Racial Justice Ministry
The mission of the Racial Justice Ministry is to raise awareness and understanding of and engagement with racial identity and racism, including our individual and collective opportunities to achieve racial justice.
In the wake of the recent police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others, we believe it is more important than ever to have resources for educating ourselves about racism and to act both individually and collectively to dismantle the many oppressions that Black, Indigenous and People of Color face. The purpose of the Racial Justice Ministry (RJM) website is to provide these resources. It includes information about programs and events, along with print video, and online materials about racism. It also includes additional information about the RJM. We will periodically edit and update the content and invite you to be a regular visitor to the website.
If we can make this website more useful to you in some way, please let us know. You can contact us at racialjustice@boiseuu.org. Use this same email address to join the BUUF Racial Justice Community Google Group and receive on-going communications related to racial justice. We cannot add you to the group without your expressed permission. Joining the Google Group is the best way to receive up-to-date information about all RJM programs, along with racial justice-related activities sponsored by other groups in the community.
What can you do?
As a person concerned about racial justice, you may be asking what you can do. Click on this link Important-actions-we-can-take-now to read and download a short list of things you can do, beginning now, to work toward racial justice.
Racial Justice Vocabulary
Click on this link vocabulary to read and download a list of terms that are frequently used in discussions and materials related to racial justice.
Racial Justice Ministry Programs
The Racial Justice Ministry offers a variety of programs intended to help anyone learn more about racism and become more engaged with racial justice activities. These programs are briefly described below.
Suggested Videos of the Month
For July 2020, The Racial Justice Ministry suggests an interview of Dr. Charlene Taylor by Brian Holmes of KTVB. The interview followed an incident in which Dr. Taylor was called a racial slur while sitting on a restaurant patio in Boise’s North End. The video also includes a blog post written by Dr. Taylor. In the video and blog post, Dr. Taylor reflects on her experience and on the lack of response from the white people who were also sitting on the patio at the time. A suggested activity for this video as well as the entire collection of RJM-recommended videos can be found at Suggested videos of the month
Racial Justice Education
During the fall of 2019 and winter of 2020, the RJM held monthly in-person programs using videos and group discussions to increase awareness and understanding of topics such as white privilege, white fragility, implicit bias, and intersectionality. These programs were canceled during March of 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we plan to resume the programs in the fall of 2020 using Zoom instead of meeting in person. The handout materials from each of the past programs can be found at Monthly program materials.
Racial Justice Community Google Group
The Racial Justice Community is a group of BUUF and community members who share information, announcements, resources and support as we work toward becoming anti-racists. To join the group simply send your name and email address to racialjustice@boiseuu.org and ask to join. We won’t add anyone unless they request it.
Wake Up Coffee Circle
These conversations are currently held on Wednesdays at 9:00 AM via Zoom and are open to all interested individuals. They offer opportunities, both structured and unstructured to talk about recent events or whatever else might be on our minds, related to racial justice. Information about the Coffee Circle, including the Zoom link can be found in the BUUF “Weekly Gazette.”