By Will Fenton-Jones*

So, you’ve made a commitment to stand against racism. What now? Over the past couple of years since clergy and laity joined the East Ohio Conference Extended Cabinet in its declaration to stand against racism, many churches and small groups have done intentional reading and learning together to deepen their understanding about racism. One of the questions that continues to surface is, “What action can we take?”

Naturally, when people learn about something that is unjust or is an unmet need they want to take action. This is especially true for United Methodists, who have a deep and rich history in responding to injustices in the world – especially racism. One of the first things one can do is to continue learning. Resources on the Stand Against Racism page of the East Ohio Conference website are aimed at deepening understanding and learning around racism for all ages. The Conference also hosts Perspectives events throughout the year to provide opportunities for participants to hear from and learn about a new perspective. These events also provide opportunities for networking and connecting with other United Methodists who are passionate about similar issues.

The East Ohio Conference Anti-Racism Task Force has been hard at work developing a strategy pastors, congregations, and faith communities of the Conference can utilize in confronting and standing against racism. One component of this strategy is storytelling – sharing perspectives, telling truthful history, and creating opportunities for deeper self- and other-understanding. Storytelling invites hospitality and respect, offering the opportunity to ask, “What stories haven’t we heard?” Church congregations and individuals have opportunities, through investigating and sharing their history, to discover a new story and/or learn how their story is connected to the stories of others. We must tell, and re-tell, stories.

The history of redlining is one of those stories. The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) from the early 1930s to the 1960s produced maps that graded areas of cities across the United States to assess their potential for investment and determine whether they would receive federally backed loans as part of the New Deal. However, FHA’s 1938 Underwriting Manual emphasized the negative impact of “infiltration of inharmonious racial groups” on credit risk, openly allowing racism to determine whether communities received investment or not. Those communities were designated on maps with the letter “D”, the lowest possible grade, and marked in red. Those maps, and other laws and practices, were lawful ways for the federal government, and subsequently the state and local governments, to discriminate along lines of race. The impacts of those maps and practices still shape our communities today. For instance, one way the practice of red lining continues to impact the city of Akron is marked by Akron having the highest eviction rate in the state of Ohio. Richard Rothstein’s book The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America outlines the detailed history of redlining. 

Host the conversation. Set the table. Tell the story. Be the moral compass for your community.

How do we stand against racism? What is our responsibility as people of faith and as United Methodists to speak to the history and present challenges in our communities? One way is to host the conversation. The East Ohio Conference, along with the Living Water Association United Church of Christ, is setting the table for a moral conversation to take place Friday, May 10 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at the Akron-Summit County Library.

Just Action is a practical guide to help us ask the question, “How can we begin to undo the damage caused by policies like redlining?” and to discuss how we can address the eviction crisis in Akron today. The Just Action series of programs to address housing needs and inequalities in our community will include a housing legal clinic; a documentary screening and panel; book club discussions; and a presentation by Leah and Richard Rothstein, authors of Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law. The book is “a blueprint for concerned citizens and community leaders” to address ongoing issues caused by segregation.

The East Ohio Conference Connectional Ministries office Multicultural Ministries team and the East Ohio Anti-Racism Task Force invite you over the next two months to read The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America or Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law and to host a book discussion. The Multicultural Ministries team will also host virtual book discussions leading up to the Friday, May 10 event that will feature Leah Rothstein in-person at the library and Richard Rothstein joining virtually. The event is free and open to the public.

Learn more about the May 10 Just Action event at the Akron-Summit County Library.
View redlining maps for cities in the state of Ohio.
Read the Anti-Racism Commitment from Bishop Tracy S. Malone & Extended Cabinet.
Utilize the Stand Against Racism resource on the East Ohio Conference website.

*Will Fenton-Jones is Connectional Ministries office Multicultural Ministries director for the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church.