Give Up Racism for Lent

Billy Kangas is giving up racism for Lent. You can help him by joining him as he reads some books and discusses them on his blog.

Today marks the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday. Every year millions of Christians give up certain foods and activities for the 40 days (not including Sundays) leading up to Easter.

This year, in addition to my regular dietary restrictions, in honor of Black History Month, which we are in the midst of and in the spirit of corporal works of mercy for Lent, I have decided to give up racism for Lent.

Although I generally don’t think of myself as a racist, I can recognize in myself a lot of white privilege I take for granted and I know that I often participate in structures that prolong the oppression of minority races here in Chicago and the nation at large.

I would like to stop doing this, but I know it’s going to be hard.This is where I need help. I don’t know the first thing about not being a racist. My friend Dominique Gilliard made a bibliography for me this month, as well as linking to a number of videos on the subject. Compiling these resources I have decided to create a project to help me learn with others about what it means to be a Christian in a world of racial tensions. Will you help me? Take a look at the resources below and JOIN IN the project. [Read the list of books.]

There’s one book I’d like him to add to the list: Race: A Theological Account.