Human Rights

The United Church of Canada has a long history of engagement with social justice issues, rooted in the social gospel movement of the early 20th century. Building on this tradition, the 37th General Council in 2000 recognized the need to address racism within and outside ourselves, and adopted the Anti-Racism Policy That All May Be One.

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Working to End Racial Discrimination

The call to act against racism is more urgent now than ever before. Modern racism is becoming more difficult to name and identify, because it is hidden within the liberal democratic policies that we all value and adhere to.

Resources

• Awakening to a Painful Reality [PDF: 2 pp/69 KB]
  Chelsea Masterman reflects on how her experience with a Joint Mission Action Team of the Caribbean and North American Council for Mission opened her eyes to the reality of racism.
• Ending Racial Harassment: Creating Healthy Congregations (2008) offers guidelines to help church members, ministers, and congregational committees recognize, understand, and stop racial harassment. A workshop outline is included to facilitate group study.
• Explore Some Selected Resources for Building Racial Justice [PDF: 4 pp/35 KB]. A “reading list” of recommended books, films, and online and print resources.
• Discuss and choose from the document "Anti-Racism Action Ideas from Global Partners" [PDF: 1 p/18 KB]
• Mamow be-mo-tay-tah/Let Us Walk Together (Canadian Ecumenical Anti-racism Network, 2009) is a compilation of articles by Aboriginal writers gathered to help people of Canada engage with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Read excerpts from the introduction [PDF: 1 p/29 KB] by Harley Eagle, describing how the journey to right relations must be a journey to unmask racism in our communities and our churches and face our own power and privilege.
• Mandate, May 2008: Empire and Racial Power offers workshops, worship, and reflections on the theme of empire and racism. The article “Unpacking White Privilege” is particularly recommended.
• Sacred Conversation on Race by the United Church of Christ, one of our partner churches in the United States, is a helpful tool for creating a safe space to talk about race, White privilege, internalized racism, and structural power analysis. initiative to engage their congregations in anti-racism and racial justice work.
• The brochure That All May Be One introduces the United Church’s anti-racism policy in an inviting format. (Also available in French from the Unité des Ministères en Français.)
• That All May Be One: A Resource for Educating toward Racial Justice (The United Church of Canada, 2004) can be used to start a conversation on racial justice, to increase your knowledge of racism, and to raise your awareness of your own social location and cultural identity.

For more information, please contact

• Alcris Limongi
  Program Coordinator
  Racial Justice, Gender Justice, and Sexual Minorities
  Tel: 416-231-5931 ext. 3015
  Toll-free: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 3015
  E-mail: Alcris Limongi
• David Fines
  Ministries in French
  Tel: 450-466-7733
  E-mail: David Fines