Anti-Racism Sunday

The Ohio Council of Churches, its partners and allies are asking Christian congregations and other faith communities around the state to publicly declare racism to be a sin, an offense to God that is incompatible with God’s loving and just vision for humanity. Sermons and other anti-racism messages are sought on or near Oct. 19.

According to the Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan, Jr., the council’s Executive Director, racism contradicts the clear teachings of Jesus Christ. Sullivan cited Luke 10:25-37; John 4:1-26; Matthew 28:19; Matthew 22:37-39. Racism and oppression of the stranger are also condemned in the Hebrew Scriptures, in passages such as Leviticus 19: 33, and in the Holy Koran, noted others on the Ohio Council of Churches’ Anti-Racism Team.

For congregations, the council said, Anti-Racism Sunday on Oct. 19 could begin a 13-week emphasis on detecting, disrupting, and dismantling racism in all of its forms and disguises, culminating in the nation’s celebration of the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The council is also offering curricula on its website to support deeper congregational and community discussions about how to address and overcome racism.

“In an era where hard-fought racial justice and diversity firewalls have been attacked and voided,” commented Sullivan, “and as faith is being weaponized to give the scandalous appearance of divine endorsement of racialized hate, Anti-Racism Sunday is an opportunity for Christians and their neighbors of different faiths to clearly and publicly set the record straight: God does not support racism, and neither do we!”

American racism not only hurts Black people, it specifically hurts working-class Whites and other groups as well, members of the council’s Anti-Racism Team asserted. And in a policy briefing on economic jeopardy written for the AFL-CIO, scholar Haney Lopez reported, “When racism triumphs, all workers lose.”

“On Anti-Racism Sunday,” said Sullivan, “people of faith will continue … to confront racial disinformation with truth; to counter racial misinformation with facts; and to challenge racial fear with love.”

Participating congregations and faith leaders are urged to let the council know about their plans. Emails can be directed to info@ohcouncilchs.org. Anti-racism resources are offered on the council’s website.

The council, now marking 105 years, is a Jesus Christ movement for unity, justice and peace. Its ministry represents 17 Christian denominations and is the largest and most diverse group of Christians in Ohio. The council has connections to both the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.