Racists Anonymous, Rev. Laurie Manning and Nancy Taylor
Today, Discussion 12-1 PM, after Fellowship (more discussion to follow)
Earlier this week I spoke with, my colleague, UCC minister, Rev Ron Buford, who started a program , entitled Racists Anonymous. (Racists Anonymous is a support group, based on the 12 step model. Ron, who is an African American gay man, created the program over his frustration with typical attempts to deal with race issues which merely either left him feeling angry, or white participates leaving feeling guilty. The first meeting was held in 2015 following various police shootings and the Dylann Roof mass murder. Since this time, the program has been adopted in four countries. A basic dictum of the organization is that all people are racist to varying degrees, and that it is impossible not to be racist if raised in American culture, and that one can engage in self-improvement, as opposed to “fixing” oneself. Particularly given the current climate of rising institutionalized, implicit and explicit racism in our country, we are more impacted than we are conscious of. All are welcome to this exploratory session. Pastor Laurie at (421-2646) [email protected]. http://rainternational.org/
Justice Jam and Homelessness
Wednesday, Feb 5, 6:30-8 pm
Join Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church to hear about the intersections of homelessness, housing insecurity, affordable housing and housing values. Find out how to get involved in addressing the Bay Area housing crisis. Doors will open at 6pm. Light Refreshments will be served before the meeting. PastorLaurie (421-2646) [email protected]
Location: 3534 Lakeshore Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610
I Am Not Your Negro, Potluck and Movie
Friday, February 21, potluck 6:30, movie 7:30.
The film, “I Am Not Your Negro”, is from James Baldwin’s unfinished book on the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. It’s narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, beautifully done with photos, footage and music of the Civil Rights Movement era. Contact Nancy T via the office.
Here are some reviews:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/movies/review-i-am-not-your-negro-review-james-baldwin.html?_r=0
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_am_not_your_negro/
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/i-am-not-your-negro-review/515976/
https://skylineucc.org/righteous-indignation-to-resist-injustice/
Here’s the trailer:
http://www.iamnotyournegrofilm.com/
Cry the Beloved Country, Potluck and Movie
Jim Schubert & Pastor Laurie invite you to join us for movie and potluck evening here at Skyline to watch and discuss the classic film, “Cry the Beloved County”. Bring a friend and some food to share! Most importantly, bring your passion for ending white supremacy within our culture by learning from the history of Apartheid in South Africa.
Proclaimed “a monument to the future” by no less a figure than Nelson Mandela, the movie, directed by Darrell James Roodt, is an exercise in solemn uplift that is touching despite an atmosphere that at moments becomes stiflingly reverential.
Why risky? Because movies have become so invested in the unleashing of violent emotion and the escalation of hostility, that expressions of restraint, reconciliation and forgiveness can easily be read as corny cop-outs. “Cry, the Beloved Country” is not corny, and it doesn’t cop out.
Here are some reviews of the film:
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/15/movies/film-review-searching-for-answers-in-yesterday-s-south-africa.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/19/movies/in-cry-the-beloved-country-a-new-voice-from-the-past.html
