Dismantling Racism and Building Belonging

It is not enough to say you are not a racist, you must fight against the institutional racism that exists throughout our society. We have collected a number of resources to help you in that fight.

Our members, clergy, and staff are committed to actively participating in creating change, both internally in our congregation and externally in the broader community, to pursue equity and justice to heal our fractured world.

Pray as if everything depends on God.
Act as if everything depends on you.

STUDY — ENGAGE — ACT

We are learning together, engaging with our families, friends and other members as well as with interfaith and community organizations, and acting to bring about the change we want to see in the world.

STUDY: Opportunities to learn & be in conversation

Resources

How to Use These Resources

You will find a variety of topics including resources related to history, Black-Jewish relations, racism and approaches to antiracism, and intersectionality. We encourage you to use them in book group discussions, guided studies, and conversation starters at your Shabbat table and to introduce your young children, teens and young adults to the many cultures and traditions surrounding Jewish practices.

Resources will be updated periodically to keep the site dynamic and relevant. We welcome input from you. To add a book, article, or other information, please email Linda Adams at adblatt@msn.com

Books

• • History of Race in America
    • Stamped from the Beginning, Ibram X. Kendi
    • So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo
    • Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race, Debby Irving
  • Systemic Racism in America
    • The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander
    • The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, Richard Rothstein
    • Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race, Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD
    • Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson

Discussion Groups

Starting January 23 at noon, monthly WHC series of free Jewish Conversations on Diverstiy, Belonging, and Justice with a clergy-led discussion on antiracism and diversity.

ENGAGE: Building on our Inclusive, Caring and Compassionate Congregation

WHC is engaging members in opportunities to explore how we meet the needs of a diverse congregation and offer an inclusive community for all.  These resources discuss ways that the Union for Reform Judaism and other partners are creating inclusive practices.

Resources

Resources for Jews of Color

• Experiences of Jews of color now grounded in hard data
• Spaces for JOC & LGBTQ blog post 
• Beyond the Count: Perspectives & Lived Experiences of Jews of Color, The Jews of Color Initiative

Resources for Parents/Guardians of Jews of Color

• Around the World in One Shabbat: Jewish People Celebrate the Sabbath Together
• Lessons Learned from Multicultural Jewish Asian Families
• Bring Home a Taste of Camp Be’chol Lashon
• Camp Be’Chol Lashon

Resources for White-Identifying persons

• Jewish Week article about Josh Maxey
• The Black Jews are Tired, C.E. Harrison
• Spaces for JOC & LGBTQ, blog post by Joshua Maxey and Allie Heiman
• Tools for Navigating Conversations about Race from the URJ
• Ways your Congregation can act now for Racial Justice
• URJ Colorblind Mentality Resource
• Video message from Reform Leaders of Color
• How Tokenism Affects Jews of Color and 5 Ways Allies Can Interrupt It
• What’s A Jew of Color Anyway?

Antiracism Books

• How to be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi
• Courageous Discomfort: How to Have Important, Brave, Life-Changing Conversations about Race and Racism, Rosalind Wiseman and Shanterra McBride

Jews of Color Affinity Group

For information or to hear about future JOC activities, please contact Joshua Maxey at joshuamaxey14@gmail.com

Greeter Program

You can build connections and help WHC create a culture of respect from the moment people enter our doors.  If interested in being a greeter, please contact Laura Loeb at lauraeloeb@gmail.com

ACT: Opportunities to get Involved in External Initiatives in the Community

We are partnering with other Jewish and multifaith congregations and other organizations in our community to apply our shared values to address issues of inequity that are important to us.

Ways to get involved

Attend WHC’s next SEA Change Social Justice Committee Meeting

• Discover how you can participate in creating change in the community
• Learn organizing skills & join an Issue Team
• Explore social justice issues such as Paid Family & Medical Leave, Affordable Housing & Childcare, Poverty and Housing, Mental Health Challenges, Access to Healthcare, and Reproductive, LGBTQ+ and Disability Rights

For more information, please contact Karen Herron at KbHerron@me.com

Our Partner Organizations

• Action in Montgomery (AIM): A broad-based, non-partisan, multi-faith, multi-racial community powered organization rooted in Montgomery County neighborhoods and congregations to help make our County and state a better place to live and thrive.
• Jews United For Justice (JUFJ): Mobilizes Jews and the Jewish community to move our region (DC and Maryland) closer to social, racial, and economic justice by working with other community groups to create concrete improvements in people’s lives.
• Interfaith Power & Light (IPL): Works with hundreds of congregations of all faiths across DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia to save energy, go green, and respond to climate change, marrying the Jewish responsibility to protect the environment and the marginalized communities who are often most negatively impacted by the effects of various environmental issues.
• Religious Action Center Reform Judaism (the RAC): Bringing Social Justice Into Your Congregation. For nearly six decades, the RAC, under the auspices of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, has been the hub of Jewish social justice work.
• Union for Reform Judaism (URJ): Through advocacy campaigns, hands-on volunteering opportunities, and training for leaders, the URJ galvanizes people throughout North America to ensure religious freedom, pluralism, acceptance, and justice.