1727 Walden Lane SW, Rochester, Minnesota 55902 (507) 282-5209
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Racial Justice Task Group

The Racial Justice Task Group addresses issues of racism and disparities related to racial prejudice and discrimination.

Meeting Information

The Task Group meets at the church from 6:00 - 7:30 PM on the second Tuesday of the month.  David Kraemer chairs the task group.

Goals for 2011-12

Activities during the 2010/2011 year

  • Organized a congregational viewing of the "Race: Are We So Different?" exhibit at the public library.George Thompson provided an introduction to the exhibit.
  • Read The Help by Kathryn Stockett and reflected on ways that the racial issues of the 1960's in Jackson, Missisippi, affect today's racial attitudes and our lives.  We recommended the book to the public library as a "Rochester Reads" selection.
  • Compiled a reading list of books and materials addressing issues of racial justice and privilege, posted it on our website (see below), and provided it to our library to consider for potential purchases.
  • Held two movie nights to build connections between members of the Task Group and explore viewpoints on racial justice.  We viewed "Spanglish" and "Crash."
  • Heard and discussed a presentation by a member of the Task Group of the framework of her dissertation, "Historical Formation of the Achievement Gap," and considered ways to bring this information to the congregation.
  • Participated in the organizational phase of the Isaiah Project in Rochester.  Task Group members were trained in facilitation of group meetings and subsequently hosted events to gather input for the selection of a community project to create systemic change.
  • Tested the curriculum “Building the World We Dream About” in order to adapt it for presentation to the congregation in 2011-12.
  • Monitored the work of the Rochester School Board as it relates to the continuation of the district's 5-year plan and its commitment to eliminate the opportunity gap.  Task group members have corresponded with members of the School Board, made public comments prior to school board meetings, and written letters to the editor of the Post-Bulletin.

Activities during the 2009/2010 year

  • Presented the program "Race: The Power of an Illusion" over a series of dates in the fall.  The program was open to the congregation, as well as members of other congregations and the public.  Ninety-one people attended at least one of the four sessions.
  • Completed the previous year's pilot series of "Race: The Power of an Illusion" with a DNA Party. With the assistance of a statistician, we conducted a DNA analysis that enabled 16 participants to see their own results and compare them to others.  We discovered our closest relations cannot be predicted by outward appearance.

Activities during the 2008/2009 year

  • Presented a 2008 summer service.
  • Sponsored a table at the Victor Lewis event in the fall of 2008.
  • Previewed the first module of the Saint Paul Foundation's "Facing Race - Conversations About Race" program.
  • Presented the Saint Paul Foundation's program "Facing Race - Conversations About Race".  The program was facilitated by a staff member from the Foundation and was attended by members of the congregation and by others who were not members of the church.
  • Sponsored a presentation by Dr. Char Kunkle, where she discussed the results of the 2006 "Racial Attitudes and Actions" survey she conducted and compared the results with the 1990 results of the same survey .
  • Showed and discussed one of the 20/20 television show's videos "What Would You Do?"
  • Piloted the 3-session program "Race: The Power of an Illusion" including the collecting of DNA samples from the participants.  The DNA samples will be compared with an international database to illustrate matriarchial lineage.

Links/Reading List

History & Biography

Social & Political Analysis

Skills for Dismantling Racism

Fiction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Who Built America?  Herbert G. Gutman
  • Negroes and Jobs, Louis A. Fermen, Joyce L. Kornbluh, and J. A. Miller