A question we’ve started to ask regularly at Ascend is ‘What’s doing you good?’ What habits, rhythms and influences are you intentionally bringing in to your life for refreshment and recreation? A number of people have shared their favourite things with us – thank you. Any one of us can contribute by using the template on the What’s Doing You Good webpage.
We’re also consciously, intentionally choosing to engage with thinking and experiences which challenge us. If we are going to grow in our understanding of racism and the impact it has on others, our communities and our churches, we have to choose to engage. Here are some of the things which are helping us at the moment…
A podcast we are listening to is Tara Devlin on the Outspoken Bible, speaking about Scotland’s historic relationship with Jamaica.
Some books that are changing us are ‘We Need to Talk About Race’ by Ben Lindsay, ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ by Reni Eddo-Lodge and ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ by Bernardine Evaristo
Some short and accessible short films on BBC Bitesize worth checking out are:
Not-racist v anti-racist: what’s the difference? https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zs9n2v4
What is white privilege? https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zrvkbqt
We follow @everydayracism on Instagram because it’s exposing us to stories we need to hear, of people whose everyday life is impacted by the prejudice of others. It’s also full of recommendations of great books to stretch us more.
We’ve been listening to the Notting Hill Carnival 2020 on Spotify to enlarge our musical influences.
One thing we’ve learned about ourselves during the last while is that we can be full of good intention in learning more but never quite get around to it. This takes deliberate effort and we can’t afford not to make it.
What’s helping you to grow in understanding and an ability to bring change? We’d love to hear and share those things more widely. Let us know at ascend@churchofscotland.org.uk.