Welcome to Kenilworth Union Church’s Racial Justice Committee (RJC) website landing page. We are glad you are here.
The RJC’s mission is to promote racial justice by creating opportunities to listen, learn and discuss, as well as to advocate for racial equity. To this end, we believe as a faith community, we can make a positive impact.
In the past, we’ve engaged in a variety of activities including:
- Book club discussions
- Speaking engagements
- Travel opportunities such as exploring the history of the Civil Rights movement by visiting Montgomery, Selma and Birmingham, Alabama
- Collaborations with neighboring churches including group classes using Sacred Ground, a film and readings-based Episcopal curriculum on race that’s grounded in faith
We’ve learned a lot and yet there is so much more to understand. We invite you to join us for upcoming events. A few of our plans for this year include history tours of the South and West sides of Chicago, exploring the book High-Risers: Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing with its author, viewing and discussing the new 1619 TV series, and a trip to America’s Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee. Please visit our quarterly newsletter for up-to date information.
RJC Members
If you have questions, please feel free to email RJC Co-Chairs, Laura Connell and Diane Rodriguez Rand at info@kuc.org. Staff: Bill Evertsberg, At Large: Cam Avery, Melinda Blake, Susan Bondurant, Sally Campbell, Heather Crimmins, Dana Connell, Nancy Davis, Caroline Degenaars, Lynn Donaldson, Maria Fowkes, Becky Knight, Linda Kingman, Jennifer Lind, and Scott Myers.
Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.
Proverbs 3:13–14
Newspaper clipping from Winnetka Historical Society “Martin Luther King, Jr. In Winnetka”
The RJC’s mission is to promote racial justice by creating opportunities to listen, learn and discuss, as well as to advocate for racial equity. To this end, we believe as a faith community, we can make a positive impact.
Try to understand men. If you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love.
John Steinbeck
We are all so desperate to be understood, we forget to be understanding.
Beau Taplin
Sometimes being understanding is more important than being right. Sometimes we need not a brilliant mind that speaks but a patient heart that listens. Not a keen eye that always sees faults but open arms that accept. Not a finger that points out mistakes but gentle hands that lead. Pavithra Ram
Learning Blocks
RJC Event Night: Ben Austen and Johnnie Veal
Watch the recording from
Tuesday, May 23, 7 p.m.
Culbertson Room
anytime
History
People of any race growing up in under-resourced communities is very different from those growing up in safe stable communities.
Black Experience
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man hosted by Emmanuel Acho.
Knowledge and Support
What can each of us do to address racial issues in our society? One way to begin is to increase our understanding of barriers and challenges faced by Black people and others.
If you would like to continue to receive news, updates, and events from the RJC,
Click here to opt in and receive periodic updates from the Racial Justice newsletter.