There are a number of ways you can inspire your community or congregation to commit to the work of dismantling racism and oppression. One way is to follow the Richmond Pledge to End Racism formula. Find out more on their website.

Did you know the city of Birmingham, Alabama has taken a pledge to end racism in all its forms? It’s a striking action from a city that has been home to so much pain and racist abuse. Based on Birmingham’s form, the Richmond Pledge to End Racism (begun in the First UU Church of Richmond, Virginia) asks adherents to promise the following:

I BELIEVE that every person has worth as an individual.

I BELIEVE that every person is entitled to dignity and respect, regardless of race or color.

I BELIEVE that every thought and every act of racial prejudice is harmful; if it is my thought or act, then it is harmful to me as well as to others.

Therefore, from this day forward:

I WILL strive daily to eliminate racial prejudice from my thoughts and actions.

I WILL discourage racial prejudice by others at every opportunity.

I WILL treat all people with dignity and respect.

I WILL commit to working with others to transform the [Greater Richmond] region into a place that treats people of all races, ethnicities, and cultures with justice, equity, and compassion, and

I WILL strive daily to honor this pledge, knowing that the world will be a better place because of my effort.

When people take this pledge, they are compelled to examine their thoughts and actions so that racism is addressed and lessened in their surroundings. This repair work can take many different forms, but some ideas for next steps include keeping the pledge visible, committing to learning something each month about dismantling racism, taking the Living the Pledge workshop or another anti racism workshop (like Jubilee 3), start reflecting on instances of racism that you encounter in your everyday life, and finding one community situation affected by racism that you can become involved in remedying.

Taking the Richmond Pledge is a way for individuals to learn and grow in their anti-racism work, and congregations and communities are fantastic places to pledge together to end the racism that’s apparent in those congregations and the communities in which they are located. It’s a comprehensive way to incorporate antiracism work into all that you do.

Learn more at the Richmond Pledge website.