We acknowledge….
- We acknowledge the injustice of race and racism and the harm it has inflicted on generations of people across centuries.
- We acknowledge that we have benefited from the story of race and racism.
- We acknowledge that the Bible has been used to perpetuate racism, both consciously and unconsciously.
- We acknowledge that we have participated in and perpetuated – either consciously or unconsciously – the myth of white body supremacy.
- We acknowledge that racism has been embedded in our DNA, and we have committed to working toward its dismantling, not only in the world but within our own bodies.
- We acknowledge the dignity and inherent worth of every person in this world.
- We acknowledge that we do not require forgiveness from those we have oppressed or harmed.
- We acknowledge that our freedom and flourishing is connected to the freedom and flourishing of others.
We repent…
- We repent of the ways we have participated in creating and sustaining hierarchies of worth.
- We repent of the ways we have harmed others, whether consciously or unconsciously.
- We repent of the systems and structures we have created to benefit only some and oppress others.
- We repent of centering white bodies, white voices, and white experiences.
- We repent of our entitlement to attention, to the center of the story, to recognition.
- We repent of our addiction to being the hero in a story.
- We repent of our addiction to dominance and power.
- We repent of our addiction to individualism.
- We repent of our need for validation.
- We repent of our need to be affirmed as a “good person.”
- We repent of taking what was never ours to take, whether land, place, persons, position, title, or wealth.
We have committed….
- We have committed to seeking racial justice.
- We have committed to taking responsibility for any power and privilege we have and we endeavor to use it not to harm but to seek justice.
- We have committed to making a fearless inventory of how we have personally and specifically benefited from systems and structures of racial oppression, and we have committed to doing our best to redress it in our lifetime.
- We have committed to being part of repairing our world.
- We have committed to learning, unlearning, and recalibrating our minds and our bodies for as long as racial oppression exists in our world.
- We have committed to honoring every person on their earth for their inherent worth, including ourselves.
- We have committed to understanding our unique cultural heritage and the stories we come from.
- We have committed to building our capacity for true and beautiful belonging.
- We have committed to listening to the anger of those who have suffered oppression, so we may hear the truth.
- We have committed to getting comfortable with discomfort.
- We have committed to joining efforts that dismantle systems and structures of oppression.
- We have committed to choosing love to implement the demands of justice.
- We have committed to the long walk of love and liberation.
- We have committed to a life a racial sobriety.
The journey of the recovering racist is a journey of love.
From “Recovering Racists: Dismantling White Supremacy and Reclaiming Our Humanity” by Idelette McVicker