Anti-Racism Resources for Our Community

Racism in the United States existed from the country’s founding. Centuries of neglect, abuse, manipulation, and prejudice have severely traumatized many individuals. While there have been continued improvements due to influential leaders, often from minority groups, many injustices remain in our society.

We hear many of these experiences directly from our clients.  Many of our staff have also had similar, painful, experiences. Acts of racism are horrible and dehumanizing. Therapeutic sessions are supposed to reverse such experiences to provide healing and hope. Yet, even a field such as therapy contains many of these same injustices. We want to change this fact. As Christians, our God calls us to right injustices and provide mercy, even at our own expense.

We seek to provide the highest quality therapy to our clients, no matter their background. We routinely engage in diversity meetings, and will continue to do so, to increase our awareness of prejudice and bias so that we can provide better care. We pursue a space where all neighbors are treated with the same respect, dignity, and quality of care as everyone else. Furthermore, we are furthering our discussions to actively pursue racial equality in our workplace.

As we have been engaging in talks, we have found a pattern that helps start the journey of righting those injustices. We humbly submit a few steps that as many of us at CPCC are using to grow and develop.

Anti-Racism Building Blocks

Converse. It is important to begin discussing racism and racial equality. Hearing knowledge from those who have experienced racism can help. Inequality often thrives on silence so beginning conversations is essential.

Learn. Become educated on racism and how it has affected the world through the centuries. As you read and watch about these topics, actively think about them as well. Not everything written is true. Work out what you read with others, process it, allow yourself to imagine it from different angles. Looking at something many different ways can help you to overcome bias. We have some excellent resources provided for you below.

Act. As you learn, incorporate your learning into actions. When we act on something, we overcome the cognitive dissonance and anxiety that causes us to stagnate. Actively doing something, whether that is donating funds, protesting, or posting, empowers us and will make a difference in the world around us.

Resources

Here are some more resources that members of CPCC have found helpful in recognizing and preventing racism. We have also found more extensive lists than ours and included those too.