21 Day Racial Justice Challenge

The recent murder of George Floyd at the hands of police reveals again the deep racial wounds of our society. This is a momentous time with protests and marches across our city and nation. 

This also becomes a significant time for us to reflect faithfully, sincerely, and honestly on our connection to the racial wounds and God’s desire for justice for all, especially black and brown people who have suffered too long in our unjust society.

As an expression of renewed and heightened commitment to this cause, the Mission Council challenges each member of the church family to participate in a 21-day exploration into faith and racial justice. We ask everyone to commit to this venture in an effort to grow, to be open to God’s Spirit, to move closer to what God intends for our lives and for the world. This reflection and recognition of our own complicity in the continued oppression of people of color is a first step in our re-commitment to actively participate in dismantling systemic racism.

 As you work through the 21-Day Racial Justice Challenge, spiritual self-care will be important.  Engaging our minds and hearts in antiracism work is hard work that is deeply spiritual. It involves learning that moves toward self- examination and prepares us for active engagement. We recommend you use this Daily Examen which has been designed by Second’s Mission Council team as a meditation to specifically accompany the 21 Day Racial Justice Challenge. You can watch it here or read it here.

Or you might choose from this list of prayer exercises:

  1. Inwardly pray the familiar refrain we use in worship: “Take oh take me as I am, summon out what I shall be, set your seal upon my heart and live in me.”

  2. Use the Breathing Through meditation. This meditation provides a healing way to attend the suffering around us and the pain we feel for the world.

  3. Pray a favorite Psalm. For example, Psalm 139:23-24 offers a prayer to invite God into our learning and self-examination process.  

  4. Journal daily or weekly. Journaling can be a wonderful spiritual companion to your 21-Day Racial Justice Challenge.

Through it all, remember to be kind to yourself. We trust God. We seek to serve God.

***Most of these resources come from the work of Eddie Moore, Jr. We hope you will take time to explore his entire website here. There is music, podcasts, articles, and many many helpful resources.

We hope this 21-Day Challenge will enhance your awareness of how people of color are being exploited and oppressed in this country—and how it is far too easy for us to be complicit in their oppression. We encourage you to find a partner or small group to have regular discussions with and who can walk with you. 

If you like charts and want to track your progress, here is a helpful planning tool.

Blessings to you as you start this journey. 

Day 1
Watch “When is Someday?”, a sermon by Otis Moss III, preached on May 31 after just learning of George Floyd's death. (18 minutes)

Day 2
Watch “White Bred,” a quick introduction to how white supremacy shapes white lives and perception. (5 minutes)

Day 3

  • Watch an updated version of the Clark doll experiment, which explores how early-in-life ideas of racial inferiority and superiority are internalized. (5 minutes)

  • Watch New York Times Op-Docs on Race, multiple videos with a range of racial and ethnic perspectives on the lived experience of racism in the U.S. Start with A Conversation About Growing Up Black. (each video about 6 minutes)

Day 4
Watch (maybe twice) “Why “I’m not racist” is only half the story.” Robin DiAngelo explains the function of white fragility in maintaining racial hierarchy. (7 minutes)

Day 5
Watch “Confronting 'intergroup anxiety': Can you try too hard to be fair?” It explores why we may get tongue tied and blunder when we encounter people from groups unfamiliar to us. (5 minutes)

Day 6
Watch “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Discussing Race,” a TEDx talk by Jay Smooth that suggests a new way to think about receiving feedback on our racial blindspots. (12 minutes) 

Day 7

  • Watch The Disturbing History of Suburbs, an Adam Ruins Everything episode that quickly and humorously educates how redlining came to be. (6 minutes)

  • Read Long History of Affirmative Action for Whites


Day 8

  • Read “Race, Inequality, and Covid-19”, co-written by the leaders of Virginia Interfaith Power and Light (VAIPL) whose office is here in Richmond, VA.

  • Watch this 3-minute video defining Environmental Racism.

  • Watch this 3-minute video on the history of environmental justice in the U.S.         

Day 9

  • View & Read a photo story of environmental racism in Buckingham County, VA.

  • Skim a summary of VAIPL’s work on environmental justice for Buckingham County.

