitals. It recognizes that people are in the world doing work together and need support—and more dynamic support—to do this work for the long haul.  

At SURJ Boston, when we have meetings, between 3 to 500 people show up. When you have five hundred people anywhere, you need all kinds of support, you don’t just need programming. Conflicts come up. Interpersonal stuff comes up. People don’t know how to navigate bigger questions on race, privilege, etc. Those are actually spiritual questions. 

“[Movement Chaplaincy is] somewhere at the intersection of the multi-faith chaplaincy (that you would see in a university) and traditional chaplaincy (like in hospitals).”

There are a lot of deeply faithful people thinking about, How do we actually shepherd this movement towards health and wellness, as we seek to dismantle systems of injustice?

SM: Are there places for churches to engage in movement chaplaincy?

TB: I think there’s a huge need for churches to follow the leadership of people in movement building work right now. But there’s hesitancy I see. 

I don’t have a lot of criticism of the church. But I think we could be doing more if we would trust that the Spirit is working outside of our walls, and that it’s okay for us to wander out and not be afraid of what could happen. I think the hesitancy I see mostly has to do with fear of “those people”—a separation between spiritual and secular people, which I don’t believe really exists.

TIPS FROM THE FRONT LINES

If you’re interested in learning more about engaging ‘nones’ or getting involved in anti-racism work, Tracy has some practical tips for you:

1. Learn New Spiritual Language.

Listen to the podcast “On Being”, which brings together intersections in spirituality. It will give you the language to access people outside of the spiritual language that you currently have.  

2. Check Your Fear.

Consider what you internally fear in people who don’t have the same values and faith that you do, because God is not afraid of that. Ask yourself: How much of my discomfort is just language translation? Where do I need to learn how to speak a different language to reach and connect genuinely with these people? And where do I fear our differences in values?

3. Support & Learn from Those Doing Frontline Ministry in the 21st Century.

I think most people in the United States know it’s bad to be racist. But most people  don't actually know what it means to live into a practice of anti-racism. Go and find the people who do. I guarantee there are people in your community who are trying, whether that’s through meditation or policy work or legislation. There are different ways people are committed to practicing that value. Go and learn from them—that is applied spirituality.

4. Look For God Already at Work.

If we were to pose the question as, “What do you know about God?” rather than, “Do you know him or not?”, we would enter into a much more dynamic conversation. I just like to put on my curious exploration hat and say, “I wonder where God might be at this meeting? Maybe I’ll go see.”

5. Invest in Church-Based Community Organizers.

Anti-racism work is deeply spiritual. But there are thousands of people outside church walls who are also talking about it, and churches need to be in relationship with them—we need to be more coordinated and connected. Will your congregation support someone to spend dedicated hours each week coordinating with other parts of the movement to do this work well? My really big hope is for churches to hire community organizers to connect and organize congregations around these social issues.

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TRACY BINDEL

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Tracy is an anti-racism activist and spiritual director who describes her work as Movement Chaplaincy, an emergent stream of chaplaincy that supports activists and social justice movement builders. She is a co-founder of Freedom Beyond Whiteness, a nationwide network of contemplative action circles, and she works locally with the Boston chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), a network of 3500+ people that is comprised of many small issue-based working groups.

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