21-Day Challenge – Youth, Faith, Race & Moore

Curated by Christian Antwi, Michelle Thomas-Bush, Adam Alexander, Brian Shivers, Genie Richards, Vance Stiles, and Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr.

painting of Jesus with bleeding palms

“It is impossible to do Christian theology with integrity in America without asking the question, What has the gospel to do with the Black struggle for liberation?” –Rev. Dr. James Cone

The Resurrection copyright 2013 Janet McKenzie

The Christian Church, for many, has been seen as a catalyst for justice and righteousness across the United States. After all, the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement was grounded in the Church. Leaders such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, Rep. John Lewis, and Rosa Parks cite Christian theology and biblical teachings as influencing factors in their fight for equity. Though, for many others, the Christian Church has dominated and oppressed. Enslaved peoples were forced to abandon their identities and adopt the faith. The bible was even used to continue the enslavement of our Black and Brown neighbors. No human institution is perfect, the Church is no exception. The good news is that we are in the midst of an opportunity to use the Gospel as a means of anti-racist liberation and education in our own lives. As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught, “Our goal is to create a Beloved Community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.” #ThisIsOurTime #YOUthFaithRace

Thank you for choosing and using this challenge. If you want to stay connected, email 21daychallenge@theprivilegeinstitute.com. We'd love to know how it went for you and your group!

Choose one activity per day

Each day, for 21 days, pick at least one of the below resources or activities to do.

Read

Encounter new writers and ideas from a range of media sources.

Listen

Listen in on the kinds of open, honest conversations that too many of us avoid having.

Watch

Watch and learn. We’ve offered everything from short videos to full-length films.

Connect / Follow

Follow Racial Justice activists, educators, and organizations on social media.

Engage

Engage in racially mixed settings. Be a learner more than a knower.

Reflect

Reflect on what you choose to do, what you’re learning, and how you are feeling.

Tips For Success

  • Use the tracking chart provided below to stay on course. You can drag the image to your desktop and print, or you can access a digital version here and copy it for editing.
  • We think understanding white privilege is a powerful lens into the complexities of doing social justice work, so we’ve focused our resources on that specific issue.
  • Adaptable to all forms of social justice.
  • Can be done individually, with friends and family, or organization-wide.
  • Like our Facebook page. Use it to get ideas as well as share your 21-Day experience with the 21-Day community.
  • Diversify your habits by doing some of each.

Sample Tracking Chart

* For adaptation ideas and examples of how communities are adapting the challenge to meet their specific social justice focus, click HERE.

Resources