Racial Healing 

The Presbyter of Greater Atlanta’s statement on racism:
As stated in the PC(USA)’s anti-racism policy,* racism is “the opposite of what God intends for humanity. It is the rejection of the other, which is entirely contrary to the Word of God incarnate in Jesus Christ. Racism is a lie about our fellow human beings, for it says that some are less than others.” Racism is more than individual acts of bigotry or prejudice. It involves systems, institutions, cultural traditions, and structures that support white privilege and white supremacy. Racism stands in fundamental conflict with the command to love God and neighbor as ourselves (Lev 19:18; Mark 12:30–31; Gal 5:14). It threatens the theological conviction that each person has been made in the image of God (Gen 1:27). And it violates the truth of our unity in Christ (Gal 3:28).

*“Facing Racism: A Vision of the Intercultural Community Churchwide Anti-Racism Policy” PC(USA)

Theological Foundations:

From a Reformed perspective, racial healing is rooted in Scripture’s witness that God condemns unjust systems that harm the vulnerable and distort community (Amos 4). Jesus himself crosses entrenched ethnic and social boundaries to reveal a new way of life grounded in truth, dignity, and belonging. In Christ, God entrusts the church with the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5), creating a community where old hierarchies lose their power and all are one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3), making dismantling racism and racial healing essential to Christian discipleship.

  • The Belhar Confession: Written in apartheid-era South Africa in 1986, the Belhar Confession declares that the gospel demands racial unity, reconciliation, and justice, and explicitly condemns any theology that supports racial separation or inequality. It remains essential for anti-racism work because it frames racial justice not as a political preference but as a core Christian commitment grounded in God’s character and the church’s identity.

  • Confession of 1967: The Confession of 1967 asserts that the gospel is fundamentally about God’s reconciling work in Christ, and calls the church to the ministry of reconciliation in every sphere of life—social, economic, cultural, and political. 

  • PCUSA Facing Racism: Statement and Curriculum. This policy statement invites the church to embrace its calling to become an antiracism community by acknowledging that racism is a sin, dismantling its personal and systemic forms, and working to build what it calls the “Beloved Community” — a diverse, justice-filled body that lives out God’s covenant. 

  • Matthew 25 Initiative: The Matthew 25 initiative invites congregations and mid-councils to live out Christ’s call in Gospel of Matthew 25:31-46 by focusing on three core areas: building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty

Learn:

One of the ways we lean into racial healing is through ongoing learning and conversation with others. Below you will find several resources that help individuals and congregations understand the historical and cultural forces that shape race and racism in our communities. These resources can help build a shared foundation for honest conversation, deeper awareness, and the faithful pursuit of racial healing.

  • Digital Resources

    • The Racial Equity Tools Glossary: provides clear definitions of key terms related to racial justice, such as racism, privilege, and structural inequality.

    • Race: Where Do I Start?: offers a guided conversation framework designed for people beginning to engage in meaningful dialogue about race.

    • National Day of Racial Healing—Conversation Guide: offers structured steps and dialogue prompts for friends, family, colleagues and neighbours to engage respectfully and meaningfully in conversations about racism, racial healing, and equity.

    • Code Switch Podcast: Hosted by journalists of color at NPR, Code Switch explores how race, identity, culture and power shape everything from politics and pop culture to history and everyday life — with empathy, curiosity and wit.

  • Multimedia Resources: 

    • 13th: a powerful documentary by Ava DuVernay that traces the connection between slavery, the 13th Amendment, and the modern U.S. criminal justice system, revealing how racial injustice has been perpetuated through mass incarceration

    • Racism in America: A collection of films related to racism curated by PBS.

    • When They See Us (Netflix): Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. Based on the true story.

    • How to Deconstruct Racism One Headline at a Time (TedTalks): critical analysis of racist framing, language, and behaviors in media.

    • Racism is Real (Vox): three-minute video illustrating the experience of racism

  • Select Book List 

    • Jemar Tisby, ​​How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice: offers practical, faith-rooted framework, focusing on Awareness, Relationships, and Commitment (A.R.C.), to help Christians actively pursue racial justice in their personal lives, churches, and communities.

    • William Yoo, What Kind of Christianity: A History of Slavery and Anti‑Black Racism in the Presbyterian Church: investigates the history of the Presbyterian tradition to show how a majority of white Presbyterians were complicit in or actively supported Black enslavement and anti-Black racism.

    • Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: exposes how white American Christianity has been historically intertwined with slavery, segregation, and racial inequality, arguing that genuine Christian faith requires honest reckoning and repair

    • Austin Channing Brown, I’m still Here: a powerful memoir of navigating predominantly white Christian institutions that shows how everyday racism shapes Black experiences. Calls the church to work toward honesty, dignity, and justice.

    • Latasha Morrison, Be the Bridge: outlines a Christian roadmap for racial reconciliation that blends personal story, historical truth-telling, and practical spiritual practices. 

    • Grace Ji-Sun Kim, When God Became White: uncovers how Western Christianity has often remade God in the image of white supremacy and invites readers to reclaim a liberating, global, and decolonized vision of God that leads toward justice.

act/engage:

To pursue racial healing, it is necessary to compliment one’s learning with faithful, intentional action. Below are several ways that you can continue your journey toward racial healing through action and engagement.

  • Be the Bridge: Be the Bridge is a Christian nonprofit that equips individuals and churches with practical, gospel-rooted tools for racial healing and reconciliation through guided conversations, small-group curricula, and community-building practices.

  • Be the Bridge Academy: an online learning platform offering self-paced courses and live cohorts in racial literacy and cultural intelligence.

  • Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing: offers training, dialogue, pilgrimage-style curriculum, and youth programs to help congregations and communities engage in the work of dismantling racism and building reconciliation. 

  • Presbyterians for a Better Georgia: a coalition of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations, groups and individuals in Georgia committed to legislative advocacy on behalf of vulnerable neighbors

  • Internal Institutional Analysis: A tool designed to support congregations in dismantling racism by beginning within their own institution.

Crafting an Anti-Racism/Racial Healing Policy:

In February 2022, the Office of the General Assembly approved an antiracism statement, which reaffirmed the churchwide policy, Facing Racism (2016). The 2022 statement states that “each agency and entity will implement these commitments according to their respective charters and directives.” As such, the Racial Healing Committee of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta recommends that each church and/or Presbytery create or adopt its own policy. The resources below are intended to assist congregations in doing so.

  • The Policy Statement of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta

  • Examples from other churches 

  • Contact the Racial healing Committee for assistance