  • Read VAIPL’s brief announcement on Virginia’s encouraging progress on Environmental Justice policy for the state in its 2020 General Assembly. Learning from its work with Buckingham County, VAIPL played a big role in advocating for this state policy and gives witness to the interfaith community as a force for racial justice regarding the environment.

Day 10
Watch “The danger of a single story,” a TED Talk by Chimamanda Adiche. It offers insight to the phenomenon of using small bits of information to imagine who a person is. (18 minutes)

Day 11
Once people start to learn about white privilege and America’s systems of oppression through history, they often ask, “Why didn’t I see this sooner?” Take yourself on a noticing adventure with these steps:

  1. Start by watching the Test Your Awareness: Do The Test

  2. Then...go out in the world and change up what you notice. Here’s some of what you might look for:

    1.  Who is and is not represented in ads?

    2.  Who are your ten closest friends? What is the racial mix in this group?

    3. As you move through the day, what’s the racial composition of the people around you? On your commute? At the coffee shop you go to? At the gym? At your workplace? At the show you go on the weekend? 

    4.  What percentage of the day are you able to be with people of your own racial identity?

    5. Notice how much of your day you are speaking about racism. Who are you engaging with on these issues? Who are you not? Why do you think this is? 

    6. What are the last five books you read? What is the racial mix of the authors? 

    7. What is the racial mix of the main characters in your favorite TV shows? Movies?

    8.  What is the racial mix of people pictured in the photos and artwork in your home? In your friend, family, and colleagues’ homes?

    9. Who is filling what kinds of jobs/social roles in your world? (e.g. Who’s the store manager and who’s stocking the shelves? Who’s waiting on tables and who’s busing the food?) Can you correlate any of this to racial identity? 

    10. Who do you notice on magazine covers? What roles are people of color filling in these images?

    11. If you’re traveling by car, train, or air, do you notice housing patterns? How is housing arranged? Who lives near the downtown commerce area and who does not? Who lives near the waterfront and who does not? Who lives in industrial areas and who does not? What is the density of a given neighborhood? Can you correlate any of this to racial identity? 

Day 12 

  • Watch this 3-minute trailer from a documentary explaining the Doctrine of Discovery and it's enduring impact on Native American communities and our nation's racial history.

  • Read this article, "Denominations Repent for Native American Land Grabs"

Day 13

  • Read the “Confession of Belhar.” Reflect on how our church is using and living into it.

  • Read this article Caught Up In God from The Christian Century by Willie James Jennings

Day 14

  • Watch “What Kind of Asian Are You?” It’s a two-minute video that illustrates the utter silliness of the way many white Americans interact with Asian Americans. (2 minutes)

  • Watch “Holy Post - Race in America” Succinctly chronicles our country’s history of systemic racism. Watch for the quotes at the end calling us to action. (18 minutes)


Day 15
Watch “Indigenous People React to Indigenous Representation in Film and TV.” It’s a conversation with a diverse range of Indigenous people by FBE about media depictions of Indigenous people, Columbus day, and Indigenous identity. (15 minutes)  

Day 16
Watch the TED Talk, “How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them,” by Verna Myers. She encourages vigorous work to counter balance bias by connecting with and learning about and from the groups we fear. (19minutes)

Day 17

  • Watch the 12-minute TED Talk, “Understanding My Privilege.” University Chancellor Susan E. Borrego reflects on her life as an emancipated minor and dissects the emotionally charged conversation surrounding race relations in the U.S. This storyteller uses her powerful first-person account of "White Privilege" and "Black Lives Matter" to underscore the responsibility each one of us has to bring about change.

  • Read “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh.

Day 18

Watch this powerful sermon by The Rev. Dr. William Barber, II from June 14, 2020 (43 minutes but worth every one!)

Day 19
Read “For Our White Friends Desiring To Be Allies” by Courtney Ariel 



Day 20
Watch “A Requiem for Ahmaud Arbery,” a sermon by Otis Moss III (22 minutes)

Day 21
Read the statement by Union Seminary Faculty. Write your own statement of convictions and intentions.  The faculty statement is here.

Virginia Evans