While relationship is not the whole of racial justice, we recognize that for transformation and growth to happen, relationship is essential and to that end, it is one of the Beyond Words commitment areas. In building relationships, we discover a new worldview and experience support in exploring it. Our commitment to the work is deepened as well, and, because of the nature of relationship, there is accountability to complete the commitments.

In the U.S. there is a major wealth gap between white people and people of color, particularly African-Americans. This gap is not accidental, but something that was systematically and intentionally created and maintained. Not only have African-Americans been kept from acquiring wealth, their labor has created the wealth that so many white people benefit from, beginning with slavery and continuing to this day in new forms. Because of this history, racial justice must include an equitable distribution of finances.

We all have a lens by which we experience the world that is shaped in large part by our social identity, i.e. how we are perceived by others. When someone is white, their particular lens often does not include awareness of racism because their social identity creates a different reality for them to live within. In order to do the work of anti-racism, white people must learn to see the world differently and take the perspective of the different realities that exist in other social locations.

There is a world of difference between what is preached on Sunday in a Black church as compared to a white one. Because of their lived experience of racism, Black churches preach about justice and a salvation that extends beyond the state of their soul to their embodied experience. However, white churches rarely preach about social ills/systemic sins, focusing instead on an individualized salvation that cares only about the next life. This must change for our churches to truly be pursuing the Kingdom of God that by its nature includes racial justice.

In many white Christian circles, the concept of racial justice has remained limited to a racial reconciliation that centers individuals. However, racism is entrenched within the systems of our society and must be addressed on a larger level. In order to be effective agents of Kingdom transformation when it comes to racial justice, we need to organize and mobilize, advocating with our siblings of color for the change that they want to see in the world.