Racial Justice Advocate for the Missouri Annual Conference

I am happy to announce that for my second year as a Global Mission Fellow I will be serving as an advocate for racial justice and reconciliation for (and in) the Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church! The shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9, 2014, initiated a series of protests, conversations, and a range of emotions surrounding racial justice that neither the church nor society-at-large has seen in decades. The current system is failing many people of color. Racism in Missouri and the church did not begin in 2014, nor will it be solved in 2015. However, recent events have created a catalyst for change–there is an incredible opportunity for constructive dialogue about race, policing, and faith in the Missouri Annual Conference.

In a few weeks, I will be moving just thirty minutes down the road to Columbia, MO. I am glad I will be able to continue the relationships I have built in the mid-state region, particularly my church community at Wilkes Boulevard UMC. I am thankful for Central Methodist University, the people I met and the memories I will take with me. Hopefully living in Columbia I’ll be able to come up and visit every now and again! A special thanks to colleagues and friends Tiffania, Kharissa, Lucas,and Julie.

The day-to-day specifics of the new job are still in the works, though I can assure you there are some exciting possibilities brewing that I am sure I will tell you more about in a later post. I will be primarily working out of the UMC Conference Office in Columbia on how I can help congregations begin to recognize and talk about race and racism (its history and its continued presence) in the church and in their local communities. I will also be collaborating with both interfaith and Methodist organizations that are already seeking to address these issues, such as the Missouri Faith Voices of Columbia,  the Missouri Annual Conference’s Social Justice Team, and Rev. Willis Johnson of Ferguson and his church’s new Center for Social Justice and Empowerment; you can read about my first experience in Ferguson by clicking here. 

There will be many challenges with this new position. As a historian who focused on the long civil rights movement, I have seen the “white savior narrative” too many times. How do I effectively speak boldly while stepping back and helping amplify the voices that need to be heard? How do I truly engage with diverse communities across the state? How do I find my way in a totally new position? The greatest challenge though is realizing what I’m up against: the illusive and colossal monster that is individual and systemic racial prejudice in an era of racial colorblindness. The day I returned to Missouri, nine African Americans were murdered at Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina. Staring at a photograph of the protests following the 16th St Baptist Church bombing in 1963, I couldn’t help but wonder, is change really possible? Will there ever be “No More Birminghams”? However, this terrible tragedy also confirmed in my heart that this year I will indeed be doing what God has called me to do, no matter how small the impact I make. Please pray for me as I go through this transition.